RFA in the News (February 2018)

2018-03-20

FOREIGN POLICY (also in ANI)

Feb. 28 “A Summer Vacation in China’s Muslim Gulag

… While Chinese officials maintain that these re-education camps are schools for eradicating extremism, teaching Chinese language, and promoting correct political thought, Radio Free Asia has reported that the detention centers are overpopulated and detainees poorly treated.

WASHINGTON POST (also in COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALIST, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL)

Feb. 28 “China detains relatives of U.S. reporters in apparent punishment for Xinjiang coverage

… “We’re very concerned about the well-being and safety of our journalists’ family members, especially those in need of medical treatment,” said Rohit Mahajan, director of public affairs at Radio Free Asia in Washington.

IRRAWADDY

Feb. 27 “Judge Rejects Evidence in Myanmar Now Editor's Defamation Case

… The court did accept evidence from Kyaw Myo Shwe at a hearing earlier this month, including paper records and a recording of a Radio Free Asia broadcast of a press conference Swe Win gave about U Wirathu.

ASIA TIMES

Feb. 27 “Cambodia, Laos losing the last of their trees

… According to a Radio Free Asia report, the three had confiscated chainsaws and motorcycles from eight illegal loggers in a wildlife sanctuary near the Vietnamese border in Cambodia’s Mondulkiri province.

TIME

Feb. 26 “Cambodia’s Ruling Party Just Held Senate Elections. It Won Every Seat

… The ruling party also rescinded the licenses of over a dozen independent radio stations, cutting off broadcasters Radio Free Asia (RFA), Voice of America, and Voice of Democracy, and shuttering the English-language newspaper The Cambodia Daily.

PHNOM PENH POST

Feb. 26 “Cambodian media under threat: report

… The report highlights recent developments like the shuttering of English-language newspaper Cambodia Daily, the closure ofRadio Free Asia, the case of the so-called “Adhoc 5” and the forced dissolution of the country’s only viable opposition, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, and the imprisonment of its leader Kem Sokha.

DAILY CALLER

Feb. 23 “What Not Earning A Single Medal Could Mean For North Korean Athletes

… According to Radio Free Asia, players on the North Korean soccer team never heard the end of it about their poor performance.

KBS WORLD

Feb. 23 “RFA: Ivanka Has no Plan to Meet Blacklisted N. Korean Official

… A press official at the White House reportedly confirmed on Thursday that Ivanka has no plan to meet with the North's chief delegate, Kim Yong-chol, when asked by Radio Free Asia (RFA).

PHNOM PENH POST (also in MEDIA WEEK, NATIONAL ONE NEWS, SPLICE NEWSROOM)

Feb. 22 “Cambodia perceived as most corrupt in Asean for third year in a row

… Last year, two Radio Free Asia journalists and an independent filmmaker were arrested on "espionage" charges, the fiercely independent Cambodia Daily newspaper was forced to close after being slapped with a $6.3 million tax bill and more than a dozen independent radio stations were taken off the air.

UPI

Feb. 22 “Nauert: North Korea's Kim Yong Chol should visit warship memorial

… Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., said he felt positive about any communication between the two Koreas, Radio Free Asia reported Thursday.

DIPLOMAT

Feb. 22 “Is China Hiding Information About Tibet's Jokhang Temple Fire?

… But one anonymous source told Radio Free Asia that “yellow draperies had been newly hung behind the temple’s central image, the famous Jowo statue of the Buddha brought to Tibet in the seventh century by the Chinese bride of the Tibetan emperor Songtsen Gampo” and “no one was allowed to go up to the second floor of the temple.”

PHNOM PENH POST

Feb. 22 “Cambodia perceived as most corrupt in Asean for third year in a row

… Last year, two Radio Free Asia journalists and an independent filmmaker were arrested on "espionage" charges, the fiercely independent Cambodia Daily newspaper was forced to close after being slapped with a $6.3 million tax bill and more than a dozen independent radio stations were taken off the air.

PHNOM PENH POST

Feb. 22 “Post ranks among Cambodia's most independent, unbiased media outlets: survey

… Other highly ranked outlets that have either been shuttered or had their journalism "severely disrupted" include Voice of America (2), Voice of Democracy (2.4) and Radio Free Asia (2.4).

