(Washington, DC—March 1, 2009) Radio Free Asia broadcast the following stories, and more, in February:
RFA Reports on alleged Nargis crimes
February 27 – RFA Burmese aired story [text in English/Burmese] on health groups calling for a probe into abuses by Burma’s junta during 2008 cyclone relief efforts. Burma's ruling junta deliberately blocked aid to victims of last year's deadly cyclone, the first major study of the catastrophic storm and its aftermath has found. The junta's disregard for those who survived Cyclone Nargis could amount to crimes against humanity under international law, according to the report, After the Storm: Voices from the Delta, by the Center for Public Health and Human Rights at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Thailand-based aid organization Emergency Assistance Team. The two groups have called for an investigation into Burma’s State Peace and Development Council for crimes against humanity.
RFA Reports on North Korea readying rocket
February 27 – RFA Korean aired story [text in English/Korean] on Pyongyang readying a rocket launch as the new U.S. envoy on North Korea headed to Asia. North Korea has said it is preparing to launch a rocket to send a satellite into space, amid growing fears it will launch a missile instead. The South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted a government source as saying: "It appears that [the North] has begun assembling the rocket on the ground."
RFA Reports on Tibetans skipping New Year
February 25 – RFA Tibetan aired story [text in English/Tibetan] on Tibetans forgoing traditional New Year celebrations in passive protest, to the dismay of Chinese authorities. Tibetans inside China are largely skipping traditional Tibetan New Year, or Losar, festivities in response to China’s heavy-handed crackdown on protests against Chinese rule last year.
RFA Reports on China’s “relief” over Clinton trip
February 24 – RFA Mandarin and Cantonese aired story [text in English/Mandarin/Cantonese] on official Chinese media expressing relief after a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while protesters describe a huge operation to prevent public protest. Clinton's visit emphasized cooperation over pressuring Beijing on human rights, signaling further stability in bilateral relations, the official English-language China Daily newspaper said in an editorial. The editorial continued that this provided “much sought-after relief” for many.
RFA Reports on clampdown in Tibet
February 24 – RFA Tibetan, Mandarin, and Cantonese aired story [text in English/Tibetan/Mandarin/Cantonese] on tight security and high tensions ahead of several key Tibetan anniversaries. Chinese authorities in Tibetan-populated regions stepped up travel restrictions in the wake of a series of Tibetan protests and ahead of several politically sensitive dates. Foreign tourists were warned against traveling to Tibetan regions of Sichuan, while foreign journalists are being barred from entering the Tibetan capital, Lhasa.
RFA Reports on expert foreseeing NK missile test
February 23 – RFA Editorial aired story [text in English] on Dan Southerland’s interview with Russian historian Andrei Lankov, an expert on North Korea and an RFA commentator. Mr. Lankov advised the U.S. to ignore the war talk from Pyongyang but to keep the country engaged in dialogue. He called a missile launch by North Korea "very likely."
RFA Reports on Uyghurs pressured to shave
February 20 – RFA Uyghur aired story [text in English/Uyghur] on ethnic Uyghurs in Kashgar complaining about a new campaign against facial hair. Authorities in China’s westernmost city of Kashgar are stepping up pressure on government employees to go clean-shaven, and the city’s large ethnic Uyghur population, whose adult males overwhelmingly sport moustaches, are displeased. Kashgar Prefecture propaganda chief Omerjan Tohti said the tough new line against facial hair aims to make government employees look more presentable, but he acknowledged that the issue has become politicized.
RFA Reports on Khmer Rouge trial clash
February 19 – RFA Khmer aired story [text in English/Khmer] on lawyers clashing over evidence at pretrial hearings in Cambodia's long-awaited Khmer Rouge trial of Kaing Guek Eav, known by the alias Duch. Lawyers preparing for the trial of Duch, the Khmer Rouge’s alleged lead torturer, clashed in court over whether footage shot by Vietnamese soldiers inside his notorious prison may be admitted as prosecution evidence. The seven-minute film—shot in black and white by Vietnamese troops after they ousted the Khmer Rouge in 1979—shows inmates’ emaciated bodies, some still in chains, inside S-21, or Tuol Sleng, prison.
RFA Reports on defiant Vietnam cyber-dissident
February 18 – RFA Vietnamese aired story [text in English/Vietnamese] on a Vietnamese cyber-dissident who was freed after serving 2-1/2 years in jail. Vietnamese writer and cyber-dissident Huynh Nguyen Dao was released Wednesday after serving the prison term for “anti-government crimes,” defiantly insisting that Vietnamese citizens have a right and a duty to speak out.
RFA Reports on Uyghurs forced to stay at Guantanamo
February 18 – RFA Uyghur aired story [text in English/Uyghur] on a new legal setback to seventeen ethnic Uyghurs being held at Guantanamo Bay. A U.S. appeals court has ruled against releasing into the United States 17 ethnic Uyghurs held for years at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, though they have been cleared of terrorism allegations. A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. ruled on Feb. 18 that a federal judge lacks authority to order the U.S. government to bring the men to the United States for release, and that only the executive branch can make such a determination.
RFA Reports on new Tibetan protests
February 18 – RFA Tibetan and Mandarin aired story [text in English/Tibetan/Mandarin] on Tibetans staging new protests as key anniversaries approach. New protests erupted in a Tibetan-populated region of China, with armed police using force to disperse demonstrators and detaining at least 13 people. The protests are among the largest yet reported in the run-up to two politically sensitive anniversaries next month in the Himalayan region—a failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule and of protests in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, in 2008 that quickly spread throughout several provinces in western China.
RFA Reports on Fujian economic unrest warning
February 12 – RFA Mandarin aired story [text in English/Mandarin] on Chinese authorities warning local officials in the city of Fuzhou to take measures to prevent mass protests as the economy worsens. Authorities warned local officials to take measures to prevent "mass incidents" over a land dispute, as the global economic crisis sparks government fears over growing social unrest. In a document issued by the Chinese Communist Party propaganda department of Fuzhou city and obtained by RFA, the government warned Fuqing city officials lower down the chain of command to beware of fallout.
RFA Reports on Lao officials slamming corruption
February 11 – RFA Lao aired story [text in English/Lao] on two top officials who said bribery is commonplace in bidding on major construction projects in Laos. Both domestic and international companies often bribe officials before bidding begins, one official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
RFA Reports on ethnic tensions in Xinjiang
February 6 – RFA Uyghur aired story [text in English/Uyghur] on Internet cafes in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region having become a new setting for confrontations between Uyghurs and Han Chinese. But police there say the severity of recent incidents has been overstated by the area's mostly Uyghur inhabitants. Internet cafes in Aksu prefecture's Shayar county are frequented by young men from the mostly Muslim Uyghur ethnic group. But the cafes are staffed by Chinese workers who mistreat their clientele, Uyghurs there said.
RFA Reports on foreign labor in Chinese prisons
February 5 – RFA Burmese and Mandarin aired story [text in English/Burmese/Mandarin] on Burmese nationals and other foreigners in Chinese prisons facing forced labor under brutal conditions. Foreign prisons are being forced to produce consumer goods for private companies, according to two former prisoners. The two Burmese citizens, who served out sentences in Chinese jails for drug trafficking offenses, said in an interview that nearly all Burmese imprisoned in China during the last five years were held in a prison in Kunming, the capital of China’s southern Yunnan province.
