WORLD BULLETIN
April 30 “Echoes of the last massacre in East Turkestan”
The echoes continue of the latest massacre on April 23 against Muslims in Bachu county, Kashgar in Chinese-occupied East Turkestan which claimed the lives of 21 people. … A resident of the region who reached U.S. broadcaster Radio Free Asia reported that the incidents arose when three people connected to paramilitary forces called ‘Social Workers’ and the local government tried to forcefully remove the veil of a female member of the household while searching the house.
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
April 29 “Remembrance of dissident Lin Zhao obstructed on 45th execution anniversary”
The grave is of Lin Zhao, a dissident intellectual executed on April 29, 1968. Her final resting place on the southern slope of Mount Lingyan - at the outskirts of Jiangsu's provincial capital Suzhou - has become a gathering place for dozens of people seeking justice for those persecuted during the Cultural Revolution and freedom of expression in today's China. … Over the last days several people have been picked up by police at the grave and sent back to their home provinces in an effort to avoid a mass gathering at the 45th anniversary of her death, Voice of America and Radio Free Asia reported on Monday. Lin was executed as a rightist in Shanghai in 1969, nine years after being sentenced to 20 years in jail for "counter-revolutionary activities". Police famously demanded a 0.5 yuan payment from her family for the bullet that killed her.
ASIA TIMES
April 29 “Fierce debate erupts over the 'China Dream'”
Since becoming General Secretary at the 18th Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) last November, Xi Jinping has talked about the "China Dream" (zhongguo meng) at least five times. … Leading dissident Bao Tong, who is the former personal secretary of the late disgraced general secretary Zhao Ziyang, called upon Xi to "return the dream to the people". Bao, who is under 24-hour police surveillance, indicated that Xi at least recognized that the "subject" (zhuti) of the China Dream was individual Chinese and not the state. "Xi has made clear that the China Dream should be realized according to the private ownership system," Bao noted in an article last March for Radio Free Asia.
ASIAN CORRESPONDENT
April 29 “Chut Wutty death does little to curb Cambodia’s illegal logging”
In an article published exactly one year after environmental activist Chut Wutty was killed in Cambodia, Megan MacInnes, Senior Land Campaigner at Global Witness, regrets that “Wutty’s death has not served as a wake-up call for Cambodia’s donors or allies“. On the same day, his brother- in-law, Yong Sokhorn, told Radio Free Asia that, “The government must reconsider and reopen the case in order to find the true killer and determine who was behind the killing.”
IRRAWADDY
April 26 “Burma to Allow Suu Kyi’s Presidential Bid, Aung Min Tells US Audience”
A top government official has said Burma will amend its Constitution to allow democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi to run in the next presidential election. Aung Min, a minister from the President’s Office, reportedly made the statement while visiting the United States to receive a peace award on Monday from the International Crisis Group on behalf of President Thein Sein. He told members of the Burmese community in the United States that Burma’s government would amend the much-criticized 2008 Constitution to allow Suu Kyi to become a presidential candidate in 2015, the US-based Radio Free Asia reported in its Burmese edition.
REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS
April 26 “RWB calls for immediate and unconditional release of journalist Sun Lin”
Reporters Without Borders calls for the immediate release of Sun Lin, a journalist for the foreign-based Mandarin-language news website Boxun, who was arrested on 16 April. Sun, better known by the pen name Jie Mu, was held under administrative detention for distributing video footage of a protest over the expulsion of a dissident’s daughter from school. … Sun Lin’s wife, Gao Xiaojun, was quoted on the Radio Free Asia website as saying: "They will probably change his status to criminal detention on April 30 (…) His reporting has been having an impact for many years now."
NEW YORK TIMES (Also in Associated Press)
April 26 “2 Tibetans Die in Self-Immolations”
Two Tibetans died on Wednesday after setting fire to themselves in a Tibetan region of western China to protest Chinese rule, according to reports on Thursday by Tibet advocacy groups and Radio Free Asia, which is financed by the American government. The two Tibetans, monks named Kunchok Woser and Lobsang Dawa, carried out their protest near their monastery in Dzoge County in Sichuan Province, according to Free Tibet, an advocacy group based in London. Radio Free Asia reported earlier that a third person, a 23-year-old woman, had set herself on fire in Dzamthang County of Sichuan, but then issued a new report saying that it could not confirm that episode.
