Radio Free Asia

Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a United States government–funded, nonprofit international broadcasting corporation that broadcasts and publishes online news, information and commentary to readers and listeners in East Asia. Its self-stated mission is "to provide accurate and timely news and information to Asian countries whose governments prohibit access to a free press."[4]

Radio Free Asia
AbbreviationRFA
Formation1951
Type501(c)(3) organization
52-1968145
PurposeBroadcast Media
Location
Official languages
English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tibetan, Uyghur, Korean, Burmese, Khmer, Lao and Vietnamese
OwnerU.S. Agency for Global Media
President
Bay Fang[1]
Executive Editor
Parameswaran Ponnudurai[2]
Parent organization
U.S. Agency for Global Media
Budget
$43.1 million (2018)[3]
Staff
253[3]
Websitewww.rfa.org

Based on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, it was established in the 1990s with the stated aim of promoting democratic values and human rights, and diminishing the Communist Party of China.[5] It is funded by a grant from the U.S. Agency for Global Media (formerly the "Broadcasting Board of Governors"), an independent agency of the United States government.[6] In 2017, RFA and other networks, such as Voice of America, were put under the newly created US Agency for Global Media, an independent federal agency.[7]

A short-lived earlier incarnation of Radio Free Asia also existed in the 1950s, as an anti-Communist propaganda operation funded by the CIA.[5][8]

RFA distributes content in ten Asian languages for audiences in China, North Korea, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Burma.[9]

History

Radio Free Asia was founded and funded in the 1950s by an organization called "Committee for Free Asia" as an anti-communist propaganda operation, broadcasting from RCA facilities in Manila, Philippines,[10] and Dacca and Karachi, Pakistan (there may be other sites) until 1961. Some offices were in Tokyo. The parent organization was given as the Asia Foundation. Radio Free Asia went off the air in 1955.[11] In 1971 CIA involvement ended and all responsibilities were transferred to a presidentially appointed Board for International Broadcasting (BIB).[12][13][14]

With the passage of International Broadcasting Act in 1994, RFA was brought under auspices of the United States Information Agency where it remained until the agency's cessation of broadcasting duties and transitioned to U.S. Department of State operated BBG in 1999. In May 1994, President Bill Clinton announced the continuation of Radio Free Asia after 2009 was dependent on its increased international broadcasting and ability to reach its audience.[15] In September 2009, the 111th Congress amended the International Broadcasting Act to allow a one-year extension of the operation of Radio Free Asia.[16]

The current Radio Free Asia is a US-funded organization, incorporated in March 1996, and began broadcasting in September 1996. Although senators debated a name change, Richard Richter, the then president of Radio Free Asia, was instructed to change the name back from Asia-Pacific Network to Radio Free Asia, as "we must have the courage to confront tyranny, and to do so under the banner of freedom." Radio Free Asia was forced to change in part due to financial pressures from the US government, for although they operate with an independent board, their money mostly comes from the Treasury.[17]

RFA broadcasts in nine languages, via shortwave, satellite transmissions, medium-wave (AM and FM radio), and through the Internet. The first transmission was in Mandarin Chinese and it is RFA's most broadcast language at twelve hours per day. RFA also broadcasts in Cantonese, Tibetan (Kham, Amdo, and Uke dialects), Uyghur, Burmese, Vietnamese, Lao, Khmer (to Cambodia) and Korean (to North Korea). The Korean service launched in 1997 with Jaehoon Ahn as its founding director.[18]

After the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, American interest in starting a government broadcasting organization grew.[19] The International Broadcasting Act was passed by the Congress of the United States in 1994. Radio Free Asia is formally a private, non-profit corporation.[20] RFA is funded by an annual federal grant from and administered by the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which also serves as RFA's corporate board of directors.

