Engnews April 2016

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RFA Hosts Banned Film on Murdered Cambodian Rainforest Activist on Website

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 25, 2016 Contact: Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org RFA Hosts Banned Film on Murdered Cambodian Rainforest Activist on Website Documentary's release marks anniversary of Chut Wutty's slaying WASHINGTON - Ahead of World Press Freedom Day, Radio Free Asia <http://www.rfa.org/english/> (RFA) will make available online a recently banned documentary film about the murder of a prominent Cambodian rainforest activist. The makers of "I Am Chut Wutty <https://www.journeyman.tv/film/6541/> " have agreed to allow RFA to post the Cambodian language film on its RFA Khmer website <http://www.rfa.org/khmer/> in perpetuity starting Tuesday, April 26. RFA will also post an English subtitled version for a 24-hour period on April 26 starting at 12:01 a.m. (U.S. EST). Cambodia's government last week refused to grant a license for a screening of the film in Phnom Penh, effectively issuing a ban on its public release. "Chut Wutty's life was cut short but his legacy of fighting to protect Cambodia's rainforests lives on," said Libby Liu, President of RFA. "Cambodian authorities' decision to deny a public screening of this documentary about him and the ongoing struggle only reinforces its relevance. "We are proud to make 'I Am Chut Wutty' available online to RFA's audiences and hope this guarantees its largest possible viewing." Coming four years after the death of community activist Chut Wutty, who was slain in April 2012, the documentary focuses on the longstanding struggle to stop the practice of illegal logging in Cambodia. Wutty had led a group of activists determined to investigate and halt corrupt logging syndicates, which often have ties to the Cambodian military. The rate of deforestation in Cambodia is among the highest in the world, and the devastation to one of Southeast Asia's last remaining wilderness is costly to native indigenous communities who rely on the rainforest's health for their daily livelihoods. The film, directed and produced by Fran Lambrick, features exclusive footage with Wutty in the final months before his death at the hands of a military police officer. RFA's Khmer Service has closely covered <http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/threaten-10132015165540.html> Cambodia's illegal logging trade, which reaps huge profits at the expense of the country's natural resources. Though Cambodia's government has repeatedly claimed <http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/cambodia-forests-04222016152419.ht ml> to crack down on corrupt deforestation, overwhelming evidence persists of this widespread practice. Environmental defenders and communities have struggled to bring attention the rampant rate at which Cambodia's rainforest is being cut down. The trade has also been tied closely to government corruption. RFA's reports <http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/interview-vanishing-forests-042120 16180426.html> also reveal how land concessions have been used as a cover for illegal logging, often as a result of collusion between timber companies and government officials. # # # Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA's broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to "seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Rohit Mahajan | Radio Free Asia | Director of Public Affairs <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org | O: 202.530.4976 | M: 202.489.8021

8 years, 4 months

RSF Index Underscores "Desperate Need" in Asia for Reliable Press: RFA President

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 20, 2016 Contact: Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org RSF Index Underscores "Desperate Need" in Asia for Reliable Press: RFA President Seven of RFA's nine target countries and territories in bottom 10 percent WASHINGTON - Media freedom further declined in Radio Free Asia <http://www.rfa.org/english/> 's broadcast region, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in its 2016 Press Freedom Index <https://rsf.org/en/news/2016-world-press-freedom-index-leaders-paranoid-abo ut-journalists> . Radio Free Asia (RFA) President Libby Liu said the report, which was issued today, underscores a need for objective, unbiased, and independent press in Asian countries with restricted media environments. Seven of RFA's nine language services operate in countries that were ranked in the bottom 10 percent of the survey. "In a year of Hong Kong booksellers being abducted, Burmese newspapers still operating under heavy restrictions, and China's leadership resorting to every means possible to coerce journalists both inside and outside the country, there are few surprises in RSF's index," Liu said. "While this worrisome trend continues, it should not go unheeded. "Despite recent advances in technology and the growth of social media, ruling regimes in Asia continue to impose severe limits on their citizens' access to objective, independent press. Self-censorship also remains on the rise, even in countries with fewer restrictions such as Myanmar and Cambodia. "The report emphasizes the desperate need among RFA's audiences for the accurate, reliable news and information that we provide." Of the 180 countries ranked, RSF's annual survey put North Korea second to last at 179, China at 176, Vietnam at 175, and Laos at 171. Cambodia was ranked 128 and Myanmar at 143. The report cited China's Communist Party taking repression to "new heights" with the detentions of prominent journalists, forced televised confessions, and threats to their family members. Myanmar's overall score declined, with the report noting the limits of recent reforms and measures taken to improve media freedom and safety. Free press also continued to decline in Hong Kong, once considered a bastion of free press, with the buying of the territory's news outlets by Chinese businessmen intent on toeing the mainland government's line. RFA <http://www.rfa.org/about/> provides accurate, fact-based news and information via short- and medium-wave radio, satellite transmissions and television, online through the websites of its nine language services, and social media such as Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/pages/Radio-Free-Asia/31744768821> and YouTube <https://www.youtube.com/user/RFAVideo> , among other widely used platforms in its countries of operation. RFA's language services are Mandarin, Cantonese, Tibetan, and Uyghur, in China; Myanmar; Khmer (Cambodian); Vietnamese; Lao; and Korean. # # # Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA's broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to "seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Rohit Mahajan | Radio Free Asia | Director of Public Affairs <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org | O: 202.530.4976 | M: 202.489.8021