BBC (Also in The Associated Press, Bangkok Post, AFP, DEUTSCHE PRESSE AGENTUR)
April 25 “Two Tibetan monks in China die after self-immolations”
Two Tibetan monks have died after setting themselves alight in southern China's Sichuan province, reports say. The monks, aged 20 and 23, set themselves on fire at the Kirti monastery in Aba county, said Radio Free Asia and Free Tibet. … The monks at the monastery held prayers for the two who died and their bodies were to be cremated on Thursday, Radio Free Asia added.
EPOCH TIMES
April 25 “Independent Radio Broadcasters at Peril in Taiwan”
Media freedom in Taiwan is again under attack by political forces from mainland China, resulting in a sudden decision by Radio Taiwan International (RTI) to dismantle two of its substations. Among RTI’s customers who will lose their contracts are Sound of Hope Radio and Radio Free Asia, which have played an important role in broadcasting uncensored news to the mainland.
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
April 25 “US expresses concerns over violent confrontation in China's Xinjiang”
The United States has expressed concern over violent confrontation in the Xinjiang province of China. "We are deeply concerned by the reports of violent confrontation in Xinjiang that left 21 people dead. … During the press conference, Ventrell also urged China to release Memetjan Abdulla, who worked as an editor of the state-run China National Radio's Uighur Service and was detained in July 2009 for allegedly instigating ethnic rioting in the Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region via posts on the Uighur-language website Salkin. … "The exact charges against Abdullah were not disclosed, but Radio Free Asia reported on the sentence and cited a witness at the trial that stated that Abdullah was targeted for talking to international journalists in Beijing about the riots as well as translating articles on the website.
MYANMAR TIMES
April 25 “Blame game over Kachin peace talk delays”
A Chinese official says he is “deeply shocked” by a government minister’s comments that Kachin peace talks planned for earlier this month were delayed because China refused to allow international observers to attend. Mr Xiong Guofeng, secretary to the China’s ambassador to Myanmar, was responding to an April 19 report on Radio Free Asia in which Minister for Environmental Conservation and Forestry U Win Tun was quoted as saying that China opposes the presence of monitors from the United States, United Kingdom or United Nations at the talks.
KOREA HERALD (Also in YONHAP)
April 23 “U.S. would consider food aid request from N. Korea”
The U.S. would consider any new request from North Korea to resume food aid stalled since 2009, provided Pyongyang allowed US staff inside the isolated country to monitor distribution. … According to the FAO data, output of barley, wheat and potatoes that can be harvested from June onwards will likely grow vis-a-vis the year before, Radio Free Asia said. The report by the Washington-based media outlet also said the sowing of seeds for rice and corn, which make up 95 percent of North Korea’s grain production, is also moving forward without complications.
ELEVEN MYANMAR
April 22 “Government admits KIO peace talks put off due to China’s objection”
The postponement of peace talks between the government and Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) was due to the objection from the Chinese government though it was denied by the Chinese embassy, a Myanmar government minister has said. Win Tun, Union Minister for Environmental Conservation and Forestry, made the revelation to the Radio Free Asia (RFA) on Friday during a tour of European countries as a member of the government’s union level peace working committee, the RFA reported.
REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS
April 22 “Authorities urged not to limit coverage of Sichuan earthquake”
Reporters Without Borders is concerned about news coverage of the 20 April earthquake in the southwestern province of Sichuan and urges the authorities not to resort to censorship and harassment of news providers as they have done in similar circumstances in the past. … A group of bloggers and human rights defenders who included Huang Qi, founder of the 64 Tian Wang website (www.64tianwang.com), were intercepted as they tried to reach Ya’an. “The authorities kept us for several hours, warning us not to ‘add more trouble’ to the disaster,” Huang told Radio Free Asia. A policeman reportedly mentioned the jail sentence Huang received after visiting the area devastated by the 2008 quake.
NTD TV
April 22 “Little Relief for China's Earthquake Victims”
A 6.6 magnitude quake hit Lushan County in Sichuan province on Saturday morning. It’s around the same place where another major quake killed more than 70,000 people in 2008. Now, everyone is waiting, hoping to see if the lessons from five years ago can help reduce losses this time. … Radio Free Asia also reported that police turned away Tibetan monks volunteering to help. Sichuan is home to one of the largest populations of Tibetans outside of Tibet.