International response

Radio jamming and Internet blocking
Further information: Radio jamming in China and Radio jamming in Korea

Since broadcasting began in 1996, Chinese authorities have consistently jammed RFA broadcasts.[21]

Three RFA reporters were denied access to China to cover U.S. President Bill Clinton's visit in June 1998. The Chinese embassy in Washington had initially granted visas to the three but revoked them shortly before President Clinton left Washington en route to Beijing. The White House and United States Department of State filed complaints with Chinese authorities over the matter but the reporters ultimately did not make the trip.[21][22]

The Vietnamese-language broadcast signal was also jammed by the Vietnamese government since the beginning.[23] Human rights legislation has been proposed in Congress that would allocate money to counter the jamming.[24] Research by the OpenNet Initiative, a project that monitors Internet filtering by governments worldwide, showed that the Vietnamese-language portion of the Radio Free Asia website was blocked by both of the tested ISPs in Vietnam, while the English-language portion was blocked by one of the two ISPs.[25]

To address radio jamming and Internet blocking by the governments of the countries that it broadcasts to, the RFA website contains instruction on how to create anti-jamming antennas and information on web proxies.[26]

On March 30, 2010, China's domestic internet filter, known as the Great Firewall, temporarily blocked all Google searches in China, due to an unintentional association with the long-censored term "rfa".[27] According to Google, the letters, associated with Radio Free Asia, were appearing in the URLs of all Google searches, thereby triggering China's filter to block search results.

Arrests of Uyghur journalists' relatives
Radio Free Asia's 6 Uyghur journalists (2018)

In 2014–2015 China arrested three brothers of RFA Uyghur Service journalist Shohret Hoshur. Their jailing was widely described by Western publishers as Chinese authorities' efforts to target Hoshur for his reports on otherwise unreported violent events of ethnic Han-Uyghur tensions in China's Xinjiang region.[28][29][30][31] Much larger numbers of relatives of RFA's Uygur-language staff have since been detained.[32]

RFA is the only station outside China that broadcasts in the Uygur-language.[32] It has been recognized for played a vital role in exposing Xinjiang re-education camps.[33][34][35] The New York Times regards RFA as one of the few reliable sources of information about Xinjiang.[28]

Mission
Broadcasting Information (Channels 1, 2, 3, 4)
Language ServiceTarget audienceLaunch DateDaily
Broadcast Hours
Mandarin People's Republic of ChinaSeptember 199624 Hours, Daily

÷ over 3 channels

TibetanTibet Autonomous Region
Qinghai		December 199623 Hours, Daily, 1 ch
Burmese MyanmarFebruary 19978 Hours, Daily

÷ over 3 channels

Vietnamese VietnamFebruary 19978 Hours, Daily

÷ over 2 channels

Korean North KoreaMarch 19979 Hours, Daily, 1 ch
CantoneseGuangdong
Guangxi
 Hong Kong
 Macau		May 19987 Hours, Daily

÷ over 2 channels

Lao LaosAugust 19975 Hours, Daily, 1 ch
Khmer CambodiaSeptember 19975 Hours, Daily, 1 ch
UyghurXinjiangDecember 19986 Hours, Daily, 1 ch

Its functions, as listed in 22 U.S.C. § 6208, are:

  1. [to] provide accurate and timely information, news, and commentary about events in Asia and elsewhere; and
  2. [to] be a forum for a variety of opinions and voices from within Asian nations whose people do not fully enjoy freedom of expression.

Additionally, the International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (Title III of Pub.L. 103–236), which authorised the creation of the RFA, contains the following paragraph:

The continuation of existing U.S. international broadcasting, and the creation of a new broadcasting service to people of the People's Republic of China and other countries of Asia, which lack adequate sources of free information and ideas, would enhance the promotion of information and ideas, while advancing the goals of U.S. foreign policy.

This appears among a list of both "Congressional Findings and Declarations of Purpose", though which it is, is not specified. The subsequent section, outlining "Standards and Principles" states that all US-funded broadcasting should be "consistent with the broad foreign policy objectives of the United States", with news that is "consistently reliable and authoritative, accurate, objective, and comprehensive".[36]

Criticism

In 1999, Catharin Dalpino of the Brookings Institution, who served in the Clinton State Department as a deputy assistant secretary deputy for human rights, called Radio Free Asia "a waste of money." "Wherever we feel there is an ideological enemy, we're going to have a Radio Free Something," she says. Dalpino said she has reviewed scripts of Radio Free Asia's broadcasts and views the station's reporting as unbalanced. "They lean very heavily on reports by and about dissidents in exile. It doesn't sound like reporting about what's going on in a country. Often, it reads like a textbook on democracy, which is fine, but even to an American it's rather propagandistic."[37]

