RFA in the News (November 2020)
FOREIGN POLICY
Nov. 30 “China’s Monster Fishing Fleet”
… So the Chinese could clear out the squid undisturbed, the North Korean navy chased away North Korean fishing vessels from their own traditional fishing grounds, said Peter Oh, a defector from North Korea who monitors the country’s food situation and reports for Radio Free Asia.
BIOMETRIC UPDATE
Nov. 30 “China pilots biometric ID cards to monitor citizens’ online activities”
… The Chinese Communist Party (CPP) has announced that it is looking to put in place a new kind of online digital ID card, which Radio Free Asia says will be used to better check the activities of citizens online.
VOICE OF AMERICA
Nov. 30 “Missing Thai Activist’s Sister Seeks Answers in Cambodia”
… He told Radio Free Asia, “According to our investigation, Wanchalearm left Cambodia in 2017 [and did not return].”
MIDDLE EAST MONITOR
Nov. 27 “Saudi Arabia must free its Uyghur detainees”
… Abduweli told Radio Free Asia that, "A few days before the police came looking for me, a local man came and told me… that my situation was 'problematic'.
EXPRESS
Nov. 27 “Kim Jong-un struggles to enforce rules as North Korea orders nationwide literacy crackdown”
… One official in North Hamgyong province told Radio Free Asia: “On the Central Committee of the Korean Workers’ Party’s instructions, a survey project began nationwide in November to identify residents who do not know the Korean alphabet.
VOICE OF AMERICA
Nov. 27 “Ratanakkiri Court Drops Incitement Charges Against Cambodia Daily Reporters”
… In 2017, The Cambodia Daily was shut down over a contested tax bill and Radio Free Asia closed its Phnom Penh bureau over security concerns and similar tax issues.
ASEAN TODAY
Nov. 27 “Cambodia’s Angkor Wat to see new theme park and resort by casino firm NagaCorp”
… “I am not against development, but any development should be appropriate according to the culture in the area,” Pech Pisey, executive director at Transparency International Cambodia, told Radio Free Asia.
KHMER TIMES
Nov. 26 “PM responds to criticism about not wearing a mask”
… During a meeting at the Peace Palace yesterday, Prime Minister Hun Sen responded to criticism from an unnamed radio station thought to be Radio Free Asia.
CAMBODIA DAILY (Also in MICHIGAN DAILY, JUST SECURITY, ECOTEXTILE)
Nov. 26 “CNRP members face treason trial in Cambodia”
… Ouk Chanthy, wife of CNRP member Yim Sareth, told Radio Free Asia’s Khmer Service she was kicked in the leg during one confrontation, leaving her unable to walk.
ASEAN TODAY
Nov. 24 “Cambodia’s curbs on media, freedom of expression reach alarming levels”
… Radio Free Asia (RFA) closed its Phnom Penh bureau in September 2017, citing an “unprecedented level” of government interference.
MICHIGAN DAILY
… University of Michigan Law School alum Theary Seng cut her hair live on Radio Free Asia this past Thursday.
KOREA HERALD (Also in INQUIRER)
Nov. 23 “[Newsmaker] N. Korea reiterates ‘self-help’ in antivirus effort”
… In October, many displaced North Koreans disputed their success, according to Radio Free Asia.
KOREA HERALD
Nov. 23 “UN expert condemns Seoul for not sponsoring NK human rights resolution”
… “They should have a more vocal and outspoken position with regards to the human rights agenda as it was in the past,” Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, said during a recent interview with Radio Free Asia.
NEW DEHLI TV (Also in REPUBLIC WORLD)
Nov. 23 “Chinese Authorities Detaining Hundreds Of Uyghur Muslim Leaders: Report”
… The detention of imams has created an atmosphere in which Uyghurs are "afraid of dying", as there will be no one to oversee their funeral rites, reported Radio Free Asia.
VOICE OF AMERICA
Nov. 23 “Sister of Missing Thai Activist Searches for Answers in Cambodia”
… He told Radio Free Asia “According to our investigation, Wanchalearm left Cambodia in 2017 [and did not return].”
EXPRESS
Nov. 23 “North Korea chaos: Kim Jong-un releases 7,000 prisoners in bizarre amnesty sparking fury”
… An anonymous source living in North Korea spoke to Radio Free Asia and said: “In response, the provincial party committee gave instructions to the neighbourhood watch units in each district to make local residents take good care of these people."
PHAYUL
Nov. 22 “CTA President makes maiden visit to White House”
… The two-term elected president told Radio Free Asia (RFA) service about the meeting, “I met with representatives from both the President and Vice-President offices.
