(Washington, DC — May 1, 2014) Radio Free Asia broadcast the following stories, and more, in April:
RFA Reports on falsely registered mobiles confounding North Korean authorities
April 30 – RFA Korean aired story [text in English/Korean] on a growing number of rich and powerful North Koreans registering cell phones under a false name to avoid surveillance. For most North Koreans, obtaining a cell phone is an arduous process fraught with bureaucracy and invasive background checks.
RFA Reports on crackdown on demonstrators in Uyghur region after motorcyclist’s shooting
April 29 – RFA Uyghur aired story [text in English/Uyghur] on Chinese authorities launching a crackdown on a village in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region where an ethnic minority Uyghur teen motorcyclist was shot dead by police after he ran a red light. Authorities detained more than 50 people who had publicly protested against the killing.
RFA Reports on Cambodian authorities’ warnings ahead of planned rally
April 29 – RFA Khmer aired story [text in English/Khmer] on Cambodian authorities threatening to take action against workers' unions and nongovernmental organizations planning to hold a May 1 Labor Day rally at Freedom Park. The capital’s designated protest space has been kept off limits to gatherings with political undertones most of this year.
RFA Reports on disappearance of Chinese journalist
April 29 – RFA Mandarin and Cantonese aired story [text in English/Mandarin/Cantonese] on the disappearance of veteran Chinese journalist Gao Yu, as authorities in Beijing tighten controls on dissidents and rights activists ahead of the anniversary of the 1989 crackdown at Tiananmen Square. Gao has been out of contact with family and friends since failing to show up at an event commemorating the 25th anniversary of the military crackdown on the student-led pro-democracy movement in Beijing.
RFA Reports on Myanmar ethnic rebels agreeing to peace talks
April 29 – RFA Myanmar aired story [text in English/Myanmar] on armed ethnic groups agreeing to meet with the Myanmar government in May for peace talks. This announcement comes despite reservations over a number of conditions imposed under a proposed nationwide cease-fire agreement.
RFA Reports on barring of Vietnamese bloggers from visiting U.S.
April 25 – RFA Vietnamese aired story [text in English/Vietnamese] on the barring of three Vietnamese bloggers from traveling to testify at a U.S. congressional briefing in Washington and attend a series of events to mark World Press Freedom Day.
RFA Reports on jailed Uyghur religious leader’s hunger strike
April 25 – RFA Uyghur and Mandarin aired story [text in English/Uyghur/Mandarin] on a Uyghur religious leader jailed in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region entering the third month of a hunger strike after he was given a fifth prison term. Abdukiram Abduveli, 59, was first sentenced in 1993 to 12 years in prison for spreading “counterrevolutionary propaganda,” apparently for advocating the spread of Islam, and has now served nearly twice his original term.
RFA Reports on postponement of Cambodian protesters’ trial
April 25 – RFA Khmer aired story [text in English/Khmer] on a month-long delay for the long-awaited trial of nearly two dozen Cambodians arrested during a worker strike amid an outcry for the hearing to proceed. The 23 men are facing charges of causing intentional violence and damaging property during strikes in the capital Phnom Penh in early January that left five people dead and nearly 40 wounded when security forces opened fire on workers demanding higher minimum wages.
RFA Reports on anti-riot exercises in Beijing ahead of Tiananmen anniversary
April 25 – RFA Mandarin aired story [text in English/Mandarin] on police in Beijing holding “anti-riot” exercises on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the publication of a hard-line editorial in a ruling Chinese Communist Party newspaper that triggered the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement crackdown.
RFA Reports on foreign travelers in North Korea reporting ability to send emails abroad
April 23 – RFA Korean aired story [text in English/Korean] on authorities in North Korea appearing to be allowing foreign travelers to send and receive emails abroad using mobile devices linked to the Internet. A visitor told RFA he had received an email from a foreign colleague who had used his smartphone to send it while accessing the Internet during a visit to the capital Pyongyang.
RFA Reports on detention of Chinese labor activists in shoe factory strike
April 23 – RFA Cantonese and Mandarin aired story [text in English/Cantonese/Mandarin] on Chinese police detaining two employees of a nongovernmental labor organization supporting thousands of striking workers in the southern province of Guangdong. Some 30,000 employees of a factory complex owned by Taiwan-invested Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings) in Dongguan city have been striking intermittently since April 5 over social security payments required under Chinese law, and over other demands.
