RFA in the News (September 2019)
LA TIMES
Sept. 30 “Opinion: China’s Communist Party is as shadowy and repressive as when it took power 70 years ago”
… “He was a healthy, normal man when he went in there,” Wang’s widow told Radio Free Asia. “When I saw his [dead] body… he was totally unrecognizable.”
GUARDIAN (Also in TAIPEI TIMES, CHINA DIGITAL TIMES)
Sept. 27 “Death of Chinese activist in police custody prompts calls for investigation into torture”
… According to Radio Free Asia, Cao said police pressured her to accept their statement that Wang’s death had been an accident but she refused.
MYANMAR NOW
… In an interview with Radio Free Asia in January, the general manager of the No. 2 Mining Enterprise, Aye Zaw, labelled Tun Tun Win a “stooge” for the company and said he did not have the interests of the country at heart.
NATIONAL REVIEW
Sept. 26 “One Man in China”
… His name was Wang Meiyu, and you can read about him through Radio Free Asia, here.
APN NEWS
Sept. 25 “Bangladesh, Myanmar & China to form tripartite mechanism for Rohingya repatriation”
… According to a report of Radio Free Asia, Mr Suan said that the formation of the working group is not a new mechanism.
WIRED
Sept. 25 “TikTok—Yes, TikTok—Is the Latest Window Into China’s Police State”
… According to a report by Radio Free Asia’s Uyghur service, in 2017 the Xinjiang government introduced a “Uyghur-Han Marriage and Family Incentive Strategy,” which offered 10,000 yuan ($1,400) to Uyghur and Han Chinese couples who intermarried.
AL JAZEERA
Sept. 24 “Laos to go ahead with Luang Prabang dam project despite warnings”
… According to Radio Free Asia, about 4,600 people are expected to be displaced by the dam.
ASEAN TODAY
Sept. 24 “Southeast Asian border demarcation talks carry pledges to coal power and political repression”
… But a source connected to the Lao military told Radio Free Asia that the friction began when “drunk Cambodian soldiers ordered Lao soldiers to withdraw from the conflict area within three days or face military action.
PHNOM PENH POST
Sept. 23 “Rainsy: Return a chance for dialogue, reconciliation”
… In an interview earlier this month with Radio Free Asia, Rainsy said the King was the “puppet” of Hun Sen.
PHNOM PENH POST (Also in ASIA NEWS)
Sept. 23 “Rainsy summoned by court on new defamation charge”
… The charges against Rainsy stem from his interview on Radio Free Asia’s Khmer service on September 12.
ASIA TIMES
Sept. 23 “HK protests will die down, says pro-Beijing body”
… The Hong Kong government and police would continue to isolate the radical protesters who support Hong Kong independence from the moderate ones, but it may take time to achieve that target, Yasuhiro Matsuda, a Japanese professor of international politics at the University of Tokyo, said in an interview with Radio Free Asia.
NEW ZEALAND HERALD (Also in SUN)
Sept. 22 “Chilling video: Chinese police herd hundreds of blindfolded, Muslim prisoners”
… The Chinese Communist Party has previously compared Islam to an "infectious disease", saying in an official recording obtained by Radio Free Asia that "members of the public who have been chosen for re-education have been infected by an ideological illness".
EXPRESS
Sept. 22 “China’s fury: US Senate pass bill to free imprisoned Uyghur minority and impose sanctions”
… A report by the CEO of the US Agency for Global Media regarding efforts to intimidate Radio Free Asia (RFA) employees, the status and reach of US broadcasting to Xinjiang, and analysis of disinformation propaganda by the PRC targeting Uyghur communities globally.
TRICYCLE (Also in ASIA NEWS INTERNATIONAL, FREE PRESS JOURNAL)
Sept. 21 “Democratic and Republican lawmakers unite to protect the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation”
… In a rare instance of bipartisanship, Democratic and Republican representatives recently introduced a new bill threatening sanctions against Chinese officials who interfere with the selection of the reincarnation of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, according to Radio Free Asia.
ASIA NEWS
Sept. 21 “More than 580,000 people affected, at least 28 dead from floods in southern Laos”
… In Salavan province, one of the worst affected, an official from the provincial public works and transport department told Radio Free Asia’s Lao Service that the costs for replacing damaged roads in his province could reach US million.
