(Washington, DC — April 1, 2014) Radio Free Asia broadcast the following stories, and more, in March:
RFA Reports on Cambodian riot police beating Beehive Radio protesters
March 31 – RFA Khmer aired story [text in English/Khmer] on riot police in the Cambodian capital violently dispersing more than 100 people demanding a television license for independent Beehive Radio. Two of the injured protesters suffered severe wounds—one to the head and the other to the eye—after they were beaten by scores of police wielding electric batons and clubs during the demonstration against the Ministry of Information.
RFA Reports on death of veteran Tibetan Communist Party member
March 30 – RFA Tibetan aired story [text in English/Tibetan] on the death of Bapa Phuntsok Wangyal, the Tibetan Communist Party founder who had called for Beijing to reconcile with exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. He was 92. The Dalai Lama issued a message expressing grief over the death of Wangyal, who merged his party with China’s ruling Communist Party in 1949 but later became an outspoken critic of Beijing's hard-line policies toward Tibet.
RFA Reports on Tibetan nun’s self-immolation protest
March 29 – RFA Tibetan aired story [text in English/Tibetan] on a Tibetan nun setting herself on fire in protest against Chinese rule in a Tibetan county in Sichuan province. The nun self-immolated in a monastery in the Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, triggering a security crackdown in the area.
RFA Reports on Chinese authorities freezing jailed Uyghur scholar’s accounts
March 28 – RFA Uyghur aired story [text in English/Uyghur] on Chinese authorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region freezing the bank accounts of a detained outspoken ethnic minority Uyghur scholar, leaving his wife and family with no money to live on. Ilham Tohti, a professor at the Beijing's Central University for Nationalities, was detained in January on separatism charges.
RFA Reports on aid groups leaving Myanmar’s Sittwe amid Buddhist mob violence
March 28 – RFA Myanmar aired story [text in English/Myanmar] on international aid workers taking refuge in police shelters or leaving the capital of western Myanmar's Rakhine state after Buddhist mobs attacked offices of foreign nongovernmental organizations. The two days of violence also left a 13-year-old girl dead.
RFA Reports on Chinese police severely beating Uyghur youth
March 27 – RFA Uyghur aired story [text in English/Uyghur] on police in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region beating a minority Uyghur youth unconscious following a quarrel between him and a Han Chinese policeman. Njiant Semet, 21, was admitted to a hospital in critical condition following the incident.
RFA Reports on Lao Christians leaving Buddhist majority village amid tensions
March 27 – RFA Lao aired story [text in English/Lao] on six Christian families leaving their Buddhist-majority village in southern Laos following pressure to renounce their faith. However, officials in Savannakhet province claim the families moved out of Phin district’s Natahall village of their own accord in order to avoid conflict.
RFA Reports on Myanmar’s president saying military to continue role in politics
March 26 – RFA Myanmar aired story [text in English/Myanmar] on Myanmar’s President Thein Sein saying the military will remain a key component in politics even as the country embraces reforms. The general-turned-reformer indicated that any reduced role for the military, which committed blatant human rights abuses during its rule over five decades until 2012, will depend on whether the government can forge permanent peace with armed rebel groups and on public acceptance of democracy.
RFA Reports on iconic Chinese lake turning milky white with pollution
March 26 – RFA Mandarin aired story [text in English/Mandarin] on the visible industrial pollution of an iconic lake at the heart of a popular vacation spot in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan. Local residents posted photos online of the now turbid and white waters of Erhai Lake in the tourist region of Dali, historically famed for its crystal-clear waters.
RFA Reports on Chinese parents’ protests growing amid medicine scandal
March 26 – RFA Mandarin aired story [text in English/Mandarin] on authorities in the western Chinese city of Lanzhou shuttering yet another kindergarten after parents took to the streets in protest amid a widening scandal over the medication of very young children. Parents claim an antiviral treatment was administered to their children without their knowledge or permission.
RFA Reports on Chinese police detaining rights activists during U.S. first lady’s trip
March 25 – RFA Cantonese aired story [text in English/Cantonese] on authorities in the southwestern province of Sichuan detaining and beating up local rights activists for fear they would try to meet with U.S. first lady Michelle Obama. Sichuan-based rights group Tianwang said policemen and plainclothes officers beat up a group of land protesters on the streets of the provincial capital Chengdu, before dragging them to a police station.
