(Washington, DC — July 1, 2010) Radio Free Asia broadcast the following stories, and more, in June:
RFA Reports on changes at Shaoguan factory, one year after Uyghur-Han strife
June 29 – RFA Cantonese aired story [text in English/Cantonese] on the factory in southern China where fighting erupted between ethnic Uyghur and Han Chinese workers last year no longer having any Uyghur workers in employment. The events at the Xuri Toy Factory in Shaoguan last year sparked the July 2009 unrest in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
RFA Reports on new Internet regulations in China
June 25 – RFA Mandarin aired story [text in English/Mandarin] on tough new regulations aimed at monitoring Internet usage being rolled out across China, with Internet cafes in the southwestern province of Sichuan requiring a swipe of smart ID cards before allowing people online.
RFA Reports on sentencing of Tibetan environmentalist
June 24 – RFA Tibetan aired story [text in English/Tibetan] on a court in China’s troubled northwestern region of Xinjiang sentencing a prominent Tibetan businessman-turned-activist to the maximum term of 15 years in jail on theft-related charges. This ruling came despite the charges being initially dropped in 1998.
RFA Reports on North Koreans rejecting new currency
June 23 – RFA Korean aired story [text in English/Korean] on North Koreans who can afford to save their money ignoring a new North Korean currency. Instead, they are relying on the trusted renminbi yuan from China.
RFA Reports on Tibetans held over mine protest
June 21 – RFA Tibetan aired story [text in English/Tibetan] on Chinese authorities detaining some 30 Tibetans in a remote area of the Tibet Autonomous Region who were protesting mining operations on grazing land.
RFA Reports on reunion of Mao portrait Tiananmen protesters
June 21 – RFA Mandarin aired story [text in English/Mandarin] on two protesters who helped splatter Mao Zedong’s portrait with red paint during the Tiananmen pro-democracy movement 21 years ago being reunited after each serving lengthy prison sentences. The men were awarded political asylum in the United States.
RFA Reports on release of detained Sichuan activist
June 21 – RFA Mandarin aired story [text in English/Mandarin] on a Sichuan-based rights activist and online writer being released from detention following his seizure by police and an online campaign by netizens calling for his emancipation. Chengdu-based Chen Yunfei was taken from his home in the early hours of July 17 by local police and held at an unknown location for 64 hours, during which he went on a hunger strike.
RFA Reports on Cambodia considering asylum for Rohingya
June 21 – RFA Khmer aired story [text in English/Khmer] on Cambodia weighing asylum bids from a group of 32 ethnic minority Muslims who fled from Burma. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) country director advisor Christina Planas said the Rohingya had been questioned by the Cambodian government in an interview arranged by her agency.
RFA Reports on protests in Tibetan quake region
June 17 – RFA Cantonese and Mandarin aired story [text in English/Cantonese/Mandarin] on hundreds of Tibetan residents of a quake-hit region of China’s remote western Qinghai province protesting attempts by the local government to remove them from their land.
RFA Reports on Chinese rights sites hacked
June 15 – RFA Mandarin and Cantonese aired story [text in English/Mandarin/Cantonese] on several prominent Web sites dedicated to rights activism reporting hacker attacks and other forms of malfunction in recent weeks.
RFA Reports on news delayed of Chinese nuclear plant leak
June 15 – RFA Cantonese aired story [text in English/Cantonese] on officials from an energy company running the Daya Bay nuclear power plant in southern China admitting to the facility having “very small leakage” from a fuel rod. Despite assurances that the leak was quickly contained, concerns remain that the incident should have been reported sooner to nearby residents in the region.
RFA Reports on detention of Chinese Christian pastor
June 14 – RFA Mandarin aired story [text in English/Mandarin] on Chinese police in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou detaining an underground Christian pastor and questioning him about his recent travel activities.
RFA Reports on sisters visiting jailed Tibetan monk
June 11 – RFA Tibetan aired story [text in English/Tibetan] on a prominent Tibetan monk serving a life sentence in a Chinese jail despite an international outcry being visited by two sisters in the southwestern province of Sichuan. After visiting imprisoned monk Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, his sisters said they are concerned for his health and well being.
RFA Reports on Uyghur still held after speaking to press
June 11 – RFA Uyghur and Mandarin aired story [text in English/Uyghur/Mandarin] on the wife of a Uyghur man being detained claiming he has been missing for more than eight months. Enver Israil has been held in custody since Oct. 1, after he spoke with international news media about the circumstances surrounding the death of a detained Uyghur in northwest China.
RFA Reports on detained Chinese petitioner starved to death
June 11 – RFA Mandarin aired story [text in English/Mandarin] on petitioners in the northern Chinese province of Shaanxi not receiving enough food while in detention. The petitioners were being held in a state “law study center” after pursuing complaints against local officials. One petitioner died allegedly from starvation.
RFA Reports on Hong Kong politicians’ uproar over governance mandate
June 10 – RFA Cantonese and Mandarin aired story [text in English/Cantonese/Mandarin] on Chinese officials saying Hong Kong has “little room” for debate over the latest proposals by ruling party members for changes to the territory's political system. Pro-democracy politicians in Hong Kong have vowed to vote against the package unless changes are made.
RFA Reports on Burmese farmers’ complaints over land grab
June 10 – RFA Burmese aired story [text in English/Burmese] on Burmese farmers preparing to file a complaint with an international NGO for assistance in a land-grab case. The farmers allege they have been threatened by Burma’s military.
RFA Reports on Cambodian graft panel expansion
June 9 – RFA Khmer aired story [text in English/Khmer] on Cambodian MPs selecting two new members to the country’s anti-graft panel. The move comes days after international donors demanded the government crackdown on corruption and the World Bank opened a probe into alleged mismanagement of a controversial land project.
RFA Reports on labor strikes spreading in China
June 9 – RFA Mandarin and Cantonese aired story [text in English/Mandarin/Cantonese] on a series of high-profile labor disputes as workers walked out at three Honda plants in the Pearl River Delta and at a Taiwan-invested machinery plant in Jiangsu. Some analysts and activists say this likely signals the end of low-cost manufacturing in China.
RFA Reports on Chinese police raid of Quran group
June 8 – RFA Mandarin aired story [text in English/Mandarin] on authorities near the western Silk Road city of Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region detaining a group of ethnic Uyghur women who had formed a group to study the Quran.
RFA Reports on present-day reflections of three Tiananmen protest leaders
June 4 – RFA Mandarin aired story [text in English/Mandarin] on the accounts of three former student leaders of the 1989 crackdown on protesters in Beijing.
RFA Reports on public Tiananmen memorials thwarted
June 3 – RFA Mandarin and Cantonese aired story [text in English/Mandarin/Cantonese] on Chinese authorities thwarting public attempts to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the government crackdown on the 1989 student-led protest in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
RFA Reports on internal criticism of Kim Jong Il visit
June 2 – RFA Korean aired story [text in English/Korean] on details emerging of a March visit by North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong Il to Yanggang province, with sources claiming the trip was costly and lacked any real value.
RFA Reports on Chinese factory worker dying of fatigue
June 1 – RFA Mandarin aired story [text in English/Mandarin] on relatives of a worker who died allegedly from fatigue accusing managers at an electronics factory in southern China of covering up the circumstances surrounding his death.
RFA Reports on Burmese soldiers killing youth resisting recruitment
June 1 – RFA Burmese aired story [text in English/Burmese] on Burmese soldiers shooting and killing a 15-year-old boy in eastern Karen state for resisting military recruitment.
