RFA in the News (April 2018)

2018-05-02

BOOKSELLER

April 30 “Returned HK bookseller plans to open new Taiwan bookshop

… Despite his eight-month detention between October 2015 and June 2016 for his involvement with Causeway Bay Books, according to Radio Free Asia Lam is determined to open a new incarnation of the bookshop in Taiwan as "a focal point for anyone opposed to the Communist Party regime in Beijing, its growing control of Hong Kong and its creeping influence in Taiwan".

BUISNESS KOREA

April 30 “Outlook on N. Korea-US Summit after Inter-Korean Denuclearization Accord

… North Korean authorities have instructed its embassies and diplomatic missions abroad to intensively file reports about foreign new media reports and their host countries’ responses regarding the 2018 Inter-Korean summit, Radio Free Asia (RFA), a North Korea-specializing media outlet, reported on April 27 (local time).

DAILY NK

April 25 “North Koreans continue to seek out foreign radio despite crackdown

… With multiple foreign-based stations targeting North Korean people through daily broadcasts, including South Korea's KBS, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and more, the authorities have grown more concerned about these programs reaching the ears of the people, leading to their deployment of powerful jamming technology.

UPI

April 26 “Defectors: North Korea survival strategy on course ahead of summit

… Last week, a defector told Radio Free Asia China had released 30 North Korean defectors instead of sending them back to their country of origin.

HONG KONG FREE PRESS (also in NEWSLENS)

April 26 “Video: ‘I will not accept gov’t-appointed lawyer unless tortured,’ arrested Chinese lawyer Yu Wensheng says

… “There is no way that I am going to accept that Yu Wensheng fired his lawyers of his own free will,” Xu told US-backed Radio Free Asia.

PHNOM PENH POST

April 25 “Cambodia's press freedom ranking plunges

Radio Free Asia and Voice of America also had their in-country operations sharply curtailed in a widespread media crackdown in the Kingdom, and three journalists have been jailed on dubious national security charges.

DIPLOMAT

April 25 “The Truth About the New Laos Minimum Wage Hike

… But reporting on this UN assessment, Radio Free Asia pointed out, quoting an official at a poverty reduction fund, that while this news is good for the nation’s image, underlying issues of poverty remain unaddressed.

WASHINGTON POST

April 24 “Clay Bennett wins Sigma Delta Chi Award for skewering Trump, Roy Moore

… And Radio Free Asia won in the e-books category for “Drawing Fire: The Political Cartoons of Rebel Pepper,” which gathers about 50 editorial artworks from Chinese political cartoonist Wang Liming, who draws under the name “Rebel Pepper.”

BUISNESS INSIDER (also in SYDNEY MORNING HEARLD, INDEPENDENT)

April 24 “Chinese Muslims have to pledge loyalty to the Communist Party before they can leave the country for the journey to Mecca

… Earlier this year, Radio Free Asia reported that around 120,000 Uyghurs had been sent to these camps in just one region of Xinjiang since April 2017.

GLOBAL TIMES

April 23 “US has no grounds to judge human rights

… A day before the report's release, the State Department invited several Uighur journalists from Radio Free Asia to its daily briefing and smeared the situation in Xinjiang.

ASSOCIATED PRESS (also in DAILY CALLER)

April 23 “Denuclearization successes around the world

… Shortly before he became Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton told Radio Free Asia that nuclear negotiations with North Korea should be similar to past discussions with Libya, which dismantled its rudimentary nuclear program in the 2000s.

 

UPI

April 20 “Report: North Korea executed six for leaking phone numbers

… North Korea may have also relinquished control over food bonuses, because they are unpopular, according to Radio Free Asia and Japan-based Asia Press.

SCANDASIA

April 20 “Tibetan exile charged with spying denies charges

… In an interview with Radio Free Asia Tibetan Service, he denies all charges.

KHMER TIMES (also in PHNOM PENH POST)

April 19 “Rainsy wants election boycott while Hun Sen touts peace

… The National Election Committee last week warned that anyone calling for a boycott of the upcoming national election would be punished after Mr Rainsy first made the plea during a Radio Free Asia interview.

REUTERS (also in KHMER TIMES, KHMER TIMES, PHNOM PENH POST, XINJUANET)

April 19 “Cambodian journalists charged with espionage denied bail

… The two used to work for the Washington-based Radio Free Asia (RFA), which broadcasts in the Khmer language, and which the government criticised for being biased towards the opposition.