EPOCH TIMES
Sept. 20 “’Princeling’ Ye Xuanping Passed Away: Chinese Leader Xi Loses an Important Ally”
… According to a Sept. 18 article from Radio Free Asia (RFA), Xi Jinping’s father, Xi Zhongxun (who suffered political persecution during the Cultural Revolution), owed Ye Jianying a big favor, because immediately after the Cultural Revolution ended, Ye helped to redress Xi’s case and restore his political career.
ASIA NEWS
Sept. 20 “Uyghur scholar Ilham Tohti named for Sakharov Prize”
Jewher Ilham, Tohti’s US-based daughter, welcomed the announcement. “I am very gratified,” she told Radio Free Asia’s Uyghur Service, that “my father has not been forgotten.”
AMERICAN MILITARY NEWS
Sept. 19 “China arrests former US Air Force colonel turned FedEx pilot”
… Police have called for the use of live ammunition against violent protesters, according to Radio Free Asia.
WORLD TRIBUNE
Sept. 17 “Report of Huawei’s 3G wireless network in North Korea raises eyebrows”
… In July, Radio Free Asia reported that seven North Korean teenagers were arrested for watching South Korean movies.
KHMER TIMES (Also in PHNOM PENH POST)
Sept. 17 “Sokhas’s supporters slam Rainsy for insulting King”
… Mr Rainsy was charged with lèse-majesté by Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday following comments he made in an interview with Radio Free Asia, in which he insulted the King, whom he referred to as Prime Minister Hun Sen’s hostage.
KHMER TIMES
Sept. 17 “Verdict for RFA duo nears”
Phnom Penh Municipal Court will deliver its verdict in the espionage case against two former Radio Free Asia journalists early next month.
KHMER TIMES (Also in VIETNAM+, PHNOM PENH POST)
Sept. 16 “Court lays fresh defamation charges against Rainsy”
… Speaking to Radio Free Asia on Thursday, Mr Rainsy said: “Our King is the hostage of Hun Sen.”
BITTER WINTER
Sept. 15 “Is it the Beginning of the End of Human Suffering in Xinjiang?”
… While denouncing China’s efforts to intimidate Radio Free Asia (RFA) employees because of their scrupulous and precise reports on the staggering situation in Xinjiang, the bill also pleas the Secretary of State to consider “[…] the establishment of a new position within the Department of State, the United States Special Coordinator for Xinjiang, who will coordinate diplomatic, political, public diplomacy, financial assistance, sanctions, counterterrorism, security resources, and congressional reporting requirements within the United States Government to respond to the gross violations of universally recognized human rights occurring in the Xinjiang region.”
WASHINGTON POST (Also in CHINA DIGITAL TIMES, NATIONAL REVIEW, BUSINESS INSIDER, LA TIMES)
Sept. 14 “A Uighur professor vanished and may be executed. Yet China expects respect.”
… In 2017, Mr. Teyip vanished. According to a dispatch from Radio Free Asia, on March 31, 2017, it was announced to Communist Party officials that he was being replaced as head of the university, and that he had been detained.
YONHAP
Sept. 14 “N. Korea’s imports from Russia almost triple in H1”
… North Korea's imports from Russia reached US$27.23 million in value in the January-June period, compared to $10.98 million in the same period of last year, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported, citing Russian customs data.
KHMER TIMES
Sept. 13 “Sam Rainsy slammed for insulting King”
… In an interview with Radio Free Asia on 12 Sept., Mr Rainsy said: “Our king is the hostage of [Prime Minister] Hun Sen.”
THE WEEK
Sept. 13 “Deals with Thailand, Bangladesh show China’s rise as warship exporter”
… On Thursday, BenarNews, an affiliate of Radio Free Asia, quoted a Bangladeshi official as saying China would help the country build a base for its nascent submarine fleet.
FINANCIAL TIMES
Sept. 12 “Fear and oppression in Xinjiang: China’s war on Uighur culture”
… In Sept. last year, Shohret Hoshur, a Uighur journalist for Radio Free Asia, a non-profit broadcaster based in Washington DC, received an email titled “Cry from the Homeland”.
