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by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 29, 2021 Contact : Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 | [ mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org | mahajanr(a)rfa.org ] RFA Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary To commemorate the milestone, RFA is holding a virtual event on Burma and media freedom, starting at 9:30 am U.S. ET. (Register [ https://www.eventbrite.com/e/burma-journalisms-power-and-peril-an-rfa-25th-… | HERE ] ) WASHINGTON - Today marks the 25th anniversary of [ https://www.rfa.org/english/ | Radio Free Asia ] (RFA), when its first Mandarin-language program aired on this day in 1996. RFA’s incisive brand of journalism since its inception has led to some of the most consequential stories from U.S-funded media. It was the first news outlet to inform the world about the creation of a prison state for Uyghurs in China’s Far West, the first to confirm the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi during Burma’s military’s coup, and exposed the Chinese government’s cover-up of COVID-19 fatalities last year in Wuhan, among other pivotal developments. RFA President Bay Fang said: “Today we celebrate Radio Free Asia’s 25th anniversary. On this day in 1996, our inaugural Mandarin broadcast broke through the airwaves to listeners in China. In the years since, we’ve witnessed sweeping changes in history and technology, recasting how we connect, how we see each other, and how we share information. “But we’ve also witnessed fragmentation, the sophisticated spread of disinformation, and a decline in media freedom around the world -- as authoritarian regimes and other malign actors have changed and adapted with the times. “This makes RFA’s incisive brand of journalism ever more important for the millions who count on us. We bring accountability. We bring answers. We empower our audiences.” Today, RFA helps an estimated weekly audience of 59.8 million people access uncensored, independent news, information, and cultural programming otherwise ignored or blocked by governments hostile to a free press. Adding eight language services over the years -- Tibetan, Korean, Burmese, Vietnamese, Khmer, Lao, Cantonese and Uyghur -- RFA today serves audiences in China, North Korea, and Southeast Asia -- regions ranked among the [ https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-and-media/2019/media-freedom-downwa… | world’s worst media environments ] . Launched in recent years, RFA online affiliates [ https://www.benarnews.org/english | BenarNews ] and [ https://www.wainao.me/ | WHYNOT/WAINAO ] expand its reach to populations in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, as well as the younger Chinese-speaking global diaspora. On social media, RFA and its brands have more than 30 million followers/fans and its video content has been viewed 2.8 billion times this fiscal year (FY ’21) alone. RFA’s work has earned widespread acclaim and recognition. Its exclusive reporting is frequently cited by BBC, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Atlantic, VICE News , FOX News, The South China Morning Post , Bangkok Post , and CNN, among many other global, local, and regional outlets. RFA has earned many honors, including National Murrow Awards, Gracies, and Hong Kong Human Rights Awards, and others from the Society of Professional Journalists, Alliance for Women in Media, Amnesty International, Hong Kong Journalists Association, and the New York Festivals for its reporting on the Rohingya, COVID-19, the Uyghur internment camps, and China’s media censorship, among other key topics. Due to the difficult media environments in which RFA operates and the sensitive nature of RFA’s work, its journalists often face [ https://www.rfa.org/about/releases/rfa-president-calls-for-justice-for-jour… | serious risks ] . At present, current and former contributors and journalists are imprisoned in Vietnam and Cambodia, while dozens of RFA Uyghur journalists’ China-based family members are missing, detained, and jailed. Bipartisan legislation commemorating RFA’s 25th anniversary and its accomplishments is being introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in the coming days. # # # 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 United States Agency for Global Media. Rohit Mahajan Vice President of Communications and External Relations Radio Free Asia

