Twenty-eight years on, RFA’s journalism thrives despite rising challenges to press freedom
Photo: RFA

Twenty-eight years on, RFA’s journalism thrives despite rising challenges to press freedom

2024-09-27

WASHINGTON—This Sunday marks the 28th anniversary of Radio Free Asia (RFA), when its first Mandarin language broadcast was heard by audiences in China on Sept. 29, 1996. Twenty-eight years later, as the media industry faces increasingly oppressive media laws and government-led crackdowns on independent press, RFA President and CEO Bay Fang emphasized the organization’s resilience. RFA journalists consistently rise to meet these challenges in Asia, the Pacific, and globally through its Mandarin digital brand 歪脑 | WHYNOT.

 

“Since our founding nearly three decades ago, RFA has continually adapted to meet the needs of its audiences living in challenging media environments,” Fang said. “This year, new draconian legislation in Hong Kong forced us to close our local bureau for the safety of our staff. Globally, a similar wave of threats to the press led to the sentencing of two RFA contributors in Vietnam, and the unrelenting transnational repression of RFA reporters around the world. 

 

“This alarming trend, while creating setbacks, underscores the urgent need for RFA’s journalism in Asia and elsewhere. I am proud of our reporters and the resilience they demonstrate, every day, to overcome incredible odds in pursuit of RFA’s mission.”

 

As Hong Kong’s Beijing-imposed security law stifles the city’s once-vibrant local media, RFA Cantonese has transitioned to employing an exile journalism model. The service continues to deliver consequential reporting on the region, while documenting the global Hong Kong exile movement, and has seen its digital audiences rebound since the closing of RFA’s Kong Kong bureau in March 2024.

 

Across RFA, journalists and contributors face growing threats to their safety as a result of their vital work. Just this month, longtime RFA Vietnamese blogger Nguyen Vu Binh was sentenced to seven years in prison on propaganda charges under Article 117 of the Vietnamese penal code. He joins four other RFA Vietnamese journalists currently imprisoned in Vietnam. In Cambodia, two RFA Khmer contributors remain stuck in legal limbo. Meanwhile, dozens of family members of RFA’s Uyghur staff in China are incommunicado, detained, or imprisoned. Other RFA journalists, including freelance contributor Su Yutong and RFA Tibetan Senior Editor Tashi Wangchuk, have experienced transnational repression and relentless harassment. 

 

Despite these pervasive threats, RFA and its online brands 歪脑 | WHYNOT and BenarNews continue to inform and connect with audiences globally. Our reporting earned widespread acclaim in 2024, winning prizes including a National Murrow Award, a Gracie Award, and two AAJA awards, among others. We were frequently cited in news outlets such as The Guardian, BBC, Newsweek, and The Diplomat, while our Pacific coverage through digital brand BenarNews has been reprinted and cited in local media from Fiji to Papua New Guinea to New Zealand. 

 

In today’s digital media environment, where lies and misleading narratives can spread instantly, RFA’s Asia Fact Check Lab plays a key role in combatting disinformation. It contributed critical fact-checking work in the lead up to Taiwan’s January presidential elections. RFA’s digital brand BenarNews’ leading coverage of the civil unrest in Bangladesh filled an information vacuum amid internet blackouts. Additionally, RFA’s Investigative Team published an exclusive look at a U.S. citizen accused of working for Chinese intelligence. Other highlights include RFA Tibetan’s exclusive reporting on protests against a massive dam project in Sichuan province, RFA Korean’s reporting that Hamas fighters were using weapons sourced from North Korea, and RFA Uyghur’s coverage of UN authorities' neglect of jailed Uyghurs in Thailand.

 

This week, commemorating its 28th anniversary, RFA hosted an in-person celebration at its D.C. headquarters– its largest since 2019. In those five years, staff has nearly doubled in size as RFA has expanded its coverage into the Pacific Island countries and the South China Sea while launching new initiatives that meet the demands of today’s evolving information environment. RFA’s growth has prioritized innovation and evolution in the newsroom, while maintaining its enduring commitment to the truth.