Contact: Rohit Mahajan | mahajanr@rfa.org  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 19, 2023

RFA a Five-Time Winner at 2023 New York Festivals

Mandarin and Korean Services, and 歪脑 | WHYNOT Net Top Honors

WASHINGTON—Radio Free Asia’s (RFA) Mandarin and Korean Services, as well its online global Mandarin brand 歪脑 | WHYNOT, took home five awards at last night’s New York Festivals Storytelling Gala. RFA’s Mandarin Service and 歪脑 | WHYNOT each received two medals, with RFA’s Korean Service winning one. The recognized projects examine topics such as the trauma women endure under China’s “one-child” policy, the challenges Chinese adopted children face, the physical and emotional scars of Korean War POWs, and the work of Chinese political cartoonists amid the CCP’s crackdown on dissent, among other issues.  

“Congratulations to the fantastic teams of RFA Mandarin, RFA Korean and 歪脑 | WHYNOT,” RFA President Bay Fang said. "Their determined journalism delves into such complex, human issues as the toll of China's birth restrictions and the legacy of the Korean War, as well as spotlighting creative political expression amid censorship.

“These winning projects exemplify RFA’s greater mission of bringing answers, empowerment, and accountability to people living in repressive places.”

Details on the RFA winners follows:

• RFA Mandarin’s silver medal-winning project The CCP Owns Your Womb  -  Tragedies of China’s Birth Control Policy documents the brutal violence and rights violations against women amid China’s birth quotas. Its bronze medal-winning mini-documentary Seeking Love: The Story of Chinese Adoptees in the US follows two college students who had been adopted as children by American parents, and their struggle grappling with their identity.

• RFA’s digital brand 歪脑 | WHYNOT’s silver medal-winning video Two Years of WHYNOT is a stop-motion promo that celebrates the brand’s second anniversary. Its bronze-winning video series Art behind the wall introduces Chinese political cartoonists, exploring their work and inspiration. 

• RFA Korean’s bronze-winning report Tattooed: Indelible Scar of Prisoners of War - a joint project with RFA Mandarin - unites the stories of five POWs from the U.S., South Korea, and China, who reflect on their painful memories of the Korean War amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  

In addition, four other projects from RFA’s Mandarin and Korean Services and 歪脑 | WHYNOT were listed as finalists. 

Other winners at this year’s competition include The Washington Post, NPR, BBC, and ABC News. The New York Festival TV & Film and Radio awards is a yearly competition honoring work from over 50 countries that mirrors today’s global trends. 

# # #

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.