3 years, 3 months

BenarNews -- an RFA Affiliate -- Wins Murrow Award for COVID Report

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : Aug. 17, 2021 Contact : Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 | [ mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org | mahajanr(a)rfa.org ] [ https://www.rfa.org/about/releases/benarnews-an-rfa-affiliate-wins-murrow-a… | BenarNews -- an RFA Affiliate -- Wins Murrow Award for COVID Report ] WASHINGTON – Radio Free Asia (RFA) online affiliate [ https://www.benarnews.org/english | BenarNews ] today was named a National Murrow Award winner by the [ https://www.rtdna.org/ | Radio Television Digital News Association ] (RTDNA) for its incisive journalism on the impact of COVID-19 in Bangladesh -- one of the pandemic’s hardest-hit countries. BenarNews’ “ [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1NMyHZHVpc | Bangladeshi volunteers help bury 'abandoned' COVID dead ] ” won in the international juried competition’s category for Small Digital News Organization. “ For millions with little or no access to uncensored local news, RFA-affiliate BenarNews is a crucial conduit for reliable, timely information ,” said Bay Fang, RFA President. “ This award is a testament to the vital role of responsible journalism, especially for those around the globe struggling through the nightmare scenario of a deadly pandemic .” " BenarNews Bengali has done outstanding work highlighting the heroism of regular people during a crisis. Their compassion and their courage amid the pandemic’s uncertainty are front and center in this report, for which our journalists deserve full credit, " said BenarNews Managing Editor Kate Beddall. BenarNews’ video was filmed in June 2020, shortly after the Bengali government reopened the economy and mosques after a two-month nationwide lock-down. While putting their own lives at risk, volunteers transported hundreds of bodies to burial sites, sometimes travelling hundreds of miles to ancestral homes to honor the deceased. BenarNews used Skype interviews and amateur footage to provide intimate coverage of people on the frontlines of the pandemic. It provided a platform for them to tell their own stories, too, inviting them to submit their own video while coaching them on respecting the privacy of people around them. At the time, Bangladesh had nearly 100,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 1,200 confirmed deaths. Today those numbers exceed 1.4 million and 24,000 respectively. Despite its critical coverage, BenarNews’s website remains blocked by Bengali authorities since April 2020, when the government [ https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/bengali/bangladesh-media-04022020173… | clamped down ] on the free-flow of information amid the pandemic. BenarNews provides audiences in Southeast and South Asia with credible news, in context and clearly explained, about security, politics, geopolitics and human rights. With home pages in Bengali, Thai, Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia and English, BenarNews focuses on the big picture, cross-border issues, and topics that are censored or overlooked. This year, RFA joins NPR, ABC News, and CBS News Radio among others, as winners of the 2021 National Murrow Awards. # # # 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 United States Agency for Global Media. Rohit Mahajan Vice President of Communications and External Relations Radio Free Asia

