Engnews April 2018

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A Year 'Like No Other': RFA President Responds to RSF Press Freedom Index

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 25, 2018 Contact: Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org A Year 'Like No Other': RFA President Decries 'Unprecedented' Crackdown on Independent Voices in Asia Rise of Authoritarianism, China Model Undercuts Asian Press Freedom in RSF's Index WASHINGTON - The media environment in <http://www.rfa.org/english/> Radio Free Asia's broadcast region is showing dramatic decline, according to the Reporters Without Borders <https://rsf.org/en> (RSF) 2018 Press Freedom Index <https://rsf.org/fr/classement> . And this is particularly true in Cambodia and Burma - countries for which press freedom hopes have eroded over the past year. The report <https://rsf.org/fr/classement-mondial-de-la-liberte-de-la-presse-2018-la-ha ine-du-journalisme-menace-les-democraties> especially cites China's model of media suppression, which has been exported to and duplicated by many countries under authoritarian rule in Asia. "The past year up to now has been like no other for RFA," RFA President Libby Liu said. "Authoritarian strongmen in Asia - who rule countries to which RFA broadcasts - have shown little, if any, restraint in targeting RFA journalists and sources, as well as their families and loved ones. "More countries have adopted China's censorship model, which has led to unprecedented efforts to attack and jail reporters and citizen journalists, and crush all forms of dissent. "RSF is absolutely correct in noting the dramatic fall in Cambodia. There two former RFA reporters - Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin - have been jailed for almost six months on trumped-up charges that are clearly related to their past connection with our organization. And this is after the Cambodian government forced the closure of RFA's bureau in Phnom Penh just after last year's communal elections and before national polls this summer. "Six of RFA's Uyghur reporters still have family members missing or detained in re-education camps in China. Authorities have given no word of these individuals' whereabouts, let alone their well-being or if they're receiving the medical care they need. "In Vietnam, former RFA contractor Nguyen Van Hoa and RFA contributors such as blogger Mother Mushroom and Nguyen have all received harsh, long jail sentences." RSF's annual survey is especially critical of Cambodia, which fell 10 places in the Index to 142nd, one of the biggest falls in the region. The report cites Prime Minister Hun Sen's "ruthless offensive against media freedom in 2017, shutting down more than 30 independent media outlets and jailing several journalists in a completely arbitrary manner." RSF says the documented crackdown in Cambodia on "independent voices," the government's "increased dominance of the mass media," and the "meticulous control of social media" are a "disturbing echo of the methods used in China," which has invested heavily in Cambodia's pro-government mouthpiece media. China meanwhile is described in the report as becoming a "contemporary version of totalitarianism," citing Xi Jinping's steps to establish a "new world media order under its influence." In Vietnam, people who blog about banned subjects can expect a 15-year jail term. Of the 180 countries ranked, RSF put North Korea dead last, China at 176; Vietnam, 175; and Laos, 170 - consistent with the 2017 index. Cambodia dropped 10 places to the 142nd spot and Myanmar to 137, dropping six places from last year's index. The report also cited other 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. <http://www.rfa.org/about/> RFA 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 <https://www.facebook.com/pages/Radio-Free-Asia/31744768821> Facebook and <https://www.youtube.com/user/RFAVideo> YouTube, 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

6 years, 8 months

Radio Free Asia's Rebel Pepper e-Book Wins Major Award

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 24, 2018 Contact: Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org Radio Free Asia's Rebel Pepper e-Book Wins Prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award WASHINGTON - Radio Free Asia <https://www.rfa.org/english/> (RFA) was announced as a winner of a Sigma Delta Chi award for " <https://www.rfa.org/english/bookshelf> Drawing Fire: The Political Cartoons of Rebel Pepper" by the Society of Professional Journalists <https://www.spj.org/> (SPJ) in the international competition's new category of best e-book. RFA's e-book collects the work of resident political cartoonist and Chinese dissident Wang Liming, who goes by the pen name of "Rebel Pepper." The collection was released <https://www.rfa.org/about/releases/politicalcartoonist-ebook-12132017115827 .html> last December and includes a selection of Wang's drawings tackling issues from North Korean nuclear provocations to Cambodian political machinations to the Rohingya humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, among others. "Rebel Pepper's political cartoons show the power of humor and satire as tools of free expression," said Bay Fang, RFA's Executive Editor, who edited the e-book. "This collection is especially resonant with RFA's audiences in countries under authoritarian rule that restrict free speech and free press. "Radio Free Asia is honored to accept this prestigious award for our e-book that shows the amazing breadth of Rebel's work." In his native China, Wang's success in giving expression to the thoughts of his thousands of followers on both taboo subjects and everyday experiences drew the wrath of the Chinese Communist Party. In 2014, Wang was forced to leave his homeland, finding haven first in Japan before settling in Washington, D.C. Throughout his journey he continued to hone his craft, challenging Chinese state-controlled narratives and expanding his graphic editorials for RFA. "Drawing Fire" includes 50 of Wang's cartoons, in which he shapes nuanced geopolitical complexities into sharp and relatable pieces of visual art. Wang's cartoons have appeared in the Japanese edition of Newsweek, Index of Censorship, and China Digital Times, among other publications. He began working for RFA in June 2017. Other notable winners <https://twitter.com/spj_tweets/status/988475924466237440> of this year's Sigma Delta Chi Awards include reporters, columnists, and designers with the Associated Press, ProPublica, NPR, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Center for Investigative Reporting, Politico, and the Intercept, among others. # # # 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

