CNN
September 29 “Trump is right that China uses its media to influence foreign opinion, but so does Washington”
… RFA in particular produces some excellent reporting from local journalists – oft
en at great risk to themselves -- out of Tibet and Xinjiang, areas of China from which most foreign journalists are locked out.
University World News
September 28 “Scholars targeted as Uighur purge engulfs universities”
… Reports stemming from the Uighur community in exile, and reported by the US-based Radio Free Asia, say four senior officials from Xinjiang’s Kashgar University, reportedly removed from their posts, are also thought to be among at least 56 Uighur lecturers and researchers known to have disappeared and believe to be detained, according to a figure released by the exile group World Uyghur Congress.
ReliefWeb
September 28 “Understanding Inter-ethnic Conflict in Myanmar”
… The PSLF/TNLA views this movement northwards as trespassing and has claimed that the RCSS/SSA-S and the Myanmar military have collaborated to fight the PSLF/TNLA (Radio Free Asia, 01 December 2015).
CHRISTIAN POST
September 28 “Pope Francis Says 'Sign From God' Led Him to Vatican-China Agreement That's Dividing Christians”
… Radio Free Asia reported that there has been mixed reactions among Christians in China over the deal, which will see Bishop Liu Xinhong of Anhui, Ma Yinglin of Kunming, and Yue Fusheng of Heilongjiang recognized by the Vatican.
SUPCHINA (also in CARBONATED TV)
September 27 “Changing Place Names To ‘Better Reflect Chinese Culture’ In Ningxia, And ‘Wonderful’ Xinjiang”
… A Uyghur widow in her early thirties with a young child from Aksu Prefecture in Xinjiang died in an internment camp “at the beginning of the year,” according to an officer at the Onsu Police Station who talked to journalists from the Uyghur Service of Radio Free Asia (RFA).
DIPLOMAT
September 27 “Is the Beijing Exception Finally Crumbling?”
… In addition to scholars and activists, the international media have been especially important in alerting the world to Beijing’s anti-Uighur project. Radio Free Asia journalists helped break the story and obtained crucial confirmations from local officials.
BREITBART
September 26 “Human Rights Group Warns: China Using Embassies to Repress Muslim Uighurs in U.S.”
… Beijing has also attempted to intimidate RFA journalist Shohret Hoshur by sending some of his relatives to the internment camps, also known as “re-education” centers.
Deutsche Welle
September 25 “Will China-Vatican deal have a diplomatic domino effect for Taiwan?”
… John Hung, the archbishop of Taiwan, told the US broadcaster Radio Free Asia that they urged Pope Francis to protect Taiwan and that Taiwan's Catholic community would be very disappointed by the breaking of diplomatic relations.
AL JAZEERA
September 22 “Xinjiang: The story Beijing doesn't want reported” and “Under-reported: The treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xi's China”
Alim Seytoff: “Satellite images have proved that the Chinese government has built hundreds if not more detention camps. They are also expanding. Hundreds of thousands of people are there just for being Uyghur, being Turkic, and being a Muslim.”
STRAITS TIMES
September 22 “Sweden, Switzerland express willingness to send nuke inspection team to North Korea”
… According to the report by Radio Free Asia (RFA), Vilhelm Rundquist, spokesman for Sweden's Foreign Ministry, said his country "welcomes the summit and the Inter-Korean dialogue.
YONHAP NEWS
September 22 “N. Korea again designated as a food-deficit country”
… In its latest report, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) put the communist country on a list of 39 countries that need external food assistance, calling for 641,000 tons of crops to be imported to sustain the people, according to the Radio Free Asia (RFA).
DIPLOMAT
September 21 “What Do Prisoner Releases Mean in Hun Sen’s Cambodia?”
… Two journalists, formerly with Radio Free Asia (RFA), were bailed after nine months behind bars. Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin still face charges of espionage and producing pornography and face up to 15 years imprisonment if convicted.
GLOBE AND MAIL
September 21 “OPINION: Why did China’s mass ethnic roundup go unnoticed for so long?”