3 years, 5 months

RFA Names New Executive Editor Following Retirement of Veteran Journalist

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : July 14, 2021 Contact : Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 | mahajanr(a)rfa.org RFA Names New Executive Editor, Managing Editor Following Retirement of Veteran Journalist WASHINGTON -- [ http://rfa.org/ | Radio Free Asia ] (RFA)’s President Bay Fang has named Min Mitchell to the post of Executive Editor following the retirement of head of editorial and programming Parameswaran Ponnudurai. Mitchell will oversee RFA’s company-wide editorial operations, including its nine language services and online affiliate [ https://www.benarnews.org/ | BenarNews ] , which together serve the populations of 11 countries in Asia. Nadia Tsao, formerly RFA Mandarin Director, will replace Mitchell as the Managing Editor for East Asia. “Radio Free Asia’s incisive brand of journalism is powered by the incredible work and bravery of its reporters. Min Mitchell and Nadia Tsao are two longtime journalists who understand that implicitly,” said Fang. “Min’s proven editorial leadership and strategic vision will be key to RFA’s success, as we look to the future on our 25th anniversary year. Nadia has been pivotal in RFA Mandarin’s coverage on Hong Kong and reshaping the service’s programming to meet audience needs. I commend Param for his tireless service and dedication that have helped raise RFA to new levels of journalistic excellence during his tenure. We at RFA wish Param the best for his well-deserved retirement.” “For 25 years, Radio Free Asia’s independent and trusted reporting has been essential to bring to light so many critical but underreported stories in China, Burma, North Korea, and throughout Asia,” Mitchell said. “It is a great honor to lead the newsrooms of RFA and BenarNews, whose journalists continually set a high standard of courage, dedication, and excellence in search of the truth.” “As a journalist working in Taiwan and the United States for 35 years, I deeply appreciate the power of credible, independent journalism to empower audiences,” Tsao said. “I am honored by this opportunity. For people in China and North Korea, and Asian countries under authoritarian rule, RFA is needed more than ever.” Mitchell was hired by RFA in February 2017 as Managing Director for East Asia. Under her leadership, RFA's East Asia services have led coverage on the mass detention of Uyghurs, the dismantling of freedoms in Hong Kong, and abuses of the Kim Jong Un regime. They have also won numerous awards, including two [ https://www.rfa.org/about/awards/murrow_award-06182019124513.html | National ] [ https://www.rfa.org/about/awards/rfa-national-murrow-award-10132020172739.h… | Murrow Awards ] . Mitchell recently shepherded the creation of RFA’s innovative new digital news magazine, [ https://www.wainao.me/ | Wainao | WhyNot ] , which aims to engage younger Mandarin speakers around the world in an open, informed dialogue on banned and censored topics in the Chinese information space. Prior to joining RFA, Mitchell covered U.S. politics and global affairs in Washington and New York for several major Chinese-language news organizations, including Taiwan Television, where she served as the organization’s D.C. bureau chief and one of the network's leading news anchors. Nadia Tsao, who has served as the head of RFA’s Mandarin Service since 2018, will replace Mitchell as the Managing Editor for East Asia, with editorial responsibility for the Mandarin, Cantonese, Uyghur, Tibetan and Korean Services. Before joining RFA, Tsao was the Washington Bureau Chief for The Liberty Times of Taiwan and a contributor to the Voice of America. Ponnudurai, whose career in journalism began in 1974, first joined RFA as its English News Director in 2010, before being promoted to its head of editorial and programming operations. Param also served as Acting President of the organization for periods in 2019 and 2020. He was previously a journalist with Agence-France Presse (AFP) for 20 years, serving in various senior roles in Asia and Washington, DC, where he covered the State Department and White House. He was honored with France’s Chevalier of the National Order of Merit for journalism in 2002. This year RFA celebrates its 25th anniversary, as its first news broadcast to people in China aired at the end of September 1996. # # # 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 United States Agency for Global Media. Rohit Mahajan Vice President of Communications and External Relations Radio Free Asia

3 years, 6 months

RFA Cantonese/Khmer/English Investigative Feature: Wanted Chinese Kingpin Owns Casino With Cambodian Senator's Son-in-Law