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Sept. 11 “Prepared Testimony to House Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission”
… In 2017, authorities ordered the closure of 32 FM radio frequencies that aired independent news programs by Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Voice of America.
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
Sept. 11 “Burmese Army Drops Lawsuit Against Kachin Pastor”
… Rev. Samson told Radio Free Asia’s Myanmar Service that he is aware of the court’s ruling, but has yet to receive an official notice that the complaint has been dropped.
TAIWAN NEWS
Sept. 11 “China’s AIDS villages exposed by London play”
… According to Radio Free Asia, the play is based on the true story of “AIDS villages” 24 years ago in Henan Province, when farmers were so poor they had to sell blood for money.
RAPPLER
Sept. 11 “Ko Swe Win on journalism in times of repression”
… Some days, Swe Win and his father would tune in to BBC. On other days, to Voice of America. Sometimes Radio Free Asia.
OUTLOOK INDIA (Also in NEW KERALA, DAIJIWORLD, SOCIALNEWS.XYZ)
Sept. 10 “Nepal deports 6 Tibetans who crossed over to seek asylum”
Nepal deported six Tibetans who had crossed into the Himalayan country to seek asylum and handed them over to Chinese police last week, two witnesses told Radio Free Asia's Tibetan Service.
NK NEWS
Sept. 10 “Friendship group to host Pyongyang blockchain, cryptocurrency conference in 2020”
… Following the first conference held on April 22-23, 2019, the KFA leader claimed to Radio Free Asia (RFA) that it had attracted around 100 participants from abroad and resulted in the forming of relationships with North Koreans in the information technology (IT) sector.
COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS
Sept. 9 “10 Most Censored Countries”
… Radio Free Asia blogger Truong Duy Nhat, known for his critical exposés on the Communist Party, went missing in Thailand in January 2019 amid widespread speculation he was abducted by Vietnamese agents.
FLORIDA DAILY
Sept. 9 “Ted Yoho Doubles Down on His Opposition to Hun Sen in Cambodia”
… U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., was part of a group of congressional leaders who sounded the alarm about freedom of the press in Cambodia last week as two former Radio Free Asia (RFA) journalists are facing charges in that nation.
BANGKOK POST
Sept. 8 “Lao political activist disappears”
… Od Sayavong, 34, vanished on Aug 26 after telling a friend he would be home for dinner, the man's roommate told the Lao Service of Radio Free Asia (RFA) on Friday.
AL JAZEERA
Sept. 7 “Xinjiang: The story China wants the world to forget”
… Radio Free Asia's Uighur service has a track record of breaking news on Xinjiang. It was among the first to present facts and figures to back up rumours of the so-called "vocational training camps".
BUDDHIST DOOR
Sept. 6 “New Images Reveal Extent of Demolitions at Yarchen Gar Buddhist Monastery”
… According to reports from Radio Free Asia (RFA), the latest eviction campaign began in May, mainly targeting sangha residents who had come to Yarchen Gar from outside of Sichuan.
IRRAWADDY
Sept. 6 “Leaving Prison, Ex-Child Soldier Calls for Peace in Myanmar’s Shan State”
… He was rearrested later that year after the military charged him with incitement for telling Radio Free Asia that he had been abused by the authorities during his first trial.
MYANMAR NOW
Sept. 6 “Former Child Soldier Jailed For Media Interview Walks Free After Two Years”
… He was arrested in August 2017 after speaking to Radio Free Asia about his experience of being kidnapped and forced into the military at the age of 14.
KOREA JOONGANG DAILY
Sept. 5 “Korea, Japan talks unlikely at UN”
… According to a schedule obtained by Radio Free Asia (RFA) on Aug. 14 from the UN Secretariat, Moon is slated to speak on Sept. 24, the first day, and Abe on Sept. 26.
WIRED (Also in FORBES, STRAITS TIMES)
Sept. 3 “One Free Press Coalition Spotlights Journalists Under Attack”
… The One Free Press Coalition contains 33 prominent international members including… Radio Free Asia…
SUPCHINA
Sept. 3 “Carrie Lam Denies Wanting To Resign, Despite Saying So On Tape”
… ‘A political activist who was barred from running in elections to Hong Kong’s legislature on political grounds has won an appeal against the administrative decision,’ reports Radio Free Asia.