ASSOCIATED PRESS (also in REUTERS, CHINA DIGITAL TIMES, DAILY CALLER, OPEN DEMOCRACY, TRUMPET, WASHINGTON TIMES)

April 18 “US Could Sanction Chinese Officials Over Xinjiang Abuses

… Speaking to reporters in Beijing, Stone said the U.S. was particularly concerned about the detained family members of six journalists — four U.S. citizens and two U.S. permanent residents who have reported on Xinjiang — working for Washington D.C.-based Radio Free Asia.

KOREA IT TIMES

April 18 “Human Rights of Religious Refugees Should Be Protected

… On March 29, 2018, the two scholars claimed that “the human rights of religious refugees should be protected” in an interview with Radio Free Asia (RFA) during their stay in South Korea before the Australia Conference.

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER (also in E! NEWS, DAILY MAIL, BROADWAY WORLD, BENZINGA, LOOKTOTHESTARS)

April 17 “Gracie Awards: Ashley Judd, Issa Rae, Reese Witherspoon Among 2018

The Rohingya: World's Least-Wanted People: Website - News

NK NEWS

April 17 “North Korea modernizing area surrounding Pyongyang airport: KCTV

… Melvin previously wrote in the Korean-language Radio Free Asia that construction at several locations surrounding the airport had been observed as far back as October 2016.

YONHAP (also in CHOSUN ILBO)

April 17 “China releases 30 N. Korean defectors: report

… China has released 30 North Korean defectors who some feared would be forcibly sent back to the reclusive state, Radio Free Asia reported Tuesday, citing a defector who has taken asylum in South Korea.

 

LOWY INSTITUTE

April 17 “Labour Migration as Complementary Pathways for Refugees in the Asia-Pacific

… There are almost 58 000 Rohingyas registered with UNHCR in Malaysia, but it is estimated 90 000 Rohingyas already live in the country. [RADIO FREE ASIA]

DAILY CALLER

April 16 “Mr. Trump: Kim Jong Un’s Migrant Labor Empire Can’t Persist

Radio Free Asia sources announced their findings after weeks of little-to-no developments, aside from Russia and Mongolia (both states notorious for employing North Korean workers), with others, declaring that they’ve expelled all appropriate DPRK personnel in compliance with Res. 2397, for example.

UPI (also in CHOSUN ILBO)

April 16 “North Korea construction resumes as China relations bounce back

… A source in North Korea's North Hamgyong Province told Radio Free Asia the new apartments are being built in the Rason special economic zone, referring to a North Korean city bordering Russia.

KBS

April 14 “UK Foreign Office Renews Travel Advisory on Air Koryo

… Radio Free Asia reports that the British government has renewed its travel alert for its Foreign Office employees using the North Korean carrier Air Koryo.

BUSINESS INSIDER

April 14 “7 surprising things you didn’t know about North Korea

… Known locally as yeoksam, marijuana is grown in such quantity that smugglers sneak it across the border into China for foreign sale, according to Radio Free Asia.

YONHAP NEWS

April 13 U.N. needs $111 mln budget for humanitarian aid to N. Korea this year: report

… The United Nations has said it is in need of a US$111 million budget for humanitarian aid to North Korea this year, Radio Free Asia reported Friday.

DONG-A ILBO

April 13 “U.S.: There is a brighter path if N. Korea chooses denuclearization”

… “I will not go into details regarding internal United States Government preparations, but a comprehensive, whole-of-government effort in support of the President is underway,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State was quoted as saying by U.S. Radio Free Asia.

DAILY STAR

April 13 “Is social media inciting violence in Myanmar?

… In October 2011, then Vice President of the National League for Democracy (NLD), Thura U Tin Oo, in an interview with Radio Free Asia called the Rohingya illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

PHNOM PENH POST

April 12 “Cambodia Daily publisher's defamation trial again deferred

… The Tax Department’s legal team initially said the complaint was filed because Krisher-Steele spoke to Radio Free Asia alleging that the Tax Department had leaked the document and that it was a politically motivated case.

