FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 3, 2011                                                                                                                                            

Contact:   John Estrella 202 530 4900 estrellaj@rfa.org

Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 mahajanr@rfa.org

RFA Launches 15^th Anniversary Multimedia Website Detailing History, Impact

Site Features Aung San Suu Kyi Video Praising RFA’s Contribution to Freedom

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, on World Press Freedom Day, Radio Free Asia (RFA) launched a website commemorating RFA’s 15 years of bringing news and information to people without access to a free press. Featured on the homepage is a video greeting by recently freed Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi thanking RFA for keeping her informed during her house arrest and praising the broadcaster for making an “invaluable contribution” to freedom and democratic ideals.

Visitors to the multimedia site can view images, video, and timelines that tell the story of RFA from its beginnings in 1996 to the present. The site also takes visitors behind the scenes through a special section that details the creation and continuation of RFA’s nine language services, which deliver objective, timely news and information to people living in countries that restrict press freedoms and censor free speech.

“While much has changed at Radio Free Asia since we began in 1996, our mission continues to be imperative: to advance the principles and the universal right to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any medium and regardless of frontiers,” said Libby Liu, President of RFA. “We hope this website marking RFA’s 15 years as a news organization shows how our staff’s work has made a tremendous impact on the lives of our listeners.”

In addition to sections devoted to RFA’s listener comments, awards in journalism, and praise from global opinion leaders, the site also informs visitors about the journalistic climate of the countries into which RFA broadcasts in nine languages (Mandarin, Cantonese, Uyghur, Burmese, Vietnamese, Korean, Lao, Khmer, and Tibetan in three dialects) through an interactive map.

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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.

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Rohit Mahajan

Media Relations Manager

Radio Free Asia

Email: mahajanr@rfa.org

Desk: (202) 530-4976

Cell: (202) 489-8021

www.rfa.org