KHMER TIMES
Nov. 20 “National Assembly responds to US legislators’ call for sanctions“
… “This organisation has long been denounced by many for bias and double-standard application of human right norms, with its reliance on information sources such as the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, which are far from being neutral and independent,” the Assembly added.
ASEAN TODAY
Nov. 19 “Severe storms show how dams, displacement magnify climate impacts in Laos”
… “We are very afraid of landslides because our houses were built at the edge of a high cliff,” one resident told Radio Free Asia.
ASIA TIMES
Nov. 18 “Why China prefers to maintain inflamed borders”
… Radio Free Asia reported a year ago about the arrest of “dozens of ethnic minority Kazakhs for sharing the national anthem of neighboring Kazakhstan.”
WASHINGTON TIMES
Nov. 18 “U.S. Agency for Global Media reports record-breaking audience of 354 million”
… Those networks include the aforementioned Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.
COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS
Nov. 17 “Restoring U.S. Press Freedom Leadership”
… U.S. government-funded media — including Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty — have been a source of credible news and information for people around the world for generations.
GUARDIAN (Also in QUARTZ, TIMES OF LONDON, DAILY MAIL, RECLAIM THE NET)
Nov. 17 “Citizen journalist facing jail in China for Wuhan Covid reporting”
… According to the Radio Free Asia report and CHRD, Zhang has been on hunger strike since September, and one of her defence lawyers had been taken off her case.
POLYGRAPH
Nov. 17 “Chinese FM Hurls Bogus ‘Genocide’ Claim at Canada”
… According to a January report from Radio Free Asia (RFA), authorities ordered Uighurs to “modernize” the interiors of their homes by swapping out ethnic decor with “Sinicized” furniture.
TAIPEI TIMES
Nov. 15 “The Liberty Times Editorial: China is incapable of innovation”
… According to a Radio Free Asia report late last year, Chinese journalists are required to pass a test on the Xuexi Qiangguo (學習強國) — which can be translated in two ways: “learn from Xi to strengthen the nation” or “great power of learning.”
DONG A-ILBO
Nov. 14 “U.S. Senate increases missile defense budget”
… According to Radio Free Asia on Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee set aside 696 billion U.S. dollars as national defense budget in its budgetary appropriation bill for the 2021 fiscal year.
CHRISTIAN POST
Nov. 14 “Muslim mob attacks predominantly Christian village in Bangladesh”
… The attack took place on Jan. 27 by machete-wielding Muslim Rohingya men on a Christian community, Radio Free Asia reported.
MYANMAR TIMES
Nov 13 “Week in Review: Myanmar govt to seek talks with armed groups”
… USDP leader U Than Htay, in an interview with Radio Free Asia Burmese, said the elction was unfair and his party had ordered candidates not to sign off on their losses.
VOICE OF AMERICA
Nov. 12 “Cambodian Journalist Sentenced to 18 Months for Criticizing Hun Sen”
… Also, two former Radio Free Asia reporters were charged with espionage and two former Cambodia Daily reporters are awaiting trial for alleged incitement over a 2017 election story.
DAILY MAIL (Also in NEW YORK POST, EXPRESS, DAILY STAR, BREITBART)
… 'At the beginning of this month, the Central Committee ordered residents to actively participate in solving our food crisis this year as part of a food-saving struggle,' a source told Radio Free Asia, a US government-sponsored outlet.
FOREIGN POLICY
Nov. 10 “Why Did the United States Take China’s Word on Supposed Uighur Terrorists?”
… Mahsum and a handful of his followers fled to Pakistan, from where he called Radio Free Asia’s Uighur service in January 2002 to condemn the 9/11 attacks and to deny that his group had been assisted by either al Qaeda or the Taliban.
STANDARD
Nov 10 “Life's good in Hong Kong for some of us”
… It was Biden who arranged funding for Radio Free Asia, the "news" outlet which this year told the world that China dealt with Covid by burning ill people alive in secret crematoriums.
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
Nov 10 “North Korea maintains silence on U.S. presidential election”
… The regime has tested 12,072 people by Oct. 29 with no positive results, according to Edwin Salvador, the WHO representative to North Korea, Radio Free Asia reported Monday.
VOICE OF AMERICA
Nov. 10 “Cambodia Demolishes Second U.S.-Built Facility at Ream Naval Base”
… “It needs to move to the new place that there is no need to keep it [at Ream] that the facilities will be utilized for developments at the Ream Naval Base,” Tea Banh told Radio Free Asia.