RFA Reports on Myanmar requiring Rakhine aid groups to report on activities
April 23 – RFA Myanmar aired story [text in English/Myanmar] on the requirement for U.N. agencies and international humanitarian groups in Myanmar’s Rakhine state to report on their activities in advance. The groups will have to receive approval from a government-led committee as part of new measures following the latest violence in the state.
RFA Reports on blocking of Tibetan language event
April 22 – RFA Tibetan aired story [text in English/Tibetan] on Chinese authorities blocking a traditional Tibetan language competition in a Tibetan-populated county in Sichuan province. They cited concerns over the “political implications” of the event.
RFA Reports on criticism in Vietnam of government’s handling of measles outbreak
April 22 – RFA Vietnamese aired story [text in English/Vietnamese] on Vietnamese authorities coming under fire for their management of a deadly measles outbreak. Netizens in Vietnam have called for the resignation of the embattled health minister, suggesting authorities are covering up a potential epidemic. Fatalities have exceeded 120.
RFA Reports on death of Myanmar opposition party founder Win Tin
April 21 – RFA Myanmar aired story [text in English/Myanmar] on the death of veteran journalist Win Tin, 85, who co-founded Myanmar’s opposition National League for Democracy with Aung San Suu Kyi. He became the country’s longest-serving political prisoner.
RFA Reports on sentencing of Chinese anti-corruption activists
April 18 – RFA Mandarin and Cantonese aired story [text in English/Mandarin/Cantonese] on a court in Beijing handing down jail terms to four anti-corruption activists linked to a government transparency movement.
RFA Reports on detention of Mongolian herders following mining clashes
April 17 – RFA Mandarin aired story [text in English/Mandarin] on Chinese authorities in the northern region of Inner Mongolia holding seven ethnic Mongolian herders after clashes with a mining company. The herders accuse the company of polluting their grazing lands.
RFA Reports on Xinhua journalist pursuing corruption charges
April 16 – RFA Mandarin and Cantonese aired story [text in English/Mandarin/Cantonese] on the head of top state-owned conglomerate China Resources Holdings vowing to pursue a libel lawsuit against a journalist working for the state-run news agency Xinhua. The journalist has repeatedly accused him of corruption and money-laundering via social media.
RFA Reports on release of Vietnamese prisoners highlighting scores still in jail
April 15 – RFA Vietnamese aired story [text in English/Vietnamese] on rights groups welcoming the early release of several Vietnamese political prisoners recently as Vietnam negotiates with the United States over a trade deal. But groups are quick to point out scores of others remain behind bars and should also be released.
RFA Reports on Chinese writer vowing to finish quake probe after release
April 15 – RFA Cantonese aired story [text in English/Cantonese] on a prominent jailed Chinese writer vowing upon his release in May to continue his probe into the collapse of school buildings that killed thousands of children during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Tan Zuoren was jailed in May 2009 for subversion after he tried to probe allegations of corruption linked to shoddy construction standards in school buildings in the aftermath of the 8.0 magnitude earthquake.
RFA Reports on Tibetan self-immolation protest against Beijing’s rule
April 15 – RFA Tibetan aired story [text in English/Tibetan] on a Tibetan man burning himself to death in Sichuan province's Kardze prefecture to protest Chinese rule. The protest triggered a security alert and a clampdown on information flows.
RFA Reports on thousands in southern China clashing with police over crematorium plans
April 14 – RFA Cantonese and Mandarin aired story [text in English/Mandarin/Cantonese] on residents of a city in China's southern Guangdong province clashing with armed police. The clashes occurred during a mass protest at government plans to build a crematorium, amid reports of one death and multiple injuries in the violence.
RFA Reports on Cambodian opposition leader sounding hopeful on deal
April 14 – RFA Khmer aired story [text in English/Khmer] on Cambodia’s opposition leader Sam Rainsy expressing hope that a deal can be reached with Prime Minister Hun Sen to end the country’s eight-month political deadlock. The two parties’ inability to bring an end to the political deadlock has frustrated average Cambodians who complain that the eight-month standoff has affected the economy and left them struggling to make ends meet.
RFA Reports on Cambodian court convicting 13 for plotting overthrow
April 11 – RFA Khmer aired story [text in English/Khmer] on a Cambodian court convicting 13 people of plotting to overthrow the government. Rights groups have slammed the case as politically motivated and part of Prime Minister Hun Sen's strategy of using the judiciary to discredit the opposition.
RFA Reports on challenge of executed Uyghur’s trial over role 2009 ethnic violence
April 11 – RFA Uyghur aired story [text in English/Uyghur] on a teacher of a 21-year-old Uyghur man executed five years ago challenging the fairness of the deceased’s trial. The man was sentenced over his participation in the July 2009 rights in Urumqi in which some 200 people died and 1,700 were injured in the clashes between ethnic minority Uyghurs and Han Chinese.