by Paul Eckert

Wanted Chinese Kingpin Owns Casino With Cambodian Senator's Son-in-Law June 23, 2021 - Political connections in Cambodia have allowed a major Chinese fugitive to elude jail while building a business empire, an investigation by RFA has found. Xu Aimin was sentenced to 10 years in a Chinese prison in 2013 for masterminding an illicit international gambling ring with an estimated turnover of $1.75 billion. Rather than do the time for his crime he has instead spent the last eight years building an immense Cambodian business empire, including, ironically enough, a capacious casino in the port city of Sihanoukville. The financially savvy fugitive owes both his commercial success and liberty to high-level political connections in Phnom Penh. Those connections are perhaps best illustrated in a photo posted to the Facebook page of the Royal Gendarmerie of Cambodia, or Military Police. At the center of the photo, taken in December 2018 at the Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital in Phnom Penh, are 2,000 hundred-dollar bills, bundled together on a silver plate, which is being received by the hospital’s then-CEO Peter Struder. Flanking Struder and handing him the plate are Xu, with a weathered face and brown suit, and a markedly more fresh-faced Rithy Samnang. Known simply as “Tek” by his friends, Samnang is the son-in-law of ruling party senator Kok An, who made his fortune during the 1990s in the cigarette and casino businesses. Standing next to Xu is another entrepreneurial Chinese émigré, Su Zhongjian, who counts among his business partners Try Pheap, a U.S.-sanctioned timber tycoon and confidant of Prime Minister Hun Sen. Together, Xu, Samnang and Zhongjian are the owners of the KB Hotel & Casino in Sihanoukville and RSX Investment Co. Ltd. Presiding over the donation is national Military Police Commander Sao Sokha. A Wanted Man Just eight years earlier, Xu’s billion-dollar gambling racket in China had run into problems. The center of the action was Jingzhou, a city on the banks of the Yangtze River in Hubei province, best known for its 1,200-ton bronze statue of an ancient war god. In October 2010, Jingzhou police were alerted to online baccarat being offered at a city hotel. Gambling having been illegal in China since 1949, an investigation was launched that traced the operation to a server in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Two years later, on December 14, 2012, a triumphant article appeared in the China Daily , announcing the shutdown of a “major international gambling ring” with a turnover of 11 billion yuan ($1.75 billion) and 120 agents identified within China alone and 27 suspects apprehended. In all its triumphal excitement the state-owned newspaper omitted to mention one crucial detail: the operation’s ringleader was still at large. View this full story online at: [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/china-gambling-06232021080918.html | https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/china-gambling-06232021080918.html ] [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/special/hunsen-family/xu-aimin.html | https://www.rfa.org/english/news/special/hunsen-family/xu-aimin.html ] [ https://www.rfa.org/khmer/multimedia/hunsen-family/xu-aimin.html | https://www.rfa.org/khmer/multimedia/hunsen-family/xu-aimin.html ] https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/features/hottopic/jointpj-06212021162628.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 U.S. Agency for Global Media ( [ https://www.usagm.gov/home/ | USAGM ] ) . If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to [ mailto:engnews-leave@rfanews.org | engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org ] . To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to [ mailto:engnews-join@rfanews.org | engnews-join(a)rfanews.org ] .

3 years, 6 months

‘Burma, Belarus testify to the power and perils of free media’: RFA and RFE/RL Presidents

by RFA Communications

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : June 14, 2021 Contact : Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 | mahajanr(a)rfa.org ‘Burma, Belarus testify to the power and perils of free media’: RFA and RFE/RL Presidents WASHINGTON -- A [ https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/558170-burma-belarus-testify-to-the-… | joint op-ed ] by Radio Free Asia ( [ https://www.rfa.org/english/ | RFA ] ) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty ( [ https://www.rferl.org/ | RFE/RL ] ) Presidents Bay Fang and Jamie Fly on the role of a free press in Burma and Belarus amid disruption was published in The Hill . The piece, titled, “ Burma, Belarus Testify to the Power and Perils of Free Media ,” identifies ways to strengthen local media, including internet freedom, and support journalists under threat in both countries. It also illustrates how the Burmese and Belarusian people have turned to RFA and RFE/RL for timely, unbiased journalism during media blackouts enforced by the authoritarian regimes of Burma’s General Min Aung Hlaing and Belarus’s President Alexander Lukashenka. Read the full piece by clicking [ https://www.rfa.org/about/releases/2018burma-belarus-testify-to-the-power-a… | here ] . # # #

