Engnews April 2017

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RSF's Index Stresses Threats to Journalists in Asia, Audiences' Need for Free Press

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 26, 2017 Contact: Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org RSF's Index Stresses Threats against Journalists in Asia, Audiences' Need for Free Press Seven of RFA's nine services target countries and territories in bottom 10 percent WASHINGTON - The media environment in Radio Free Asia <http://www.rfa.org/english/> 's broadcast region further declined, according to Reporters Without Borders's 2017 Press Freedom Index <https://rsf.org/en/2017-world-press-freedom-index-tipping-point> . Radio Free Asia (RFA) President Libby Liu said the report's findings underscore the importance of RFA's mission in countries that censor and restrict access to independent, reliable news and information. Seven of RFA's nine language services operate in countries that were ranked in the bottom 10 percent of the survey, with North Korea ranked dead last, and China and Vietnam named the world's biggest jailers of bloggers and journalists. "In a year when RFA journalists and their sources have been subject to threats and intimidation, RSF's Index verifies what we have seen on the ground as conditions only worsen," Liu said. "With Vietnam arresting bloggers and citizen journalists, including an RFA videographer who remains in jail; Cambodian authorities targeting our Khmer Service as its reporters cover the coming elections; and Beijing aggressively cracking down on independent media in Hong Kong, RFA continues to witness an increased aggressive stance by governments seeking to silence independent voices. "These findings underscore the crucial need among RFA's audiences living under authoritarian rule for the honest, objective, and unbiased news that we work hard to provide." Of the 180 countries ranked, RSF's annual survey put North Korea last, China at 176, Vietnam at 175, and Laos at 170. Cambodia was ranked 132, dropping four places from last year, and Myanmar at 131. The report cited continued worsening trends in Asia. China now has more than 100 bloggers and journalists detained as President Xi Jinping has stepped up efforts to retain complete control over internal news coverage. Authorities in Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, and China actively police and punish social media users for posting and discussing "sensitive" topics. And news outlets in Cambodia, including RFA, face threats for publicizing the views of government critics, especially after the July 2016 assassination of well-known analyst Kem Ley - a frequent guest on RFA's programs. RSF also reported on media freedoms in Hong Kong (which slipped four places), once a bastion for free press, to continue to decline with Chinese mainlanders purchasing Hong Kong media companies and reporters' greater exposure to violence by "Chinese Communist Party henchmen." 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; Burmese; 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 and Digital Strategy <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org | O: 202.530.4976 | M: 202.489.8021

8 years

RFA Breaking News: North Koreans Overcome Border Guards in Bold Escape to China

by Paul Eckert

North Koreans Overcome Border Guards in Bold Escape to China April 21, 2017 - Seven North Koreans from three families overpowered border guards and seized their weapons in a dramatic escape across the Tumen River to China on April 15, multiple sources inside the North told RFA’s Korean Service. The defectors were from a small village in Musan County, North Hamgyong Province near the Chinese border and their escape took place as North Korea was marking the 105 th birthday of the late North Korean founder Kim Il Sung amid heightened security for the national holiday. “On April 15, the late Kim Il Sung’s birthday, three family units of Musan County beat the border guards and defected. As this incident happened during the special security week, the Border Guard and law enforcement agencies were put on high alert,” one source in North Hamgyong Province told RFA on April 18. “The defectors were a total of seven from the three family units who resided in Dosori village in Musan County,” the source added. “The law enforcement agencies believe the defectors had no choice but to attack the border guards and steal their weapons when they were in danger of being caught by the approaching guards,” said the source. It was not clear if any guards were injured and the whereabouts of the seven escapees is unknown. A second source in North Hamgyong Province reached by RFA on April 20 added details on the events of April 15, whose repercussions are being felt all along the North’s long border with China. “During the escape process, three adults in the families ambushed and muzzled two patrolling guards before tying them securely to trees, and then seized their automatic rifles, removed the magazines and threw them into the (Tumen) river,” the second source said. “Dozens of border guards stationed in Musan County were mobilized the next day, the afternoon of April 16 to dive into icy cold Tumen River to search for the magazines, but failed to find them up to now,” added that source. “Right after the incident happened, the People’s Security Department and the Border Guards headquarters in Musan County prohibited the movement of county residents, and at the same time informed China of the incident, dispatching an investigative team over on the Chinese side of the border in an effort to arrest the seven defectors,” the source said. When asked about the incident by RFA on April 21, a Chinese embassy official in Washington said only: “I do not know." Both of RFA’s sources in North Hamgyong said Saturday’s dramatic escape took place against the backdrop of tighter state controls on border guards. Guards used to take bribes to turn a blind eye on defections into China, but now face stern punishments for allowing escapes, including public execution. The tighter security, “coupled with the spreading rumors of a nuclear war, have made lots of residents determined to defect solo, without the border guards’ help, as they feel they might die helplessly. This kind of thinking among the residents affected the incident involving the seven family members,” said the second Hamgyong source. Reported by Jieun Kim and translated by Changsop Pyon. Written in English by Changsop Pyon and Paul Eckert. View this s tory online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/china-border-04212017155720.html 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 .

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Engnews April 2017