6 years, 8 months

RFA Breaking News: Xinjiang Authorities Detain Uyghur Pro Footballer For ‘Visiting Foreign Countries’

by Paul Eckert

Xinjiang Authorities Detain Uyghur Pro Footballer For ‘Visiting Foreign Countries’ April 13, 2018 - Authorities in northwest China’s Xinjiang region have detained 19-year-old Uyghur Erfan Hezim—a former member of China’s national youth football team—in a “political re-education camp” for “visiting foreign countries” after he traveled abroad to train and take part in matches, according to local sources. Hezim, also known by his Chinese name Ye Erfan, is a top soccer forward in the Chinese Super League who began playing professionally at the age of 15, and in July last year inked a five-year contract with Jiangsu Suning F.C. Two months ago, during winter break, Hezim returned home to visit his parents in Dorbiljin (in Chinese, Emin) county, in Xinjiang’s Tarbaghatay (Tacheng) prefecture, and was detained by police while visiting a market in the county seat, an official from the Dorbijin Police Central Command told RFA’s Uyghur Service. “Erfan Hezim was detained by officers from the Dorbiljin Market Police Station,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Currently, he is being detained at the Jiaochu township reeducation center. He was detained two months ago for visiting foreign countries.” An officer who answered the phone at the Dorbiljin Market Police Station told RFA he “can’t say where Hezim is currently being held,” and referred further inquiries back to the Dorbijin Police Central Command. A neighbor of Hezim’s parents confirmed to RFA that he had been detained and said his family was in shock. “They have not been able to see Erfan once over the past two months,” the neighbor said, adding that as an only child, his detention had been particularly hard on Hezim’s mother. “Erfan’s mother is ill. She has been crying nonstop for the past two months since Erfan was detained. She is losing herself—she cries and murmurs, so it is difficult to know what she is saying.” A Jiangsu Suning F.C. supporter told RFA that Hezim had visited Spain from Jan. 10-30 and Dubai from Feb. 3-15, adding that his travel was “not for personal reasons, but for training and match purposes.” Since April 2017, Uyghurs accused of harboring “strong religious views” and “politically incorrect” views have been jailed or detained in re-education camps throughout Xinjiang, where members of the ethnic group have long complained of pervasive discrimination, religious repression, and cultural suppression under Chinese rule. Official announcements have stated that those who are sent to the camps include former prisoners, suspects and anyone who has travelled overseas, and say the camps will “cleanse” them of ideology that endangers state security. Last month, sources told RFA that authorities in Ili Kazakh (Yili Hasake) Autonomous prefecture, where Tarbaghatay prefecture is located, have added “interest in travel abroad” to the list of reasons they are detaining Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region’s vast network of re-education camps and prisons. Call for information Reports of Hezim’s detention emerged as the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress (WUC) exile group issued a call for information about “disappearances or arbitrary detentions of Uyghurs” in Xinjiang’s re-education camps. In a statement issued on Thursday, the WUC said it is creating a list bearing the names, dates of birth, city of residence, and dates and circumstances of detention, of individuals held in the camps, which it plans to submit to various institutions of the European Union, and “demand that the EU take action to push for their immediate release.” China's central government authorities have not publicly acknowledged the existence of re-education camps in Xinjiang, and the number of inmates kept in each facility remains a closely guarded secret, but local officials in many parts of Xinjiang have in RFA telephone interviews forthrightly described sending significant numbers of Uyghurs to the camps and even described overcrowding in some facilities. Maya Wang of the New York-based Human Rights Watch told The Guardian in January that estimates of Xinjiang residents who had spent time in the camps went as high as 800,000, while at least one Uyghur exile group estimates that up to 1 million Uyghurs have been detained throughout the region since April 2017, and some activists say nearly every Uyghur household has been affected by the campaign. Earlier this month, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio and U.S. Representative Chris Smith—the chair and co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China—called on U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad to visit Xinjiang and gather information on senior officials responsible for the mass surveillance and detention of Uyghurs to determine whether Washington should level sanctions against them. In a letter to the Ambassador, the lawmakers called the camp network in Xinjiang “the largest mass incarceration of a minority population in the world today.” Since Xinjiang party chief Chen Quanguo was appointed to his post in August 2016, he has initiated unprecedented repressive measures against the Uyghur people and ideological purges against so-called “two-faced” Uyghur officials—a term applied by the government to Uyghurs who do not willingly follow directives and exhibit signs of “disloyalty.” China regularly conducts “strike hard” campaigns in Xinjiang, including police raids on Uyghur households, restrictions on Islamic practices, and curbs on the culture and language of the Uyghur people, including videos and other material. While China blames some Uyghurs for "terrorist" attacks, experts outside China say Beijing has exaggerated the threat from the Uyghurs and that repressive domestic policies are responsible for an upsurge in violence there that has left hundreds dead since 2009. Reported by RFA’s Uyghur Service. Translated by RFA's Uyghur Service. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. View this s tory online at: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/footballer-04132018162312.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 .