8 years, 4 months

RFA Breaking News: Tanzania Shutters Two North Korean Medical Clinics

by Paul Eckert

Tanzania Shutters Two North Korean Medical Clinics April 19, 2016 - The Tanzanian government has ordered the immediate closure of two North Korean medical clinics operating in the major port city of Dar es Salaam because the facilities used fake medicine, unqualified doctors and ineffective treatments that could actually harm patients. Hamisi Kigwangalla, Tanzania’s deputy minister of health, ordered the immediate closure of the two North Korean clinics located in the city’s Kariakoo and Magomeni wards, after a personal visit to check the clinics’ medical operating conditions on April 15. April 15 also marked the end of a grace period the Tanzanian government issued in January to give the clinics time to correct the problems, many of which were highlighted in a set of investigative reports by RFA’s Korean Service earlier this year. The medical facilities had no business licenses but were accepting patients, while most of the North Korean doctors at the clinic had no work permits, The Guardian , Tanzania’s leading newspaper, reported on April 17th. North Korean personnel initially tried to preempt Kigwangalla’s visit, arguing that their business was a joint operation with Tanzania’s governing party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).) The deputy minister wasn’t buying that argument. “We have already checked with the ruling party, who then denied this claim,” Kigwangalla told the media. “We must take immediate action to this obvious illegal act by shutting it down.” A long list There is a long list of reasons Tanzania wants to shutter the clinics that include: operating without a business license, or work permits, lack of qualifications for the North Korean doctors, unverified treatments, unverified therapeutic apparatus, and the hospitals’ failure to label their drugs and the use of fake or improperly labeled medicine. The Guardian also reported that the North Koreans couldn’t speak the national language, Swahili, and lacked a command of English. A ‘Closed for Business’ sign hung in front of the clinics’ locked doors following Kigwangalla’s visit, a local source in Tanzania told RFA on April 18. The North Korean medical issue was brought to the forefront after reporting by RFA’s Korean service and local media outlets uncovered the conditions at the North Korean clinics in Tanzania. While the RFA stories pointed out the poor conditions under which patients are treated at the North Korean clinics, it also exposed the facilities as a source of hard currency for the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Kim’s cash-strapped government is feeling the pinch of United Nations’ economic and trade sanctions imposed by the U.N. Security Council in response to North Korea’s four nuclear tests since 2006. Pyongyang has responded by sending its citizens abroad to work for hard currency, in jobs ranging from medical workers in Africa to loggers in Russia to construction laborers in the Middle East. Before the shuttering of the two clinics, 13 such facilities in Tanzania, including four in Dar es Salaam, were remitting about $1 million a year to Pyongyang, which takes the lion’s share of North Korean workers’ overseas earnings. Kigwangalla told reporters that the Tanzanian government intended to investigate the other 11 North Korean clinics in the country. Reported by Albert Hong for RFA's Korean Service. Translated by Jackie Yoo. Written in English by Brooks Boliek. View this s tory online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/tanzania-shutters-two-04192016143509.… View the investigative stories at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/special/nkinvestigation/ Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news , information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA ’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org . To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at mahajanr(a)rfa.org .

8 years, 4 months

RFA Breaking News: Chinese Offer Reward for Information on Terrorism, Religion in Xinjiang