TIBETAN REVIEW
April 22 “China quake kills five, affects thousands in Tibetan prefecture”
At least five people had died Garze (Tibetan: Karze) Prefecture as a result of a 7.0-magnitude earthquake which struck the province of Sichuan on April 20 at 08:02 am, reported China’s online Tibet news service eng.tibet.cn Apr 22, citing the provincial seismological bureau. … Meanwhile Radio Free Asia (RFA, Washington) reported Apr 21 that Chinese authorities had blocked Chinese rights groups and Tibetan monks from participating in rescue efforts. “Many Tibetan monks living in Chengdu [Sichuan's capital] tried to go to the quake zone to support the rescue efforts on Saturday (Apr 20) morning, but they were blocked by the authorities," it quoted Beijing-based Tibet blogger Ms Woeser as saying. "They tried go to Ya'an through other routes, but were also stopped.”
CHOSUN ILBO
April 22 “U.S. Expert Says N.Korea May Conduct More Nuclear Tests”
North Korea could conduct its fourth nuclear test in weeks or months, said Dr. Siegfried Hecker from Stanford University, the last U.S. expert to visit the Yongbyon uranium enrichment facility, according to Radio Free Asia on Friday. He made the comments during a seminar at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation held in Austria on Thursday and also discussed the North’s technological capabilities.
PHNOM PENH POST
April 19 “Phone app to chart water shortages”
Smartphone users in Cambodia will soon be able to monitor and receive information on water supplies in their area. Called “How is your water today?”, the app is part of a Radio Free Asia (RFA) effort known as “The Water Project” to chronicle and compile the independent media group’s reports on water-shortage issues in the region. The app, slated to be released in July, is a crowd-sourcing platform that will allow users to post photos about water problems in their neighbourhood.
IRRAWADDY
April 19 “Pipeline in Arakan Draws Protests”
Residents in Arakan State protested a China-backed pipeline project on Thursday, accusing developers of failing to provide adequate compensation, infrastructure and salaries, Radio Free Asia reported. About 400 people marched to the headquarters of Beijing’s state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, one of the primary developers of the Shwe gas project.
NEW YORK TIMES
April 17 “Tibetan Woman Kills Herself by Self-Immolation”
A young Tibetan mother has killed herself by self-immolation to protest Chinese rule, according to reports by Radio Free Asia and Voice of America, two news organizations financed by the United States government. The woman, Chugtso, 20, set fire to herself about 3 p.m. on Tuesday near the Jonang Monastery in Dzamthang County of Sichuan Province, according to a Radio Free Asia report that quoted a Tibetan living in exile in India who is in contact with people in the area.
JAPAN ECONOMIC NEWSWIRE (Also in DEUTSCHE PRESSE AGENTUR, CHINA DIGITAL TIMES)
April 17 “Tibetan woman dies from self-immolation in China”
A 20-year-old Tibetan mother of one died after setting herself on fire in western China's Sichuan Province in protest against Chinese rule in Tibetan areas, according to the Tibetan government-in-exile and media reports Wednesday. The woman, identified as Chugtso, self-immolated near Rangtang County's Jonang monastery and died Tuesday, the Central Tibetan Administration said on its website. U.S.-based Radio Free Asia quoted a Tibetan living in India, Tsangyang Gyatso, as saying that Chugtso committed the act "in protest against China's repressive policies in Tibet."
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
April 16 “US asks China to hold dialogue with Dalai Lama”
The US today called on China to engage in an unconditional substantive dialogue with Buddhist spiritual guru Dalai Lama and his representatives to resolve the Tibet issue. … Meanwhile, Radio Free Asia said Chinese security forces have detained 21 Tibetans following clashes with police over the forced demolition of recently rebuilt homes in an earthquake-hit region of northwest China's Qinghai province. At least six Tibetans and four policemen were injured in the clashes today after a protest by over 100 area residents angered by the demolition of Tibetan homes in the town of Kyegudo in the Yulshul (in Chinese, Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, a local source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told RFA's Tibetan Service.
TIME (Also in STRAITS TIMES)
April 15 “Laos’ Mammoth Train Project a Fast Track to Debt and Despair”
Change is coming to sleepy Laos in the form of a $7.2 billion railway, set to carve its way through this war-ravaged nation. The costs are to be borne by the Laotian government, courtesy of a Chinese loan amounting to a staggering 86% of Laos’ annual $8.3 billion GDP. … Meanwhile, a Laos Finance Ministry official was quoted by Radio Free Asia in December estimating that his government would have to stump up a whopping $3 billion in interest payments alone (calculated by 2% per annum compounded over 30 years).