FOX NEWS (also in DAILY CALLER)

Feb. 21 “Kim Jong Un's hard currency expected to run dry by October, South Korean lawmaker says

… Two Chinese sources with ties to top North Korean government officials said in late January that Kim has nearly exhausted his slush fund because of his desire to conduct missile and nuclear tests, Radio Free Asia reported.

ASIA TIMES

Feb. 21 “‘Enforcer’ Wang could be let loose on US to quell trade dispute

… “Wang’s political resurgence could help [President] Xi serve another term,” Xie Xuanjun, a China scholar based in New York, told Radio Free Asia.

PHNOM PENH POST

Feb. 21 “‘Relief’ after Kem Ley’s family complete fraught trip to Australia

… “I am so excited and thankful for our Cambodian-Australian [community] for helping us to reach this safe and democratic country,” Rachana said in a live Radio Free Asia broadcast from Australia late last night.

ASIAN CORRESPONDENT

Feb. 21 “Human rights ‘desert’: An interview with North Korean defector Kim Hyeong Soo

… The second thing is I was able to have access to a radio and have access to the outside world. The most popular channels are all from America, especially Radio Free Asia and Voice of America. Had I not had the radio, I would not have known anything about the outside world, so those are the two biggest things that motivated me.

DIPLOMAT

Feb. 20 “Will Vietnam’s Communist Party Ever Change Its Ways?

… I draw your attention to an interview she gave Radio Free Asia last year about her newest book, Politics For All, which unfortunately has yet to be given an English translation.

ASIAN CORRESPONDENT (also in CHANNEL NEWS ASIA, PHNOM PENH POST, AUSTRALIAN, BUZZFEED NEWS)

Feb. 20 “Cambodian free press ‘in ruins’, says Reporters Without Borders

… RSF also highlighted the forced closure of some 21 local radio stations as well as Radio Free Asia broadcasts for supposedly “not requesting permission to broadcast external programs”

BLOOMBERG VIEW

Feb. 19 “President Trump, I'm Russian and I'm Not Laughing

… Writing in the Christian Science Monitor in 1982, Daniel Southerland -- who would go on to become executive editor of U.S. government-funded Radio Free Asia -- called President Ronald Reagan's claim that Soviet secret agents were sent to the U.S. to foster the American nuclear freeze movement "an embarrassment for his administration

EPOCH TIMES (also in NEWSMAX)

Feb. 19 “North Korean Athletes Face Grim Prospect of Punishment, Imprisonment For Failing to Win

… Soccer players were reprimanded for losing all three of their matches, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported, citing “knowledgeable sources.”

PHNOM PENH POST

Feb. 19 “More CNRM activists targeted

… Sia Phearum could not be reached yesterday but spoke to Radio Free Asia last night, saying he rejected the accusations that the movement was illegal.

UPI

Feb. 18 “North Korea likely to seek weakening of global sanctions amid fuel crisis

… With four rounds of United Nations Security Council sanctions introduced last year and Washington's ongoing campaign to impose maximum pressure on Pyongyang, Radio Free Asia reported Sunday that the North is grappling with a deteriorating fuel crisis.

NK WORLD

Feb. 17 “Fire breaks out at Tibetan Buddhist temple

… Footage believed to have been posted on Twitter by US government-backed Radio Free Asia shows the upper part of the temple engulfed in red flames, and water being sprayed from a distance.

NATIONAL INTEREST

Feb. 16 “Want to Take on North Korea? Engage Its People.”

… Researchers estimate that some 30 percent of North Koreans regularly listen to foreign radio broadcasts, a mix of U.S. (Voice of America/Radio Free Asia), South Korean and Chinese programing.

DIPLOMAT

Feb. 16 “Why the Laos Wage Hike Debate Matters

…Quoting Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vice President Valy Vetsaphong, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported business in Laos is likely to advocate for a two-year implementation period on a minimum wage no higher than 1 million kip a month.

MYANMAR TIMES (also in DVB)

Feb. 15 “Former child soldier gets six months’ jail for contempt

… He was re-arrested and prosecuted on August 10 last year, eight days after his interview with Radio Free Asia (RFA) news was broadcast.

PHNOM PENH POST (also in in IFEX, THAI PBS, KHMER TIMES, CCIM)

Feb. 15 “Cambodian journalists start petition to free ex-RFA reporters charged with espionage

… authorities later said they were being investigated for setting up a studio for the US-funded RFA, which the pair has denied.

NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW

Feb. 14 “Enemies of the state -- why the press in Southeast Asia is under attack

… "The actions of the Hun Sen government make abundantly clear why 'surrogate' broadcasters like RFA are needed," Libby Liu, the president of RFA, told the Nikkei Asian Review.

PHNOM PENH POST

Feb. 14 “Government unit publishes 132-page treatise on threat of ‘colour revolution’

… The book also criticises media outlets Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, Voice of Democracy and Beehive Radio for exaggerating events “in order to poison the social environment”, and accuses civil society organisations like Licadho, Adhoc, the National Democracy Institute, Transparency International, Comfrel and Nicfec of being allies of the opposition.

JAMESTOWN

Feb. 13 “The Xi Jinping Faction Dominates Regional Appointments After the 19th Party Congress

… This followed Xi Thought’s insertion into the CCP Constitution at the 19th Party Congress in October (People’s Daily, January 24; Radio Free Asia, January 19).

REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS (also in KHMER TIMES, PHNOM PENH POST)

Feb. 13 “RSF publishes report on media freedom under attack in Cambodia

… Imprisoned since 14 November on espionage charges, former Radio Free Asia reporters Oun Chhin and Yeang Sothearin are above all the collateral victims of the offensive that Hun Sen has waged against the independent media for the past six months in order to pave the way for general elections in July.

BIOMETRIC UPDATE

Feb. 12 “U.S. Senator expresses concerns to Thermo Fisher Scientific over DNA sequencer sales to China

… The Executive Director of the Washington-based Uyghur Human Rights Project, Omer Kanat, told Radio Free Asia that he is encouraged by Rubio’s engagement with the issue, and called for “an effort to make sure that there is accountability for American companies who provide the means for the Chinese government to engage in rights violations.”

NANJINGER

Feb. 10 “Nanjing Journalist On Trial for Picking Quarrels

… Nanjing journalist Sun Lin, who goes by the name Jie Mu online, has appeared in a Nanjing court on charges of “incitement to subvert state power”, says a source close to him and reported by Radio Free Asia (RFA).

TRAFFIC

Feb. 9 “Thai seizure of a dozen captive tigers resurrects farming threat

… Radio Free Asia, quoting a provincial wildlife official who had spoken to the RFA’s Lao Service on condition of anonymity, reported the possibility that the dead animals had come from Tiger farms somewhere in the province.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Feb. 9 “Malaysia: Don’t Send 11 Detainees to China

… Radio Free Asia reported in December 2012 that friends and a relative of 11 Uyghurs deported to China from Malaysia in August 2011 said that they were subsequently imprisoned for “separatism.”

WASHINGTON POST (also in ALIRAN)

Feb. 8 “Ahead of Olympics, Iran and South Korea spar over Samsung phones and sanctions

… Radio Free Asia reported during the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics that although the country's delegation was given phones, North Korea's Olympic committee had refused to distribute them to athletes.

MONGABAY

Feb. 8 “Vietnamese activist gets 14-year sentence for documenting chemical spill

… Repercussions from the 2016 spill are still being felt. Late last month about 100 residents from central Vietnam’s Quang Binh Province, most of them fishers, held several days of protests over slow and inadequate compensation for livelihoods lost due to the spill, according to Radio Free Asia.

HONG KONG FREE PRESS

Feb. 8 “Chinese court says employers should not treat workers differently based on gender identity

… The court ruled on the appeal in recent days and the verdict was released on Sunday, according to US-backed Radio Free Asia.

ARIRANG

Feb. 8 “South Korea requests UN to lift travel ban on North Korean official for PyeongChang Olympics

… There seems to have been help from the U.S. with State Department spokesperson Katina Adams telling Radio Free Asiaearlier that they would help gain approval.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Feb. 8 “Vietnam: End Repression Against Religious Activists

… Local police beat several people, Bui Van Trung told a reporter at Radio Free Asia.

HONG KONG FREE PRESS

Feb. 7 “Lawyer urges medical parole for detained Chinese Umbrella Movement supporter Ji Sizun

… Another Fujian rights activist, Lin Yingqiang, told US-backed Radio Free Asia that the authorities may not grant Ji’s parole because he had influence within the Fujian community of petitioners and activists.