EPOCH TIMES

April 11 “#MeToo Movement Pushes Ahead in China: Professor at Prestigious Peking University Accused of Sexual Assault

… Ms. Li, a college professor in Guangdong Province, told Radio Free Asia (RFA) in an April 9 interview that the Shen scandal reflected the extent of moral corruption in Chinese society and the Party bureaucracy.

UPI

April 11 “U.N.: North Korea art exhibit in UAE could violate sanctions

… Hugh Griffiths, a member of the U.N. Panel of Experts monitoring the U.N. sanctions on North Korea, said there is a high possibility any art sales are violating North Korea sanctions, Radio Free Asia reported Tuesday.

PHNOM PENH POST

April 11 “Election monitor Anfrel rejects allegations of election tampering

… It was published in reaction to an interview on Radio Free Asia with Panha last weekend, where he questioned the legitimacy of the July ballot.

NEW YORK TIMES (also in DEMOCRATIC VOICE OF BURMA, MYANMAR TIMES)

April 11 “Reuters Journalists Will Face Trial for Work in Myanmar

… In a separate case last month, a former child soldier, Aung Ko Htway, was sentenced to two years at hard labor for telling the story of his abduction by the military at age 14 and his forced military service. He did so in an interview with Radio Free Asia.

NEW YORK TIMES (also in HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, DEMOCRATIC VOICE OF BURMA, IRRAWADDY)

April 10 “They Documented a Massacre. Their Prize Is a Prison Cell in Myanmar.

… Last month, a former child soldier, Aung Ko Htway, 27, was sentenced to two years of hard labor after he described in an interview with Radio Free Asia how the military abducted him at 14 and forced him to serve as a soldier for nearly a decade.

PHNOM PENH POST (also in KHMER TIMES, ASIAN CORRESPONENT)

April 9 “NEC criticises calls for July national election boycott

… On Saturday, Rainsy issued a call to Cambodians to stay away from the polls if the Cambodia National Rescue Party were not allowed to contest, and Comfrel head Koul Panha questioned the legitimacy of the July ballot on Thursday while speaking to Radio Free Asia.

 

BUZZFEED NEWS (also in MOTHERBOARD)

April 9 “China Is Forcing People To Download An App That Tells Them To Delete “Dangerous” Photos

… According to new research by a team supported by the Open Technology Fund under Radio Free Asia, the app Jingwang Weishi — which translates to “web cleansing” — records a phone’s identifying information, including its IMEI number, model, phone number, and manufacturer.

NEW YORK TIMES

April 9 “China’s Oppression Reaches Beyond Its Borders

… An outspoken Chinese student at the University of Georgia recently told Radio Free Asia that he had received a call from a Chinese security officer, asking him to inform on other Chinese students and activists.

ASIA CORRESPONDENT (also in PHNOM PENH POST, KHMER TIMES,

April 9 “Cambodian opposition leader calls for election boycott
… Speaking to radio channel Radio Free Asia on Sunday, the former leader of the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) also asked national and international monitoring bodies to “refrain from ‘observing’ an electoral farce with a forgone conclusion.”

 

PHNOM PENH POST

April 9 “Letter attacks election monitor after RFA talk

… Local media outlets have attacked election monitor Koul Panha by publishing a letter to the editor claiming he had attempted to cause chaos during the 2013 and 2017 elections and was attempting to do so again when he spoke to Radio Free Asia last week on the legitimacy of the upcoming July ballot.

KHMER TIMES

April 9 “Sokha’s lawyer denies meeting

… During an interview with Radio Free Asia on Thursday, Mr Sokha’s lawyer Hem Socheat was reported to have said that he met his client in jail the day before, when Mr Sokha asked him to secure negotiations with the ruling CPP for his release from jail on bail.

YONHAP

April 7 “EU adds 21 entities to N. Korea sanctions list: report

… The decision was made Friday (local time) to implement the United Nations' latest expansion of sanctions against North Korea covering 27 vessels, one individual and 21 shipping companies, Radio Free Asia reported, citing an EU spokesman.

BDNEWS24 (also in DHAKA TRIBUNE, STAR ONLINE REPORT)

April 7 “Need more verification time for Rohingya repatriation, says Myanmar minister

… “If the process goes according to the agreement between Bangladesh and Myanmar and if the refugees filled out the forms according to the agreement, it shouldn’t be delayed,” he told Radio Free Asia in an interview.