6 years, 9 months

Radio Free Asia Burmese Child Soldier Profile Wins at New York Festivals

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 11, 2018 Contact: Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org Radio Free Asia Interview with Burmese Child Soldier Wins at New York Festivals As with jailed Reuters reporters, Aung Ko Htway's treatment a "worrisome" sign of press freedom in Myanmar: RFA President WASHINGTON - Radio Free Asia <https://www.rfa.org/english/> (RFA) last night won at the 2018 New York Festivals TV <http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/tvfilm/> & Film Awards for its television profile piece titled, "Child Solider Recalls his Plight <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7qxDV7z_OY> ." The short documentary by RFA's Burmese Service was awarded a bronze medal in the biography/profiles category. Released last August, it follows former child soldier, Aung Ko Htway, as he describes his abduction and forced conscription for nearly 10 years. Following the interview's airing, Aung Ko Htway was arrested and charged defaming the military. He was sentenced in March <https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/abduction-03282018135909.html> to two year's hard labor. "Aung Ko Htway was robbed of his childhood," said Libby Liu, President of RFA. "Now, after speaking with RFA, he is being severely punished once again. "This award underscores not only his tragic past as a forcibly conscripted child soldier, but also Aung Ko Htway's unconscionable current situation and the increasingly worrisome state of press freedom in Myanmar. "Like Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, the reporters from Reuters who are being tried, this brave individual courageously shared a difficult story knowing that it needed to be told and is paying a terrible price for it." Myanmar's armed forces and some of the country's ethnic armed groups have long recruited and trafficked children to serve as soldiers, particularly in conflict-prone areas in the borderlands. Military recruiters often snatch children under the pretext that they have committed a minor or nonexistent offense and tell them they must serve in the army or go to jail. Children are forced to undergo training in often harsh or inhumane conditions and are routinely subjected to physical abuse by military personnel. Radio Free Asia's Burmese Service produced an in-depth and personal look into the experience of these child soldiers, telling the gut-wrenching story of Aung Ko Htway, who was abducted when he was 14, forced to serve in the Myanmar army, and sentenced to prison for a crime he didn't commit. Twelve years after his ordeal began, he was sentenced on March 28 <https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/04/02/myanmar-quash-conviction-former-child-s oldier> under Section 505(b) of the country's Penal Code, pertaining to making, publishing, or circulating information that may cause public fear or alarm and incite people to commit offenses against the state or disturb public tranquility. Just this month, legal troubles for Aung Ko Htway have continued to mount, with <http://www.dvb.no/news/union-seal-law-charge-latest-legal-battle-ex-child-s oldier-supporters/80496> additional charges being brought forward by authorities. The award was presented during a ceremony in Las Vegas. Other winners <http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/winners/2018/index.php> announced at the 2018 New York Festivals included CNN, PBS, ABC, Al Jazeera, National Geographic, and RFA sister network, Voice of America. # # # 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

6 years, 9 months

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Engnews April 2018