… Journalists in Beijing tell me they began to hear alarming but unsourced reports starting in 2014, emerging from the Uyghur-language media outside China such as Radio Free Asia and from diplomats reading reports from their information networks, that something was happening in Xinjiang beyond the usual heavy-handed policing and mass arrests.
Chosun ilbo
September 21 “Pentagon to Cast Close Eye Over Inter-Korean Military Pact”
… The U.S. Defense Department has pledged to "thoroughly review" a military pact the two Koreas signed on Wednesday, Radio Free Asia reported.
NK NEWS (also in KOREA HERALD)
September 20 “Kim, Moon rode in controversial cable car during Mt. Paektu visit: photo”
… Responding to concerns that the visit might constitute a sanctions violation by Moon and other South Koreans in attendance, a member of the UN Sanctions Resolution 1718 Committee told Radio Free Asia (RFA) on Thursday the visit should not be considered a breach of the measures.
ASIA TIMES
September 20 “Video ‘shows soldiers knocking down church in Wa state’”
… Radio Free Asia and the Mizzima website in Myanmar compiled reports this week following an Asia Times exclusive on Monday (Sept. 17), which quoted an internal document from the UWSA’s political wing, the United Wa State Party, that pledged to punish any local cadres who support missionary activities and banned the construction of new churches.
COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS
September 19 “Vietnam jails journalist for four years over coverage of evictions”
…. A court in the northern province of Bac Ninh sentenced Duong on September 17 to four years in prison for disturbing public order, which is a criminal offense under article 318 of the penal code, Radio Free Asia reported.
GOSPEL HERALD
September 19 “Pro-China Rebels Up Persecution of Christians, Detain Pastors and Destroy Churches in Shan State”
… Rev. Soe Naing from the Catholic Clergies Group told Radio Free Asia that Christians have already been targeted by the new order.
VOX’s TODAY, EXPLAINED
September 19 “PODCAST: China's concentration camps”
Gulchehra Hoja, a Uighur journalist, explains how reporting on China’s human rights abuses against Muslims led to the disappearance of 23 of her relatives.
KOREA HERALD
September 19 “Two Koreas vow to resume Kumgangsan tours, work on family reunion site”
…. Last week, the International Olympic Committee spokesperson Mark Adams told Radio Free Asia that the organization is willing to support the two Koreas if they should push for a joint hosting of the 2032 Olympics.
KOREA TIMES
September 19 “Kim Yo-jong busy assisting two leaders”
… "Kim Yo-jong is not in a position to discuss key strategy with Kim Jong-un," Ken Gause, director of the International Affairs Group at CNA, told Radio Free Asia.
NEW YORK TIMES
September 17 “OPINION: Will Donald Trump Stand Up to China?”
…. Among Uighurs being detained are dozens of relatives of journalists associated with the American-based Radio Free Asia.
KHMER TIMES
September 17 “Supreme Court rejects RFA pair’s complaint” and “Top court dismisses appeal by RFA pair”
The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal to nullify the detention of two former Radio Free Asia reporters who were charged with espionage for allegedly sending reports to the United States.
KBS WORLD RADIO
September 16 “RFA: No Meeting Scheduled between N. Korea, US at UN Session”
…Washington-based news media Radio Free Asia (RFA) on Sunday quoted a U.S. State Department official as saying that there is no related schedule "for now."
ASIA TIMES
September 14 “To be down, out and in debt in Cambodia”
… Workers often bring their family members to also labor at the factories, where they effectively serve as human collateral for the debts they owe and can rarely pay off, Radio Free Asia reported.
CHOSUN ILBO
September 14 “Gov’t Shipped Over W4 Billion Worth of Goods to Liaison Office”
… Meanwhile, North Koreans who met their South Korean relatives in reunions in August were made by the regime to hand over any money they received as gifts, Radio Free Asia reported Thursday.
PHNOM PENH POST
September 14 “Government hits back after scathing report from UN’s Smith”
… The government’s response said that, as of August 31, 23 Cambodian politicians, analysts, land activists, and journalists were released, including Kim Sok, Tep Vanny, two Radio Free Asia journalists and Khmer Power Party founder Suorn Serey Ratha, opposition lawmaker Um Sam An, and Meach Sovannara and 13 other CNRP members.