3 years, 7 months

Radio Free Asia, WHYNOT Win Hong Kong Human Rights Award

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : May 6, 2021 Contact : Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 | mahajanr(a)rfa.org Radio Free Asia, WHYNOT Win Hong Kong Human Rights Award WASHINGTON – [ https://www.rfa.org/ | Radio Free Asia ] (RFA) and its online affiliate [ https://www.wainao.me/ | WHYNOT ] were announced as winners of the 25th annual Hong Kong-based [ https://humanrightspressawards.org/ | Human Rights Free Press Awards ] . RFA’s Mandarin Service reporter Amelia Hei Loi earned the top prize in the audio category for her [ https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shehui/AL-10032020033853.html | series ] on the tensions between the Vatican and Beijing over regulation of the appointment of Chinese bishops. WHYNOT contributor Jieping Zhang won in the commentary writing category for her essay [ https://stories.wainao.me/---the-truth-isn-t-dead---you-just-don-t-believe-… | The truth isn’t dead: You just don’t believe it anymore ] . “We are extremely proud of our journalists for their timely coverage and commentary on the struggle for human rights in Hong Kong and China,” said RFA President Bay Fang. “This recognition is a testament to our incisive brand of journalism, which is more crucial than ever in providing real, unbiased information to authoritarian countries that censor their own citizens and the news they receive. “ With these awards, we are reminded of the important responsibility we bear over 25 years of bringing free press to closed societies.” RFA Mandarin’s series on the push and pull between the Vatican and Beijing over bishop appointments followed developments in the lead-up to the renewal of an agreement between the two sides in October 2020. Explaining the complex dynamics of relations between the two parties, the series touched on the surprise resignation of the Bishop of Fujian province, implications of the developments for the Catholic church in Hong Kong, and the impact that the Vatican’s cooperation with Beijing has on Chinese Christians. In her commentary for WHYNOT The truth isn’t dead: You just don’t believe it anymore , contributing writer Jieping Zhang traces the history of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) recent efforts to discredit independent thinkers like popular Weibo users and bloggers, the upgrade of CCP censorship efforts for a new information age, and the implications of disinformation for a Hong Kong increasingly under Beijing’s thumb. Her argument urges readers against the temptation to give into despair as forces of misinformation aim to discredit fact-based reporting and journalism-- one of the pillars of democracy and a source of oversight seen as threatening by authoritarian regimes the world over. Other [ https://humanrightspressawards.org/25th-human-rights-press-awards-2021-winn… | winners ] in this year’s competition included pieces submitted from Reuters, Rappler, and Apple Daily, among others. The Hong Kong Human Rights Awards are organized each year by the Foreign Correspondents Club of Hong Kong, Amnesty International and the Hong Kong Journalists Association. The stated [ https://humanrightspressawards.org/ | goal ] of the awards is to increase respect for people’s basic rights and to focus attention on threats to those freedoms. # # # Rohit Mahajan Vice President of Communications and External Relations Radio Free Asia