ASIA TIMES
April 15 “Japan agrees to rice deal with Myanmar”
Japan is helping Myanmar (also known as Burma) to regain its status as a top rice exporter by making its first purchase of the grain from the Southeast Asian country in more than four decades and investing in rice processing plants there. … 'We have seen that Japan is enthusiastic about investing in Burma's rice production,'' Myanmar Rice Industry Association Chairman Chit Khaing told Radio Free Asia's Burmese Service.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
April 14 “The Newtowns all around us”
… After Schumer’s emotive but news-less news confab, I went to a meeting of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Unknown to the often myopic media pack here, it oversees the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty and other broadcast groups. It employs 3,500 people and reaches 190 million people worldwide each week at a cost to taxpayers of $750 million a year. The board meeting included a report from Libby Liu, the head of Radio Free Asia, who showed an online video report by her journalists about ethnic violence in Burma. There were 180 dead and thousands left homeless in ethnic riots last year and 43 have died in sectarian violence in recent weeks. Unlike Newtown, those horrors didn’t pierce our consciousness. … But you can still thank Schumer, the crusading Newtown families, Shaw and nervy reporters in Burma. People do awful things to one another, declares a foreign correspondent in Tom Stoppard’s 1978 play, “Night and Day.” But it’s all worse “where everybody is kept in the dark.”
TIBETAN REVIEW
April 14 “Kyegudo quake-hit Tibetans held for protesting demolition of rebuilt homes”
Chinese authorities have demolished around 1,000 Tibetan homes in the Kyegudo county-town of Yulshul Prefecture, Qinghai Province, provoking a clash between protesting Tibetans and Chinese paramilitary People’s Armed Police on Apr 9, reported Radio Free Asia (RFA, Washington) Apr 11. The clash, which ensued after the paramilitary troops used violence to break up a protest by more than 100 Tibetan residents, ended with at least six Tibetans and four security personnel being injured and 21 Tibetans being detained.
MONGOLIAN ECONOMY AND FINANCE (Blog)
April 13 “Inner Mongolia: Chinese Authorities Break Up Peaceful Protest Marches”
Authorities in northern China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region earlier this month blocked an attempted cross-country march by traditional Mongol herders, with police assaulting hundreds in two incidents. In the first incident, herders from Inner Mongolia’s Durbed (Chinese: Siziwang) banner (county) gathered at Hohhot train station on March 1, intending to march nearly 500 kilometers to Beijing. … A Beijing-based activist named Yu Guofu was accused of being an “anti-revolutionary” and threatened with arrest by local authorities in Zaruud banner for posting information online about the March 2 incident. (Radio Free Asia, March 7)
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
April 12 “Morning Clicks -- China news round-up”
Radio Free Asia Tibetans detained for protesting destruction of their homes.
GLOBAL POST (Also in BUSINESS INSIDER)
April 11 “China tops list of state sanctioned capital punishment, with US fifth, Amnesty International says”
China, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the US are the top five executioners globally in 2012, according to Amnesty International. A reportfrom the London-based human rights organization found that while it kept executions secret, Beijing carried out over 1,000, while Iran came in second with 314, then Iraq with 129, Saudi Arabia with 79 and the US with 43. … Radio Free Asia cited Mabel Au, director of the Hong Kong branch of Amnesty International, as saying that the group had arrived at its estimate of the Chinese executions by using official media reports of executions.
U WIRE
April 11 “Chinese labor rights activist addresses conditions of workers”
Look at the tag on the back of your shirt or in your shoes and chances are, you will most likely see the line, “Made in China.” Behind this simple acknowledgement occupies a realm of issues related to Chinese manufacturing and in particular, the rights of Chinese workers within industry. Han Dongfang, a Chinese labor rights activist, addressed students and faculty on these issues April 9 in the Z. Smith Reynolds Library. … Presently, he hosts a radio show called Radio Free Asia and is the director of an organization called the China Labor Bulletin which fights for labor rights in China.
CHINA DIGITAL TIMES
April 10 “Chen Guangcheng Calls Out China for Broken Promises”
Blind activist Chen Guangcheng told a U.S. congressional subcommittee on Tuesday that China had violated the deal that enabled him to leave the country last year, saying that Beijing had continued to persecute his family despite promises to ensure their safety. … Chen said the authorities in Shandong province had attempted to remove the four-year-old son of Chen Kegui from school last month, according to Radio Free Asia, and Chen Kegui’s father said he had been followed as he attempted to take the child to school.