AL JAZEERA
September 13 “Thailand's slave fishermen: What's needed to solve the crisis?”
… Ex-fishermen told Radio Free Asia in 2014 that some workers were murdered there and buried in unmarked mass graves.
KBS WORLD RADIO
September 13 “US: Inter-Korean Ties Must Keep Pace with Denuclearization Progress”
… On Thursday, Radio Free Asia quoted a department official as saying that progress in inter-Korean relations must happen in lockstep with progress on denuclearization.
YONHAP NEWS
September 13 “Italian agency sells travel package to two Koreas”
… Radio Free Asia (RFA) said that Mistral Tour, a subsidiary of Italian travel agency Quality Group, has introduced the new package, which includes stops in China and the two Koreas, after obtaining approval from North Korea.
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
September 12 “Speaking out: Uyghurs in the United States break silence on China’s crackdown”
… Shohret Hoshur, a Washington-based journalist who reports on Uygur affairs for Radio Free Asia, views the significance of such progress in stark terms.
PRI
September 11 “China's crackdown on Xinjiang's Uighur Muslims draws international concern”
… Alim Seytoff grew up in Xinjiang and is now the director of the Uighur language service at Radio Free Asia, a US government funded news outlet based in Washington, D.C. Seytoff said large numbers of people, mostly able-bodied males, in the province have been rounded up and put into internment camps.
SAN JUAN JOURNAL
September 10 “National Endowment for the Arts awards Ian Boyden of Friday Harbor”
… His translations of Woeser’s work have been published on leading human rights and Tibetan cultural websites, including Radio Free Asia, Invisible Tibet and High Peaks Pure Earth.
AL JAZEERA
September 10 “Escape from Xinjiang: Muslim Uighurs speak of China persecution”
… The Kazakh government has been accused of deporting Uighurs to Xinjiang, according to the US-funded Radio Free Asia and the Uyghur Human Rights Project.
NEW YORK TIMES
September 10 “U.S. Weighs Sanctions Against Chinese Officials Over Muslim Detention Camps”
… That same month, Heather Nauert, the chief spokeswoman for the State Department, called on China to release all those “unlawfully detained” after meeting in Washington with Ms. Hoja and five other ethnic Uighur journalists who work in the United States for Radio Free Asia.
TIME (also in ASIA TIMES, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, PHNOM PENH POST, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS, KHMER TIMES)
September 10 “Cambodia's Opposition Leader Has Been Released on Bail After a Year Behind Bars”
… Two Radio Free Asia journalists accused of espionage were also released on bail.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
September 8 “Long Beach resident held political prisoner for years in Cambodia safely returns to U.S.”
… Sovannara first gained notoriety for challenging the Cambodian government when he published stories through Radio Free Asia about the misuse of public funds in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Jamie Meach told The Times during a 2016 interview.
WASHINGTON POST (also in ABC NEWS)
September 8 “North Korea is celebrating its birthday with ‘mass games’ — 100,000 people doing synchronized gymnastics”
… Koryo said tickets to this year's event range from around $115 to $915 for the best seats in the house. And Radio Free Asia reported that North Korea has offered free tickets to this year's event to some Chinese business executives in an effort to lure investment.
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
September 7 “Northwest writer receives NEA Fellowship for translation of Tibetan-Chinese writer’s poetry”
… Ian Boyden is a translator, writer, artist, and curator. His translations of Woeser’s work have been published on leading human rights and Tibetan cultural websites, including Radio Free Asia, Invisible Tibet, and High Peaks Pure Earth.
PEN AMERICA
September 7 “Open Letter To Google: Our Concerns Over ‘Project Dragonfly’”
… In such situations, even search information could conceivably be used as evidence of a crime; for example, a Uyghur may mark him or herself as potentially “infected” with “religious extremism”[Radio Free Asia] simply by searching out message boards to discuss Quranic verses.