According to a report by the Congressional Research Service of the U.S. government, official state-controlled newspapers in China have run editorials claiming Radio Free Asia is a CIA broadcast operation, as was the case with the first Radio Free Asia.[19]

North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency has referred to Radio Free Asia as "reptile broadcasting services."[38] Kim Chol-min, third secretary of North Korea, in statement submitted at the United Nations, accused the United States of engaging in "psychological warfare" with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea through RFA.[39]

Following the Burmese Saffron Revolution in the fall of 2007, the Myanmar junta held rallies attended by thousands holding signs that condemned external interference and accused Radio Free Asia, the Voice of America, and the BBC of "airing a skyful of lies."[40] In October 2007, Burmese state-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar singled out "big powers" and Radio Free Asia, among other international broadcasters, as inciting protesters during the Saffron Revolution.[41]

Awards
  • Edward R. Murrow National Award, 2019. Radio-Television News Directors Association.
  • Sigma Delta Chi award, 2019, 2015. The Society of Professional Journalists.
  • min magazine's "Best of the Web", 2017 for "Best Multimedia Feature".
  • Annual Human Rights Press Award, 2012, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, and 2000. Amnesty International, Hong Kong Journalists Association, Foreign Correspondents' Club, Hong Kong.
  • International Activist Award, 2005, Gleitsman Foundation.
  • Edward R. Murrow Regional Award, 2013, 2005, 2003, 2002, and 2001. Radio-Television News Directors Association.
  • New York Festivals Radio Awards named Radio Free Asia "Broadcaster of the Year" in 2009. RFA won two medals in 2019, one in 2015; one in 2014; two in 2013; one in 2012; one in 2011; two in 2010; seven in 2009; two in 2008; one in 2007; one in 2004; and one in 2000. RFA also won medals at the New York Festivals TV and Film Awards in 2018 and 2019.
  • Gracie Allen Award, 2013, 2010, and 2008. American Women in Radio and Television.
  • Consumer Rights award, 2008. Hong Kong Consumer Council, Hong Kong Journalists Association.
  • Society of Environmental Journalists, 2012 and 2010. Society of Environmental Journalists
  • Courage in Journalism Award, 2010. International Women's Media Foundation
gollark: Taking credit for everyone else's work is extremely efficient.
gollark: Yes?
gollark: Even *if* I didn't participate directly, that didn't mean I couldn't influence people's entries.
gollark: An interesting assumption, and also irrelevant.
gollark: You don't think people can bluff?