by Paul Eckert

Chinese Offer Reward for Information on Terrorism, Religion in Xinjiang April 12, 2016 - Officials in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are offering a cash bounty of up to 5 million yuan (U.S. $774,000) for tips about suspicious activity linked to terrorism or religious extremism, RFA’s Uyghur Service has learned. "The program is a necessary step that corresponds to the reality and development of Xinjiang,” said a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity. While informants can cash in, the amount of money they receive depends on the quality of information they give, local law enforcement officials told RFA. The reward program took effect on April 11, according to authorities, “The reward amount depends on value of information,” A Uyghur police officer based in the Hoten (in Chinese Hetian) Prefecture told RFA. “We report the information they provide to us to the local public security department, which evaluates the value of the information.” The rewards fall into various categories with information about bombs, bombers and bomb making raking in the most cash. “Information about a bombing somewhere, or making bombs, or planning to make bombs for an attack is the most valuable,” another local police officer explained. “The top information will be awarded 5 million yuan.” “This includes the planning stage,” the officer added. “If someone informs us before the attack, the cash reward will increase because that is preventive work.” Not just terrorism While the reward program is linked to terrorist activities, it can also be used to encourage people to talk to officials about religious extremism, according to authorities. “If someone provided us information about illegal religious activity, they can also get the reward,” said another police officer based in the Hoten (in Chinese Hetian) Prefecture. “The information regarding religious schools is also considered valuable information, and the informant also deserves a reward, but the 5 million yuan only goes to the informants who provided information about activity linked to terrorism,” said another police officer. While the main aim of the program is interdicting terrorist activity, the officer said someone has already collected some money for turning in an illegal religious school. Under the program an informant’s identity is confidential. “In our village we rewarded a guy who informed us about an illegal religious school,” the officer said. “We have arrested that school teacher.” When pressed about the arrest, the officer declined to say anything else. Suspicious minds But that type of action is exactly what concerns the human rights activists, who see it as another way for the Chinese government can put pressure on Uyghur society. “We know in the Chinese cultural revolution that a mechanism to award informants existed during that period,” said Uyghur human rights activists Enwer Tohti. “Under this mechanism, everybody spied on each other. If a guest came to your home, the police station near your home knew it within five minutes.” That kind of activity breeds suspicion and undermines the local society, he said. “Under these circumstances, you can't say you have a healthy society,” he said. “At the end of the day, this surveillance mechanism harmed social relationships, the fabric of society, and created a social hypocrisy.” Rights groups accuse the Chinese authorities of heavy-handed rule in Xinjiang, including violent police raids on Uyghur households, restrictions on Islamic practices, and curbs on the culture and language of the Uyghur people. China has vowed to crack down on what it calls the “three evils” of terrorism, separatism, and religious extremism in Xinjiang. But experts outside China say Beijing has exaggerated the threat from Uyghur separatists, and that domestic policies are responsible for an upsurge in violence that has left hundreds dead since 2012. Reported and translated by Jilili Musa for RFA's Uyghur Service. Written in English by Brooks Boliek. View this s tory online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/chinese-offer-reward-04122016164714.… Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news , information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA ’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org . To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at mahajanr(a)rfa.org .

8 years, 4 months

RFA Launches Investigative Series on North Korean Labor Overseas

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 4, 2016 Contact: Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org RFA Launches Investigative Series on North Korean Labor Overseas Venture Is First in a Series of In-Depth Journalistic Projects to Come WASHINGTON - Radio Free Asia <http://www.rfa.org/english/> (RFA) today launched an investigative project "Human Capital: North Korean Workers Abroad Earn Hard Currency for Regime <http://www.rfa.org/english/news/special/nkinvestigation/> ," focusing on North Korea's practice of sending tens of thousands to work in foreign countries. Currency earned overseas benefits the country's ruling regime. The project marks the first of a series of RFA special investigations coming out this year. "With this venture, RFA investigates the consequences of an isolated dictatorship that does little to improve its own people's living standards but profits from sending its work force abroad," said Libby Liu, President of RFA. "RFA looks forward to the launch of more in-depth, ongoing investigations this year. "Investigative projects can greatly benefit our audiences in Asia whose governments and state-controlled media often do little to shed light on the issues and decisions directly affecting their lives." RFA's project, which utilizes on-the-ground reporting in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, begins with two reports on North Korean-run medical clinics in Tanzania. It is estimated that more than 50,000 North Koreans are working overseas. They might be doctors or construction workers but their lives are tightly controlled. These workers also help the Stalinist state skirt UN sanctions by earning billions of dollars' worth of hard currency for the regime. A UN report from last year estimated that the North Korean government earned between 1.2 billion to 2.3 billion USD annually through these forced laborers. The first installment of the series, the two-part feature "Exporting Fakes? North Korean Clinics Hawk Questionable Medical Care to Tanzania," provides an up-close look at the conditions and practices of medical facilities set up and run by North Korean transplants in Dar-es Salaam, Tanzania. RFA found the treatment provided by medical staff is putting the health of Tanzanians at serious risk with improper diagnoses, a major language barrier, and questionable medical practices and ingredients in the prescribed medications. The country is believed to host a total of 12 North Korean clinics, with four opening in Dar-es Salaam since 2009. Future installments of RFA's North Korean overseas labor project will include reports from Kuwait, Cambodia, and Myanmar - all examining the lives, impact, and conditions of North Korean workers in those foreign countries. Some of RFA's special investigative projects to come later this year include: "Between Identity and Integration: "The Uyghur Diaspora in the West"; "Fool's Gold: Government-Run Metals Exchange Defrauds Millions"; "Buying Influence: China's Mission in Cambodia"; and "The Wild West: Gold Mining and its Hazards in Myanmar." # # # Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA's broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to "seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Rohit Mahajan | Radio Free Asia | Director of Public Affairs <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org | O: 202.530.4976 | M: 202.489.8021

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Engnews April 2016