NEW TANG DYNASTY TELEVISION
April 10 “Wolf Warns China 'Don't Spy if You Want to Be Friends'”
U.S. Congressman Frank Wolf warns the new Chinese leadership that cyber attacks and espionage seriously risk damaging bi-lateral ties. In an interview with Radio Free Asia's(RFA) Mandarin service on April 5th, Wolf said, "Friends don't spy on one another, and most of the major companies in America have been hit with cyber attacks."
IRRAWADDY
April 9 “Monk Arrested for Smuggling Rohingya in Buddhist Robes”
A Burmese monk has been arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle a group of Rohingya Muslims disguised in Buddhist robes from western Arakan State to Rangoon, Radio Free Asia reported on Monday. The monk from Mon State and the driver were charged with smuggling eight Muslim men and helping them impersonate the Buddhist clergy, the news agency reported.
MIZZIMA NEWS
April 8 “Eyebrows raise over govt decision to sell news”
The Ministry of Information (MoI) is currently co-ordinating a plan with the News and Periodicals Enterprise (NPE) to sell news and photos to private media. … Kyaw Kyaw Aung, the head of the Myanmar branch of US-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) said, “The news that people need to know should be announced in a timely and transparent manner. If RFA do not have any other choice, we will buy the news information and news photos that people need to know.”
STRAITS TIMES
April 8 “Myanmar govt targets 'neo-Nazi' Buddhist group”
A movement that uses 969 as a symbol of Buddhism and is described as Myanmar's "neo-Nazi group" has come under the microscope in the country for its role in spreading anti-Muslim sentiment. … On March 27 in Bago - another area hit by anti-Muslim violence - Mr Aung Myat Thu, a member of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), was also arrested, Radio Free Asia (RFA) has reported.
PHAYUL
April 8 “Students Face Threat for 14 March Commemoration”
Chinese authorities in Gansu have interrogated and threatened the Tibetan students with "serious consequences" for commemorating the fifth anniversary of 14 March 2008 crackdown in Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet. Citing sources with contacts in the region, the US-based Radio Free Asia said the students of the Northwest University of the Nationalities in the provincial capital of Lanzhou expressed their solidarity with the Tibetans who died in the crackdown by "mourning".
KOREA HERALD
April 8 “Business as usual at N Korean embassies”
Foreign diplomatic missions in Pyongyang proceeded with their routines as normal over the weekend, despite North Korea's warning to them to leave the country amid escalating tensions on the peninsula, diplomatic sources said Sunday. … According to the Radio Free Asia, a Chinese agency running North Korean tour programs was not notified of any change in their programs. It said its tour programs proceeded as normal and will continue in the coming week.
TIBETAN REVIEW (Also in PHAYUL)
April 6 “Home demolitions cause 115th Tibet self-immolation”
A Tibetan woman has staged a self-immolation protest against China’s demolition of her home, along with around 1,000 other Tibetan homes, rebuilt after the devastating Apr 14, 2010 earthquake which hit the Kyegudo area of Yulshul Prefecture, Qinghai Province, in 2010, reported Radio Free Asia Apr 4. The fire was quickly put out by people who happened to be nearby and her condition was reported to be not life-threatening.
CAMBODIA NEWS
April 5 “Cambodia - Cambodian community leader threatened by forestry officials for speaking to media”
Srekor commune chief Siek Mekong, of the Sam Rainsy Party, was recently threatened by government officials after he spoke to media regarding the extensive deforestation occurring in his local community. On 31 March 2013, Siek Mekong was interviewed by Radio Free Asia and mentioned that loggers had been clearing valuable trees for over a week without notifying local residents or local authorities.
CHINA DIGITAL TIMES
April 4 “Can Xi Jinping Really Fight Corruption?”
… A number of political activists have signed a petition in favor of the so-called “sunshine law,” according to Radio Free Asia, which spoke to the wife of one of the detained demonstrators: “[The leadership], including Xi Jinping, is always talking about having officials declare their assets, but they’re all talk and no action,” Zhu said.
MIZZIMA
April 4 “International media go live from Myanmar”
Myanmar’s Ministry of Information has announced that Japan’s national broadcaster, NHK, and US-based wire service Associated Press have been granted permits to open bureaus in the country. … Other major foreign media, including Voice of America (VOA), the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Radio Free Asia (RFA), opened bureaus in Yangon in mid-2012. Kyaw Kyaw, an official from RFA’s Myanmar branch, said that his department has 40 staff. “In the past, we had to ask permission from [headquarters in] Washington to travel to the Thai or Chinese borders to get information on Myanmar. Now we can be closely in contact with our sources.