See also

References
  1. "Bay Fang Named Radio Free Asia's New President". RFA. November 20, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  2. "Parameswaram Ponnudurai, Executive Editor". RFA. November 20, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  3. "RFA – USAGM". Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  4. Radio Free Asia – About Retrieved 10 November 2015
  5. David Welch (November 27, 2013). Propaganda, Power and Persuasion: From World War I to Wikileaks. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-0-85773-737-3.
  6. "About". Broadcasting Board of Governors. n.d. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  7. "US Launches New Mandarin Network as Washington and Beijing Battle for Global Influence". South China Morning Post. November 24, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  8. Central Intelligence Agency (April 1, 1953). "Memorandum For: Special Assistant to the President; International Radio Broadcasting by Radio Free Asia" (PDF). foia.cia.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  9. "Radio Free Asia | USAGov".
  10. Central Intelligence Agency (April 1, 1953). "Memorandum For: Special Assistant to the President; International Radio Broadcasting by Radio Free Asia" (PDF). foia.cia.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  11. "Worldwide Propaganda Network Built by the C.I.A." New York Times. December 26, 1977. Archived from the original on July 4, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  12. Tom Engelhardt: "The End of Victory Culture". Cold War America and the Disillusioning of a Generation (University of Massachusetts Press 1998); p. 120. ISBN 1-55849-133-3.
  13. Helen Laville, Hugh Wilford: "The US Government, Citizen Groups And the Cold War". p. 215. The State-Private Network (Routledge 1996). ISBN 0-415-35608-3.
  14. Daya Kishan Thussu: "International Communication". Continuity and Change (Arnold 2000). p. 37. ISBN 0-340-74130-9.
  15. Executive Order 12, 850, 3 C.F.R. 606, 607 § 1(b).
  16. Bill Text Versions for the 111th Congress, 2009–2010. The Library of Congress.
  17. Mann, Jim (September 30, 1996). "After 5 Years of Political Wrangling, Radio Free Asia Becomes a Reality". Los Angeles Times. Times Mirror Company. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  18. Brown, Emma (June 10, 2011). "Jaehoon Ahn, reporter and Post researcher, dies". Washington Post. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  19. Susan B. Epstein: CRS Report for Congress Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine (PDF)
  20. "Governance and Corporate Leadership". Radio Free Asia. n.d. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  21. Mann, "China Bars 3 Journalists From Clinton's Trip", The Los Angeles Times, June 23, 1998
  22. Sieff/Scully "Radio Free Asia reporters stay home; Clinton kowtows to Beijing's ban, critics contend", The Washington Times, June 24, 1998
  23. "Radio Free Asia says broadcasts to Vietnam are being jammed". CNN. February 7, 1997. Retrieved February 11, 2008.
  24. "H.R. 1587 Vietnam Human Rights Act of 2004". Congressional Budget Office. June 24, 2004. Retrieved February 11, 2008.
  25. "OpenNet Initiative: Vietnam". OpenNet Initiative. Retrieved February 11, 2008.
  26. "RFA: Anti-jamming antenna". Retrieved February 11, 2008.
  27. Censky, Annalyn (March 30, 2010). "Google blames China's 'great firewall' for outage". CNN. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  28. Forsythe, Michael (July 31, 2015). "A Voice From China's Uighur Homeland, Reporting From the U.S." New York Times. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  29. Casey, Michael (July 9, 2015). "China's War Against One American Journalist". Slate. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  30. Denyur, Simon (January 8, 2015). "China uses long-range intimidation of U.S. reporter to suppress Xinjiang coverage". Washington Post. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  31. Editorial Board (June 9, 2015). "China exports repression beyond its borders". Washington Post. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  32. "To suppress news of Xinjiang's gulag, China threatens Uighurs abroad". The Economist. October 23, 2019.
  33. "Knowledge of China's gulag owes much to American-backed radio". The Economist. October 26, 2019.
  34. Hiatt, Fred (November 3, 2019). "In China, every day is Kristallnacht". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  35. "What It's Like to Report on Rights Abuses Against Your Own Family". The Atlantic. March 1, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  36. Pub.L. 103–236, Sec. 303
  37. Dick Kirschten (May 1, 1999). "Broadcast News". Archived from the original on September 21, 2015.
  38. "KCNA raps U.S. despicable psychological warfare against DPRK," February 22, 2008 BBC Monitoring Service
  39. General Assembly GA/SPD/430 United Nations Department of Public Information, October 2009
  40. On Quiet Streets of Myanmar Fear Is a Constant Companion International Herald Tribune. October 21, 2007
  41. Myanmar guards accused of detainee abuse Associated Press. October 11, 2007
  42. Duggan, Paul; Clarence Williams (November 1, 2008). "Cover-Up Alleged in D.C. Killing Of Lawyer". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 31, 2008.

Further reading
Library resources about
Radio Free Asia
  • Engelhardt, Tom (1998). The End of Victory Culture. Cold War America and the Disillusioning of a Generation. University of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 1-55849-133-3.
  • Laville, Helen; Wilford, Hugh (1996). The US Government, Citizen Groups And the Cold War. The State-Private Network. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-35608-3.
  • Thussu, Daya Kishan (2000). International Communication. Continuity and Change. Arnold. ISBN 0-340-74130-9.
  • Defty, Andrew (2004). Britain, America and Anti-Communist Propaganda, 1945–53. The Information Research Department. Routledge. ISBN 0-7146-5443-4.
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