Radio Free Asia

Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a private, non-profit news organization, operating under a grant from the BBG, broadcasting daily in nine languages to listeners in Asia whose governments restrict media. RFA broadcasts accurate and timely news and information, along with a range of voices and opinions from within Asia, to demonstrate freedom of expression over the airwaves and online.

RFA focuses on news and features of unique and specific relevance to its target areas. Through shortwave, medium wave, satellite transmissions and the Internet, RFA broadcasts in Mandarin, Cantonese, Uyghur, three dialects of Tibetan, Burmese, Vietnamese, Korean, Lao, and Khmer. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., RFA has seven overseas bureaus and a vast network of stringers around the world. Call-in programs and multimedia websites provide listeners and readers with a forum in which they can express views and exchange ideas.

Following strict journalistic standards of objectivity, integrity and balance, RFA serves as a model for its target countries’ emerging journalistic traditions. Reaching Asian listeners from all social strata and maintaining credibility are RFA’s top priorities. RFA’s breaking news coverage has been singled out as authoritative by major media including The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, AFP, NHK, and numerous others. ”

Fast Facts

• Employees: 265
• FY2009 Budget: $37.4 million
• Weekly Hours Broadcast: 301
• Languages: 9

2010 Highlights

• With the naming of imprisoned Chinese democracy activist Liu Xiaobo as the winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, RFA’s Mandarin service covered Chinese reactions including the house arrest of Liu’s wife, as well as travel restrictions on Liu’s attorney, and Chinese rights lawyers and activists in the months ahead of the December ceremony.
• The Tibetan Service provided in-depth reporting on the incident where Chinese police fired on a group of Tibetan environmental protesters and killed four in Sichuan province. RFA reports led to China’s official news agency Xinhua acknowledging the clash but said that police had fired warning shots and that a stray bullet had “accidentally” killed the protest leader.
• The Uyghur Service broke the story of Laos deporting a family who fled China after the ethnic riots last year, raising concerns of Uyghur asylum seekers forced to return home where they likely face arrest and persecution.
• The Cantonese Service broke the news that a nuclear power plant near Hong Kong had leaked radioactive iodine from an improperly sealed fuel rod. RFA’s report led to a change in policy regarding the notification of incidents at the Daya Bay plant.
• The Nobel Peace Prize medal and diploma on an empty chair representing Nobel Peace Prize
• laureate Liu Xiaobo after a ceremony honoring Liu at City Hall in Oslo, Norway, Friday Dec. 10, 2010
• In July, the Korean Service broke the news worldwide about a poster in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang that suggests the dictatorship, despite public claims otherwise, was taking responsibility for the sinking of a South Korean navy ship, the Cheonan.
• The Burmese Service began offering its listeners the opportunity to engage freed political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi on a weekly basis. The radio forum allows listeners to ask her questions on any subject of their choice.
• The Vietnamese Service reported on how police and thugs in Con Dau beat scores of Catholic parishioners and killed one man in order to stop them from burying a woman in the local Catholic cemetery. The government had confiscated the land two weeks earlier to use for tourism development.
• The Khmer Service reported on what Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen called the greatest tragedy since the Khmer Rouge–a stampede that broke out on the final night of the annual Water Festival killing hundreds and injuring many more. RFA’s reporters worked around-the-clock to produce programs live from the scene for the next several days.
• The Lao Service reported on the ethnic minority Hmong who were deported to Laos against their will in December and wanted to go to a third country. Lao authorities had initially promised some would be allowed to leave Laos after returning, but later reneged on that promise.

 Awards

• The Society of Environmental Journalists awarded RFA First Prize for Outstanding Online Reporting on the Environment for its 2010 multimedia series “The Last Untamed River.” RFA’s investigative reporting on the Mekong River was reported in English and adapted into seven Asian languages.
• RFA won the American Women in Radio & Television’s Gracie Allen Award in 2010 for its multimedia Web page devoted the struggle and plight of Uyghur women.
• Reporters from RFA’s Vietnamese Service and Burmese Service won gold and bronze medals respectively at this year’s New York Festivals for entries that explored the issue of human trafficking in Asia.

2009 Highlights

• During the July Uyghur demonstration, RFA closely covered events in China’s northwestern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and throughout the mainland. RFA broke the news about the Guangdong factory riot that led to the protests. Despite the media blackout enforced by Chinese authorities, RFA continued to provide solid eyewitness news coverage cited by The Associated Press, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and South China Morning Post.”
• In June the Mandarin Service covered the 20th anniversary of the crackdown of protesters in Tiananmen Square with interviews of survivors and multimedia images and exclusive video online. RFA covered the one-year anniversary of the deadly Sichuan earthquake and questions that remain, as parents of the children who died in a shoddily constructed school building attempt to bring their case before a Chinese court of law.
• In June, the Cantonese Service reported on clashes between Han and ethnic minority Uyghur workers at a dormitory of a Hong Kong-owned factory in Shaoguan, Guangdong, resulting in the deaths of two Uyghurs and detention of hundreds of others. The service produced an exclusive series on child kidnapping in the region.
• The Tibetan Service continued to break news with several stories on ongoing protests and unrest in Tibet, including resistance to Chinese officials’ attempts to organize Tibetan New Year celebrations.
• The Burmese Service provided extensive coverage of the trial of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest. RFA interviewed her lawyer, U Kyi Win, whose request for the trial to be open to the public was denied.
• The Korean Service aired an ongoing series of stories about official corruption in connection with the sale and export of North Korea’s mineral resources. They reported extensively on Pyongyang’s missile testing, and recent efforts to strengthen military ties with Burma’s military junta.
• The Vietnamese Service reported on the reaction of the arrest of human rights activist Le Cong Dinh. Coverage of the ongoing dispute between the state and the Catholic Church was reproduced on blogs inside Vietnam with video from citizen reporters.
• In April, the Khmer Service began webcasts of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal along with extended broadcast coverage. The service also reported on the Cambodian government’s ongoing campaign of legal intimidation against the country’s journalists.
• Throughout the year, the Lao Service reported on Thai plans to forcibly repatriate 5,000 Hmong refugees back to Laos. RFA’s reporting included the May pullout of Doctors Without Borders from Huay Nam Khao camp and the swift Thai military operation that emptied the camp.
• In addition to the RFA YouTube channel, all RFA services now have branded Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. RFA introduced cell-phone ready feeds for the Mandarin and Korean services and launched a special, comprehensive video series on the Mekong River ahead of the World Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen.

Awards

• The Society of Environmental Journalists awarded RFA First Prize for Outstanding Online Reporting on the Environment for its 2010 multimedia series “The Last Untamed River.” RFA’s investigative reporting on the Mekong River was reported in English and adapted into seven Asian languages.
• RFA won the American Women in Radio & Television’s Gracie Allen Award in 2010 for its multimedia Web page devoted to the struggle and plight of Uyghur women.
• Reporters from RFA’s Vietnamese Service and Burmese Service won gold and bronze medals respectively at this year’s New York Festivals for entries that explored the issue of human trafficking in Asia.
• The jury of the 2009 New York Festivals voted RFA ‘Broadcaster of the Year.’ RFA won an unprecedented seven medals for journalistic excellence. Four of Radio Free Asia’s nine language services won top honors for excellence in journalism in the international competition, which included three gold, one silver, and three bronze medals.

For more information about RFA, click here.