3 years, 8 months

Radio Free Asia President: Crucial to fill a gap for local news

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : May 3, 2021 Contact : Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 | mahajanr(a)rfa.org RFA President Calls for Justice for Journalists on World Press Freedom Day WASHINGTON -- Marking World Press Freedom Day amid alarming global trends toward the spread of disinformation and a growing distrust in fact-based journalism, [ https://www.rfa.org/english/ | Radio Free Asia ] (RFA) President Bay Fang renewed a call for an end to the persecution of reporters. Highlighting the darkening media environments in Hong Kong and Myanmar, Fang urged for the protection of the independence of news outlets and safety of journalists. “The brutal decline of press freedom during the pandemic underscores an urgent need for responsible journalism, which should never be on trial. Increasingly sophisticated tactics employed by censors in Hong Kong, Myanmar, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and Vietnam, mean that RFA’s reporting has become ever more crucial in filling the gap for local news,” Fang said. “In Myanmar, the military junta has shuttered all domestic independent media outfits, depriving Burmese citizens of trustworthy information when it’s needed most. “Authorities in Vietnam and Cambodia have unjustly charged and jailed former RFA contributors for their work amid wide-ranging crackdowns on critics and citizen journalists. The Chinese government has gone so far as to make an RFA Uyghur journalist the target of a smear campaign while pursuing an endless persecution of her and her colleagues’ families. The recent arrests and prosecutions of Hong Kong journalists have all but blighted hopes of a local free press surviving in the territory for much longer. “As RFA marks its 25th consecutive year of bringing free press to closed societies in Asia, we reiterate the essential role of journalism in lifting up the voices of the unheard and holding the powerful accountable to those they purport to serve.” In Vietnam, RFA contributors [ https://www.rfa.org/about/releases/conviction-of-nguyen-tuong-thuy-a-2018bl… | Nguyen Tuong Thuy ] , [ https://www.rfa.org/about/releases/condemns-conviction-03092020120832.html | Truong Duy Nhat ] and [ https://www.usagm.gov/news-and-information/threats-to-press/nguyen-van-hoa/ | Nguyen Van Hoa ] are serving sentences of 11, 10 and seven years respectively. In Cambodia, former RFA journalists Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin have remained in a [ https://www.rfa.org/about/releases/chhin-and-sothearin-appeal-decision-0127… | legal limbo ] two years after a judge ordered their re-investigation, despite a prior investigation finding no conclusive evidence of wrongdoing. And in China’s Uyghur region, relatives of at least eight RFA journalists have been [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/special/uyghurfamilies/ | detained in retaliation ] for RFA’s Uyghur Service’s explosive coverage of the internment of over a million Uyghurs and other minorities in the province. Chinese authorities made unfounded accusations against RFA Uyghur journalist Gulchehra Hoja as part of [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/smear-04132021191322.html | a smear campaign ] against expatriate Uyghurs who have publicly spoken out about the prison state in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. In commemoration of World Press Freedom Day, RFA also launched a [ https://twitter.com/RadioFreeAsia/status/1387542142277586944 | social media campaign ] emphasizing a free press’s role in ensuring transparency. Across [ https://twitter.com/RadioFreeAsia | Twitter ] , [ https://www.facebook.com/RFAEnglish | Facebook ] and [ https://www.facebook.com/RFAEnglish | Instagram ] , the campaign highlights recent RFA exclusives -- from the exposure of police brutality against Burmese protesters and volunteer medics, to the disappearance of Chinese whistleblowers who aimed to tell the world about COVID-19, and many more -- that shed light on events that otherwise would be blotted out by censors. In its recently released [ https://rsf.org/en/2021-world-press-freedom-index-journalism-vaccine-agains… | 2021 Press Freedom Index, ] media freedom watchdog [ https://rsf.org/en | Reporters Without Borders ] (RSF) noted a general “dramatic deterioration in people's access to information and an increase in obstacles to news coverage” around the world, and highlighted the seriousness of the situation in Asia. The report cited the rising threats to free press in Hong Kong (which dropped seven places in the global rankings to 80th place) in its assessment of China (ranked 177th out of 180 countries). The report also pointed out China’s increased efforts to promote its own repression as a model for other nations’ governments to squash independent journalism and dissent. # # # Rohit Mahajan Vice President of Communications and External Relations Radio Free Asia

3 years, 8 months

RFA Breaking News: North Korea Executes Fishing Fleet Captain for Listening to RFA