DAILY NK
Nov. 10 “Storm Corps trooper killed in landmine explosion on border with China”
… Quoting a source in North Korea, Radio Free Asia reported on Oct. 27 that the authorities have moved to landmine the Sino-North Korean border, leading to a significant increase in tension among locals on the border.
EXPRESS
Nov. 9 “Really, Kim? 'Chain-smoking' despot MOCKED after bizarre new North Korean law introduced”
…One resident of North Pyongan province, in the country’s northwest, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the US-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) website many people were "dumbfounded" by the news.
UCA NEWS
Nov 7 “Religious hate intensifies ahead of Myanmar election”
… The USDP denied it was spreading the hate speech and NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt told Radio Free Asia that his party was on the receiving end of racial attacks and hate speech.
BIG NEWS NETWORK (Also in YAHOO, ANTIWAR)
Nov. 7 “China opposes US' move to remove ETIM from terrorist outfit list”
…. "I hereby revoke the designation of the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement, also known as ETIM, as a 'terrorist organization,'" the order reads, as quoted by Radio Free Asia.
POLITICO
Nov. 5 “It’s official: China will face a divided America”
… In an interview published Monday, former CCP official Bao Tong told Radio Free Asia the document makes clear "the core," i.e. Xi Jinping, "will dictate everything."
GLOBAL VOICES
Nov. 4 “How YouTube helped a Hong Kong protester become a Trump supporter”
Her YouTube recommendations include news reports from the Epoch Times, Voice of Hope, and Radio Free Asia (RFA).
UCA NEWS
Nov. 4 “Voiceless of Asia”
… Bao Choy is accused of traffic violations related to a vehicle used in making a documentary about a mob attack last year at a train station. Radio Free Asia reports in this YouTube video.
UCA NEWS
Nov. 4 “US condemns Hong Kong arrests of pan-democrats”
… Former LegCo member Emily Lau told Radio Free Asia that legislation protecting LegCo privileges was originally intended as a protection for the right to free speech in the chamber.
ASEAN TODAY (Also in BUDDHIST DOOR, TRICYCLE)
Nov. 4 “Fugitive Buddhist extremist monk surrenders to Myanmar authorities days before election”
… “We think he must have planned to give himself up at a critical time like this,” NLD spokesman Monywa Aung Shin told Radio Free Asia, adding that the monk was “attempting to complicate the situation in the elections.”
KBS WORLD RADIO
Nov. 4 “RFA: UN Resolution on N. Korea's Human Rights Does Not Mention S. Korean Official's Death”
… Radio Free Asia (RFA) says there is no direct mention of the killing of a South Korean fisheries official by North Korean soldiers in a resolution on the North’s human rights which will be submitted at the UN General Assembly.
KOREA HERALD (Also in HANKYOREH, KBS WORLD RADIO)
Nov. 3 “N. Korea repeats claim of zero COVID-19 infection: WHO”
… It looks like additional testing kits have also come in,” Park Kee-bum, a lecturer on global health and social medicine at Harvard Medical School, told Radio Free Asia on Monday.
KOREA HERALD (Also in KBS WORLD RADIO)
Nov. 3 “Former US commander says S. Korea does not need extra missile defense”
… South Korea would need no extra American anti-missile defense against North Korea because the existing ones would work in tandem with other missile networks in place, former US Forces Korea Commander Gen. Vincent Brooks told Radio Free Asia on Monday.
NEWSWEEK
Nov. 2 “US Asia Allies Japan, South Korea Build Better China Ties Despite Concerns”
… The State Department quickly rebutted the remarks, commenting on how the U.S. was "proud" of its longtime alliance with South Korea in a statement delivered to the Korean language service of Radio Free Asia, a U.S. government-funded service.
LOWY INSTITUTE
Nov. 2 “Digital Authoritarianism, China And Covid”
… Although Dr Ai confirmed in a later interview with Radio Free Asia on 14 April that she was safe, rights groups remain concerned that these reassurances were made under pressure from Chinese authorities.
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH (Also in VOICE OF AMERICA)
Nov. 2 “Cambodia’s Government Should Stop Silencing Journalists, Media Outlets”
… Two former Radio Free Asia (RFA) journalists, Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin, still face fabricated espionage charges based on unsubstantiated allegations that they had conspired with a foreign government
PHAYUL
Nov. 1 “Opinion: I am Tibetan and I voted for Joe Biden”
… Further, Biden will support the Tibetan people by “expanding Tibetan language services at Radio Free Asia and Voice of America to get information from the outside world into Tibet.”