RFA Reports on Lao farmers blocking Chinese developer’s land grab
April 11 – RFA Lao aired story [text in English/Lao] on a Chinese developer moving to seize additional land from farmers in northern Laos for the construction of an international airport as part of a casino complex. The farmers have prevented the developer from carrying out any survey work in the area in a rare standoff.
RFA Reports on Myanmar papers protesting journalist’s jailing with black front pages
April 11 – RFA Myanmar aired story [text in English/Myanmar] on several newspapers in Myanmar printing black front pages in protest against the jailing of a journalist pursuing a story on education. Many of the blacked-out page-ones included a protest message against the sentencing of Zaw Pe, a 40-year-old video journalist for the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) who was handed a one-year jail term.
RFA Reports on demotion of North Korean officials tied to Kim Jong Un’s uncle
April 8 – RFA Korean aired story [text in English/Korean] on the demotion of nearly all former high-ranking officials of a dismantled North Korean government department formerly overseen by the executed uncle of leader Kim Jong Un. Executive officials of the party’s Administrative Department, which was disbanded in early February following the execution four months ago of Kim’s uncle Jang Song Thaek, have been reassigned to positions that rank them among “the lowest class of society.”
RFA Reports on Chinese ordering destruction of Tibetan prayer wheels
April 8 – RFA Tibetan aired story [text in English/Tibetan] on Chinese authorities in a Tibetan county in Qinghai province ordering a local clinic to destroy “prayer wheels” dedicated to the healing of disease. Authorities also threatened to take possession of a nearby mountain considered sacred by Tibetans, vowing to offer it to outside bidders for mining.
RFA Reports on daughter of Ilham Tohti saying China deaf to Uyghur grievances
April 8 – RFA Uyghur aired story [text in English/Uyghur] on the daughter of detained Uyghur academic Ilham Tohti telling U.S. lawmakers that Beijing has alienated itself from the minority group by arresting her father despite his peaceful promotion of equal rights and greater autonomy. Tohti, an outspoken professor at Beijing's Central University for Nationalities, was detained on separatism charges in January and has been held incommunicado since.
RFA Reports on released Vietnamese political prisoner arriving in U.S.
April 7 – RFA Vietnamese aired story [text in English/Vietnamese] on one of Vietnam’s most prominent political prisoners, Cu Huy Ha Vu, being released from jail and arriving in the United States. Vu, 56, a rights lawyer who was imprisoned on “anti-state charges,” arrived in Washington, D.C. with his wife on April 7th.
RFA Reports on calls to release detained Chinese rights lawyers
April 4 – RFA Mandarin aired story [text in English/Mandarin] on authorities in a northeastern Chinese province holding three prominent rights lawyers who tried to secure the release of a client from an unofficial detention center, or "black jail." Calls are growing for their release.
RFA Reports on sentencing of village leaders in Tibetan anti-flag campaign
April 4 – RFA Tibetan aired story [text in English/Tibetan] on two Tibetan leaders of a village at the center of a campaign resisting forced displays of loyalty to China being sentenced to long terms in jail. The men’s families are unsure of their present whereabouts or condition.
RFA Reports on thousands in Guangdong protesting PX plant
April 3 – RFA Mandarin and Cantonese aired story [text in English/Mandarin/Cantonese] on thousands of protesters converging on government buildings in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong as protests against a planned petrochemical plant continued.
RFA Reports on Borei Keila mother quitting sex work after donors pay off debts
April 2 – RFA Khmer aired story [text in English/Khmer] on a new turn for a woman RFA profiled from Phnom Penh’s Borei Keila community who resorted to prostitution to keep her family afloat after losing her home in one of Cambodia’s bitterest land disputes. She now says she has quit the sex trade and become a seamstress after sympathetic donors helped pay off her family's debts.
RFA Reports on rights group claiming half a million Cambodians affected by land grabs
April 1 – RFA Khmer aired story [text in English/Khmer] on a local rights group saying that more than half a million Cambodians have been affected by land conflicts involving the government since 2000, with more than 2,000 families across the country subjected to largely violent land grabs during the first few months of this year.
RFA Reports on Liu Xia spending another birthday under house arrest
April 1 – RFA Cantonese and Mandarin aired story [text in English/Cantonese/Mandarin] on activists across China renewing their campaign for the release of Liu Xia, wife of jailed Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, as she spent another birthday under house arrest.