by Paul Eckert

North Korea Executes Fishing Fleet Captain for Listening to RFA Dec. 17, 2020 - Authorities in North Korea executed the owner of a fishing fleet in front of 100 boat captains and fisheries executives for secretly listening to broadcasts by Radio Free Asia and other forbidden media outlets while at sea, sources in the country told RFA. The fishing boat captain, who picked up the habit of tuning in to broadcasts from abroad while in the military, confessed to having listened to the U.S. government-funded media outlet for more than 15 years, after he was turned in by a resentful crewman at his base in the northeastern port city of Chongjin. North Korea goes to extraordinary lengths to stop its population from accessing outside information, with strict punishment for violators, but the open sea allows fishermen and merchant mariners the chance to hear forbidden broadcasts. The captain had been catching fish for the government of Kim Jong Un, which has ordered North Korean fishermen to increase catches amid food shortages and to raise cash in the face of international sanctions aimed at curbing resources for nuclear weapons. “In mid-October, a captain of a fishing boat from Chongjin was executed by firing squad, on charges of listening to Radio Free Asia regularly over a long period of time,” a law enforcement official from North Hamgyong province told RFA’s Korean Service Wednesday. “We know that the captain’s surname was Choi and he was in his 40s. He was working out of a fishery base affiliated with the Central Party’s Bureau 39,” the source said, referring to the secret organization tasked with acquiring hard currency and maintaining a slush fund for Kim Jong Un. “Choi was the owner of a fleet of over 50 ships. During an investigation by the provincial security department, Captain Choi confessed to listening to RFA broadcasts since the age of 24, when he was serving in the military as a radio operator,” the source said. RFA reported that authorities in June sent a signal corpsman to one of the country’s notorious political prison camps for tuning in to RFA at work, while in November 2018, a signaler in the country’s elite Supreme Guard Command was purged for listening to banned broadcasts, and his whole command was punished. The North Hamgyong official said that Choi and his subordinates in the military routinely set the dial to RFA when he was in his 30s. “After he finished military service, he continued to listen to RFA. They say that listening to RFA brought back fond memories of his days in the military. It also seems he was under the illusion that because he was part of Bureau 39’s fishing base, he would be immune to criminal charges, and that seems to have brought on tough consequences for him,” the source said. “We know that the provincial security department defined his crime as an attempt of subversion against the party. They publicly shot him at the base in front of 100 other captains and managers of the facility’s fish processing plants. They also dismissed or discharged party officials, the base’s administration and the security officers who allowed Choi to work at sea,” said the source. Another source, a resident of the province, confirmed to RFA that news of Choi’s execution had spread among the public. “During the investigation, they found out that when he was out fishing on distant seas, he fixed the frequency and listened continuously to foreign broadcasts,” the second source said. The source said that with Choi’s growing power and wealth as a fleet owner, he became high-handed toward his crew. “One of the fishermen sought vengeance for Choi’s arrogant and disrespectful behavior so he reported him to the security department,” the second source said. The second source said that Choi confessed during his investigation to continuously listening to news of the outside world and music programming from RFA. “The security authorities decided then that the time to reeducate him had long past, so they executed him by firing squad,” the second source said. “It is really common for people who work on ships to enjoy broadcasts in the Korean language, such as RFA, through their radio communicators when they go out to the sea. Therefore, it seems that the authorities made an example out of Choi to imprint on the residents that listening to outside radio stations means death,” the second source said. Two refugees who escaped from North Korea and resettled in the South told RFA Thursday that the Washington-based outlet’s programming is widely consumed by ordinary North Korean residents. “People are curious about RFA content because the authorities tell us through resident education sessions, which are more like propaganda, to never listen to RFA broadcasting from the U.S., as it is all about anti-DPRK measures,” said one. The second told RFA that news from abroad is even more popular than TV shows and movies. “We can get a variety of content from CDs and memory sticks, but what North Koreans most want to know is news from the outside. Residents can get many outside broadcasts, but they prefer RFA because it can be heard clearly in the Korean language,” the second refugee said. “Military radio operators and fishermen are known to listen to RFA a lot because they are more able to listen to outside broadcasts.” The State-run Korean Central News Agency recently reported that the Supreme People’s Assembly on Dec. 4 adopted the ‘Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Law,’ indicating that the government may now be placing more scrutiny on citizens caught watching foreign media. RFA broadcasts six hours of Korean-language programming daily into North Korea over short wave radio from transmitters located about 1,900 miles away in the Northern Mariana Islands, and medium wave transmitters in South Korea. Reported by Sewon Kim for RFA’s Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. View this story online at: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/execution-12172020205217.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 U.S. Agency for Global Media ( [ https://www.usagm.gov/home/ | USAGM ] ) . If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to [ mailto:engnews-leave@rfanews.org | engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org ] . To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to [ mailto:engnews-join@rfanews.org | engnews-join(a)rfanews.org ] .

3 years, 9 months

RFA President: ‘Don’t Just Celebrate Women Journalists, Support Them’

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : March 8, 2021 Contact : Rohit Mahajan | 202.681.6720 | [ mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org | mahajanr(a)rfa.org ] RFA President: ‘Don’t Just Celebrate Women Journalists, Support Them’ WASHINGTON -- On International Women’s Day, Radio Free Asia (RFA) President Bay Fang celebrates the impactful contributions of RFA’s women journalists, while underscoring ways to support those currently working and future generations in the field. In a piece [ https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6774761145325756416 | published on LinkedIn ] , “Don’t Just Celebrate Women Journalists, Support Them,” Fang writes, “ As RFA celebrates the 25th anniversary of its first broadcast this year, I look back with pride on the work we've done to amplify women's voices, in front of the camera and behind it, and think ahead to what more we can do … to achieve greater equity in our field for years to come. ” The full text of the article can also be accessed here ... [ https://www.rfa.org/about/releases/rfa-president-2018don2019t-just-celebrat… | https://www.rfa.org/about/releases/rfa-president-2018don2019t-just-celebrat… ] # # # Rohit Mahajan Vice President of Communications and External Relations Radio Free Asia