CHINA DIGITAL TIMES (also in UNPO)

April 6 “U.S. Lawmakers Call for Probe Into Uyghur Detentions

Radio Free Asia, who have been closely covering the long-running crackdown, has reported that family members of staff have been rounded up and sent to the camps, an apparent effort to dissuade the organization’s continued coverage of the region—a tactic that Chinese authorities have used for years.

YONHAP (also in KBS)

April 6 “Britain approves new sanctions on N. Korean ships, firms: report

… Britain has approved a new set of sanctions on North Korea that target ships and companies involved in alleged smuggling activities by the North, Radio Free Asia reported Friday.

UPI (also in DAILY CALLER, KOREA HERALD, EPOCH TIMES, HILL, KOREA TIMES)

April 5 “North Korea workers returning to China, sources say

… Multiple sources at different locations along the China-North Korea border say they have seen new groups of North Koreans, many of them women, arrive at factories, Radio Free Asia reported.


USA TODAY

April 5 “New China worry for Donald Trump: Can U.S. win propaganda war against 'Voice of China'?

… Make no mistake, these are content wars. Using a combination of public diplomacy and new audience architecture, the U.S. could create 24/7 content driven channels (potential investments in Voice of America and Radio Free Asia’s Mandarin services, which deliver fact-based accurate reporting).

WASHINGTON POST (also in FOREIGN POLICY)

April 5 “Congressional leaders urge U.S. to press China over reports of mass Uighur detentions

… The U.S. administration needs to press China harder over the detention of hundreds of thousands of Muslim Uighurs in “political education centers,” including dozens of relatives of reporters working for Radio Free Asia in Washington.

EXPRESS

April 4 “North Korea FUN POLICE: Kim BANS karaoke bars in bizarre crackdown

… A source told Radio Free Asia: “No reason has been given for why they are being closed, so there are rumors going around.

BREITBART

April 4 “Wife of Detained Chinese Lawyer Begins 60-Mile March to Demand Answers

… Radio Free Asia reported on the crackdown ramping up again in March, including the story of a human rights activist who was prevented from picking up her child from school

KHMER TIMES (also in PHNOM PENH POST)

April 4 “Appeal Court upholds detention of two former RFA reporters” and “Detention of RFA reporters upheld

… The Court of Appeal yesterday upheld the lower court’s decision to continue the detention of two former Radio Free Asia reporters who remain jailed on espionage charges for allegedly sending reports to the United States.

FRONTIER MYANMAR (also in PHNOM PENH POST, PHNOM PENH POST, DEUSCHE WELLE, INTERPRETER)

April 4 “The press freedom squeeze

… The paper’s closure followed the shuttering of more than a dozen radio stations, including Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and Voice of Democracy.

KOREA TIMES

April 4 “North Korean woman executed for ax murder ... Can bad economy be blamed?

… A North Korean woman was recently executed for killing her friend with an ax over a small amount of money, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Wednesday.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH (also in PRESS GAZETTE)

April 4 “Vietnam: Drop Charges Against Human Rights Defenders

… Nguyen Van Dai told a reporter at Radio Free Asia that the men dragged him out of the taxi, beat him with wooden sticks on his thighs and shoulders, and then dragged him into their car where the beating continued.

UPI (also in YONHAP)

April 3 “Report: Google is North Korea's No. 1 search engine

… Google is North Korea's search engine of choice, among the few online databases available within the tightly-controlled regime, Radio Free Asia reported Monday.

KHMER TIMES (also in PHNOM PENH POST)

April 2 “Spy claim undermines press freedom: RFA,” “RFA reporters trading spy accusations” and “Former CNRP officials call for royal pardons

…. A spokesman for Radio Free Asia based in Washington on Saturday said that claims made by Prime Minister Hun Sen that a former RFA reporter was a spy for the government were “ridiculous” and aimed at further undermining press freedom in the country.

KOREA TIMES

April 2 “US holds key to peace treaty

…. "They took the heavy oil shipments and yet did not dismantle their nuclear program. There's no way we should give North Korea a peace treaty," he said in an interview with Radio Free Asia last month.

 

UCA NEWS

April 2 “Aung San Suu Kyi dodges Rohingya in anniversary speech

… The Myanmar government, UNDP and UNHCR are planning to sign the memorandum of understanding, according to a Radio Free Asia report on March 30.