RADIO WORLD
September 7 “Has There Been a Thaw in the Inter-Korean Radio War?”
… In addition to stations run by South Korea, there are a number of other broadcasts that North Korea objects to and attempts to jam. These include mainstream and well-known stations such as the BBC’s recently established Korean service and the U.S. government’s Radio Free Asia.
Committee to Protect JOURNALISTS (also in Business insider)
September 7 “China arrests Uighur editor, newspaper directors for being 'two-faced'”
… Police in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region arrested the state-owned newspaper Xinjiang Daily's deputy editor-in-chief, Ilham Weli, in late July for being a "two-faced" official who secretly opposes government policies in the region, according to U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Asia.
HONG KONG FREE PRESS
September 7 “Rights groups urge release of Chinese anti-censorship activist facing subversion charge”
… Zhen was denied permission to meet his family-appointed defence attorney Ren Quanniu, according to US-backed Radio Free Asia.
SAFE HAVEN
September 6 “China Tightens Internet Controls”
… According to Radio Free Asia, there is an intense internal struggle within in the Communist Party over the “juicy political gossip” that circulates online.
CHOSUN ILBO
September 6 “Illegal Trade Flows Freely Between N.Korea and China”
Large volumes of food, seafood and minerals are usually smuggled via maritime routes, and a growing number of North Korean ships are venturing out close to Japanese waters to fish, according to Radio Free Asia.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
September 6 “Uighur footballer chases China landmark in troubled times”
… Hezim was detained in February "for visiting foreign countries", said the US-funded Radio Free Asia, citing anonymous sources in Xinjiang.
AEC NEWS
September 5 “Vietnam blogger jailings highlight US double standards (video)”
… According to Radio Free Asia, his eyesight was failing because he was being kept for long periods of time in total darkness.
CARBONATED TV
September 5 “China Launches Child Separation Operation Against Uighur Muslims”
… A Uighur worker at a regional orphanage in Xinjiang, who requested anonymity, told Radio Free Asia, in July his facility, at the time, "was seriously overcrowded and described the conditions there as 'terrible,' with children between the ages of six months and 12 years 'locked up like farm animals in a shed.'"
YONHAP NEWS (also in KBS RADIO)
September 5 “No unified Korean team at dragon boat worlds due to visa issues: report”
… Citing officials at the International Canoe Federation (ICF), Radio Free Asia (RFA) said the unified Korean team will not be a part of the ICF Dragon Boat World Championships in Gainesville, Georgia, starting on Sept. 13.
IFEX (also in INTERPRETER, ASIA TIMES)
September 4 “Freedom and Fury: Tep Vanny, "Fake News" law repealed, students protest, Google in China and genocide in Burma”
… A day after the release of Tep Vanny, a local court allowed the release on bail of two former reporters of Radio Free Asia (RFA), Oun Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, who spent the last nine months in pre-trial detention based on charges of espionage and production of pornography.
MYANMAR TIMES
September 3 “Ruling NLD sanctions two Dagon MPs for breaking regulations”
… “I was never called or given any warning by the party. During an interview I did a while ago with Radio Free Asia, I said that some things were going wrong between the party, the government, and parliament. After that, I had to submit a letter stating that I will be more careful when talking to the media. But this time, I was suspended without even knowing the reason,” said U Kyaw Zeya.
NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW
September 2 “Kim struggles to revive North Korean economy battered by sanctions”
Radio Free Asia, an outlet funded by the U.S. government, recently reported that Russia has ramped up exports of liquefied petroleum gas to the North as China scales back its supply of petroleum products
ANI (also in NEWS.COM AU)
September 1 “Muslim identity at risk in China”
… Mentioning about the excerpt from an official Communist Party audio recording, which was transmitted last year to Uighurs via a social-media platform WeChat, and transcribed and translated by Radio Free Asia, The Atlantic reported, "Members of the public who have been chosen for re-education have been infected by an ideological illness.
KBS WORLD RADIO
September 1 “Tokyo 2020 Welcomes Unified Korean Teams”
Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports that the organizing committee for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics has welcomed the participation of unified Korean teams in the games.