3 years, 10 months

Report Deepens Understanding of Uyghur Detainees’ Treatment in Xinjiang

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : Feb. 2, 2021 Contact : Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 | mahajanr(a)rfa.org [ https://www.rfa.org/about/releases/trapped-in-the-system-experiences-of-uyg… | Report Deepens Understanding of Uyghur Detainees’ Treatment in Xinjiang ] WASHINGTON – A new research [ https://www.rfa.org/about/releases/trapped-in-the-system-experiences-of-uyg… | report ] from Radio Free Asia (RFA) details the experiences of Uyghur detention camp survivors and other detainees from China’s Far West. The qualitative study, Experiences of Uyghur Detention in Post-2015 Xinjiang , provides first-hand accounts focusing on the extrajudicial process Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities are subjected to, including the tenuous grounds authorities cite for detention, quotas and financial incentives for arrests and confessions, the classification of individuals by perceived risk categories, and harsh treatment inside the facilities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). RFA’s report may be accessed as a downloadable PDF by clicking [ https://www.rfa.org/about/releases/trapped-in-the-system-experiences-of-uyg… | HERE ] . “In conducting this research, we tried to understand how the harrowing details of detainee experiences fit into China’s larger system of political and cultural control in Xinjiang,” said Betsy Henderson, RFA’s Chief Strategy Officer and the head of the organization’s Research Department. “Throughout the process we prioritized the safety and mental and physical health of the interviewees, aiming always to ensure our report reflects their full humanity, not just the dehumanizing experiences that continue to haunt them. ” “RFA’s groundbreaking journalism has shown time and again the extent to which Uyghurs are subjected en masse to China’s indiscriminate extralegal detention, with the clear aim of cultural destruction,” RFA President Bay Fang said. “ This report bears critical witness to the eye-opening details of this human rights crisis, as revealed through the personal accounts of individuals.” The extensive interviews forming the substance of this report -- a project of RFA’s research division -- were conducted securely between November 2019 and May 2020 in Turkey and Europe with seven ethnic Uyghur ex-detainees and one ethnic Uzbek. The accounts offered by the study’s detention survivors supplement other firsthand accounts that have emerged, as well as the leaked documents and cables detailing the Chinese Communist Party’s far reaching high-tech surveillance and directives to crack down on the Uyghur population and other Muslim minorities in the XUAR. Key findings include: * A blurring between pre-trial detention facilities and re-education camps , including repurposed or makeshift conversions of existing facilities into ones for detention. * Accounts of flimsy to nonexistent grounds for arrests and detentions , including innocuous religious signifiers and contact or connection, close or passing, to individuals rated high-risk. * Confessions forced under extreme duress , including violence or deprivation, and threats of violence to family members. * Arrest quotas and financial incentives openly discussed by authorities, witnessed firsthand by two of the eight participants in this study. * No opportunities to share information among detainees , with incriminating conversations likely to lead to maltreatment or torture. * Medical neglect as well as enforced medical interventions , including lack of doctors on site, weekly blood samples in many camps, and mandatory unidentified injections and pills. The report builds on past work from RFA’s research team, including a 2018 quantitative survey that focused on the experiences and media consumption habits of Uyghurs in Turkey who had left the Uyghur region. Journalists in RFA’s Uyghur Service were among the first to sound the alarm as China moved in recent years to detain more than 1 million members of Muslim minorities in the XUAR. First exposing the mass internment of Uyghurs in 2017, the service has meticulously documented related developments such as the transfer of prisoners to other regions of China, the construction of orphanages for the children of detained Uyghurs, and the destruction of cultural and sacred locations including, historic city centers, mosques and grave sites. # # # 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 United States Agency for Global Media. Rohit Mahajan Vice President of Communications and External Relations Radio Free Asia

3 years, 11 months

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