YONHAP

Feb. 7 “(Olympics) Pro-Pyongyang body's cheering squad not allowed to join N.K. cheerleaders: report

... An official at the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, known as Chongryon, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia that Chongryon asked the South Korean government to make seating arrangements at the ceremony for its cheering group to sit together with the North's cheerleaders, but the South Korean government rejected the request.

PHNOM PENH POST (also in ABC ONLINE, STRAIT TIMES)

Feb. 7 “Jailed filmmaker’s emails to Rainsy raise more questions about spying claims

… Two Radio Free Asia journalists have also been arrested on “espionage” charges in recent months after their outlet was forced to shutter its in-country operations.

REPUBLICAN STANDARD

Feb. 6 “Kissinger Says Chance For ‘Pre-Emptive Attack Is Strong’ On North Korea

… According to a report from Radio Free Asia (RFA) there is an atmosphere of anti-China sentiment throughout the streets of Pyongyang after new sanctions were imposed by the United Nations (UN).

SOUTHEAST ASIA GLOBE

Feb. 6 “Rohingya crisis poses risk to regional security, warns UN rights chief

… “It is sometimes said that today’s human rights violations will become tomorrow’s conflicts. If the Rohingya crisis were to spark a broader conflict based on religious identities, the ensuing disputes could be a cause for great alarm,” Radio Free Asiareported Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein as saying.

AL JAZEERA

Feb. 5 “Cambodia: Media blackout by design

… "We report the truth and the truth really hurts the government," according to Vuthy Huot, Khmer service deputy director ofRadio Free Asia.

CHOSUN ILBO (also in GLOBALTIMES)

Feb. 5 “China Strengthens Missile Defense Near N.Korean Border

… China is preparing for a potential war on the Korean Peninsula by reinforcing missile defenses near the border with North Korea, Radio Free Asia reported Friday.

NEWS LENS (also in EAST ASIA FORUM, NEWSWEEK)

Feb. 5 “Has Cambodia's Democracy Come to an End?

… Newspapers and radio used to be relatively free, but between August and September 2017 independent radio stations,Radio Free Asia’s Phnom Penh office and the newspaper The Cambodia Daily were forced to close.”

HONG KONG FREE PRESS

Feb. 5 “Chinese anti-censorship activist Zhen Jianghua denied access to lawyer

… He was taken from his home in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on September 1 last year on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power,” according to US-backed Radio Free Asia.

CNN MEDIA (also in WASHIGNTON POST, QUARTZ, AFP)

Feb. 3 “YouTube to start labeling videos posted by state-funded media

… In an example on the YouTube blog, a video from Radio Free Asia -- which is funded by the US' agency, the Broadcasting Board of Governors -- includes a note with an information symbol under the video but right above the title.

WHITE HOUSE BREIFING (also in NEW DELHI TIMES)

Feb. 2 “Remarks by President Trump in Meeting with North Korean Defectors

… MR. JUNG: This is Peter (inaudible) from Radio Free Asia, a broadcast supported by the U.S. government.

SUP CHINA (podcast from 48:00 to 48:50)

Feb. 1 “Gerry Shih on China’s Uyghur Muslims, under pressure at home and abroad

… “In my own experience, I have personally confirmed that the reports that RFA has put out. I think that RFA, I don’t doubt the accuracy of the reporting. I don’t think that it’s fake news.”

NEW YORK TIMES

Feb. 1 “What It’s Like to Live in a Surveillance State

… According to Radio Free Asia, a county official and a police officer in southern Xinjiang were instructed by superiors to lock up 40 percent of the local Uighur population.

BUSINESS INSIDER AUSTRALIA

Feb. 1 “Former US intelligence chief reveals North Korea's 'kryptonite' -- and it could topple Kim Jong Un without a shot

… To combat the Soviet Union and its state-controlled media, the US took a similar step by setting up Radio Free Europe andRadio Free Asia during the Cold War.

FOX

Feb. 1 “North Korea pushing 'vanity projects' as Olympics near, despite suffering in Kim Jong Un's regime

Email

… Due to Kim Jong Un’s extravagant spending, the slush fund from his father, Kim Jong Il, is running out,” a source told Radio Free Asia.