DEUTSCHE PRESSE AGENTUR
April 4 “Chinese activists honour purged party leader”
Scores of legal rights petitioners marked China's traditional Tomb-Sweeping Day on Thursday by visiting the home of purged Communist Party leader Zhao Ziyang, who died in 2005. Police in the central province of Henan briefly detained Yu Shiwen after he called for a public memorial for victims of the 1989 crackdown, US-based Radio Free Asia reported.
NEW TANG DYNASTY TELEVISION
April 3 “Village Democratically Elects Own Leader in NE China”
A village near Xi’an, the capital of China’s Shaanxi province chose its first leader through democratic elections on Sunday. The votes tallied in at 892 for the villager’s candidate and 147 for the Communist Party’s preferred candidate, the old village chief. … The villagers told Radio Free Asia that he forcibly evicted 750 households over a development deal. No alternative housing arrangements were made and locals reported road blockades and power outages were used to intimidate residents.
NEW YORK TIMES
April 3 “Fatal Landslide Draws Attention to the Toll of Mining on Tibet”
One after another, the bodies have kept coming. By Wednesday, rescuers had pulled 66 dead miners from the snow-covered rubble. They expect to find more. … As a result, protests have flared across the plateau. One rally against a project in Markham County by about 1,000 Tibetans in August ended with the fatal shooting of a man by security forces, according to a Human Rights Watch researcher and Radio Free Asia.
NEW YORK TIMES (Also in ASSOCIATED PRESS, BBC)
April 2 “China Frees Tibetan Activist After 17 Years in Prison”
A Tibetan activist whose long, harsh detention by Chinese authorities drew international scrutiny has been freed after serving 17 years in prison, exile groups reported on Tuesday. … The activist, Jigme Gyatso, 52, who returned to his hometown in China’s northwest Gansu Province on Monday, was said to be extremely frail after years of torture and poor medical care, according to Radio Free Asia and the exiled Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, India. “He was limping and reported having heart problems and high blood pressure,” a friend, Jamyang Tsultrim, told Radio Free Asia. “His vision was also weak.”
PHNOM PENH POST
April 2 “Let lawyers speak freely”
In January, Bar Association of Cambodia president Bun Hon released a letter requesting that the Information Minister instruct radio and television stat-ions to contact the association before asking lawyers to comment on newsworthy legal issues. … In practice, this probably means that if a lawyer hasn’t applied in advance, the Bar Association will take note and wait for a chance to hit back at the lawyer. A case in point: on Radio Free Asia, Bun Hon ridiculed combative lawyer Sok Sam Oeun, president of the Cambodian Defenders Project, saying he didn’t know the law.
TIBETAN REVIEW (Also in TIBET SUN)
April 1 “RFA Tibetan Service’s new head well received”
Tenzin Namgyal Tethong, a person with life-long and varied experiences of working for Tibet both within the confines of the exile administration and in the wider outside world is the new Tibetan Service director at Radio Free Asia (RFA), according to usgbroadcasts.com Mar 29. He is the founder of key Tibet initiatives in the US, including the Tibet Fund and Tibet House in New York City, and the International Campaign for Tibet, Washington, DC. He is currently a Distinguished Fellow at the Tibetan Studies Initiative, Stanford University (a program he played a key role in establishing), the President of the Dalai Lama Foundation, and Board Chair of the Committee of 100 for Tibet.
PHNOM PENH POST (Also in VOA)
April 1 “RFA hits back at ‘threats’”
A day after senior government officials blasted US-funded broadcaster Radio Free Asia over a report they labelled untrue and a threat to national security, the station shot back, calling it an attack aimed at bullying reporters “into self-censorship”. In a statement on Friday, RFA defended the story, which said the government had ceded roughly 10 kilometres of territory on the Thai-Cambodian border.
“[The reporting] was accurate, objective and well-sourced,” the statement reads. “The Cambodian government’s attack on RFA is just the latest in a series of public and private threats that fit a distinct pattern – one meant to intimidate our reporters and to discourage objective reporting on issues sensitive to the government.”
KOREA HERALD (CHOSUN ILBO, YONHAP)
April 1 “North Korea’s rich ’terrified’ of war: reports”
As North Korea ratchets up belligerent rhetoric against the South Korean government, many of North’s wealthy class seem terrified over the possibilities of war against the United States, Radio Free Asia reported Friday. “Talks of war are all over the place, on TV and on radio. We are terrified,” a North Korean citizen was quoted as saying. “In Pyongyang, anyone who thinks (North Korea) can beat the U.S. is considered a moron.”