RFA Reports on Wukan protest leader seeking asylum in United States
March 24 – RFA Mandarin and Cantonese aired story [text in English/Mandarin/Cantonese] on one of the leaders of a 2011 protest in the rebel village of Wukan in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong seeking political asylum in the United States. Zhuang Liehong, who arrived with his wife in New York in early February, said he wanted to remain in the United States after two other popularly-elected village leaders were detained on "bribery" charges.
RFA Reports on much of rural Cambodia lacking safe water access
March 21 – RFA Khmer aired story [text in English/Khmer] on nearly half the population of Cambodia not having access to safe water and basic sanitation. Some 6.3 million out of 14.9 million Cambodians are unable to access clean drinking water, most of them poor and living in rural areas.
RFA Reports on death of Tibetan political prisoner who was tortured in jail
March 21 – RFA Tibetan aired story [text in English/Tibetan] on the death of a Tibetan who was “brutally tortured” and suffered other abuses in jail for challenging Chinese rule. Goshul Lobsang, 43, who was beaten so severely he could not swallow food, died on March 19 at his family home in the Kanlho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwestern China’s Gansu province.
RFA Reports on imprisoned Vietnamese dissident receiving presidential amnesty
March 21 – RFA Vietnamese aired story [text in English/Vietnamese] on an ailing Vietnamese dissident and blogger suffering from terminal cancer receiving amnesty from President Truong Tan Sang. The status permanently quashed his jail sentence, but his wife says it may do little to revive him from his death bed.
RFA Reports on ICC complaint against Cambodia’s Hun Sen
March 20 – RFA Khmer aired story [text in English/Khmer] on a request made to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to consider bringing Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen before the bench on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. American human rights lawyer Morton Sklar lodged a complaint with the Hague-based ICC against Hun Sen and his government, accusing him of trying to stop the activities of a U.N.-backed tribunal prosecuting members of the notorious Khmer Rouge regime and of being responsible for "major human rights abuses against the population of Cambodia."
RFA Reports on Myanmar holding by-elections this year
March 20 – RFA Myanmar aired story [text English/Myanmar] on Myanmar officials announcing the country will hold by-elections in November or December this year to fill 30 seats in parliament and state legislatures. The move allows political parties to test their strength ahead of crucial general elections next year.
RFA Reports on sentencing of second Vietnamese blogger in a month
March 19 – RFA Vietnamese aired story [text in English/Vietnamese] on a Vietnamese court sentencing a blogger to 15 months in jail in the second such conviction to be handed down in March, as authorities clamp down on online criticism of government leaders and policies. Pham Viet Dao, 62 and a former Vietnamese Communist Party member and government official, was sentenced in Hanoi on charges of “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on the interests of the State.”
RFA Reports on Myanmar approving electricity rate hike amid criticism
March 19 – RFA Myanmar aired story [text in English/Myanmar] on Myanmar's parliament approving an increase in electricity rates amid concerns that the unpopular move will trigger a rise in the price of goods and services. Previous government moves to raise power rates have met with protests.
RFA Reports on detentions of Tibetans for painting freedom slogans
March 18 – RFA Tibetan aired story [text in English/Tibetan] on Chinese authorities detaining two monks in connection with the painting of Tibetan independence slogans on boulders amid a crackdown in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Monasteries have come under intensified policing and security recently.
RFA Reports on popularity of banned, pricey South Korean fabric among women in North
March 18 – RFA Korean aired story [text in English/Korean] on North Koreans paying high prices for South Korean-made fabric used for traditional women’s dresses. Like all South Korean products, the cloth is forbidden in North Korea, but traders are able to bring it across the border to sell on the black market, as long as it does not have any labels with Korean writing on it, sources told RFA.
RFA Reports on two Tibetan monks self-immolating on crackdown anniversary
March 16 – RFA Tibetan aired story [text in English/Tibetan] on two Tibetan monks setting themselves on fire in two regions on the sixth anniversary of a deadly crackdown by Chinese authorities. Since the 2008 crackdown, the fiery protests against Beijing’s rule have claimed the lives of 131 Tibetans.
RFA Reports on Borei Keila women in Cambodia turning to sex work after evictions
March 14 – RFA Khmer aired story [text in English/Khmer] on women evicted from Phnom Penh’s Borei Keila slum resorting to prostitution to support themselves after losing their homes and jobs in one of Cambodia’s worst land disputes. The women are among some 150 families struggling to make ends meet since being moved to a barren plot of land an hour-and-a-half’s drive outside the city two years ago.
RFA Reports on death of jailed Chinese rights activist denied medical care
March 14 – RFA Mandarin aired story [text in English/Mandarin] on a prominent Chinese human rights activist dying after she was denied medical treatment for months while in detention. Cao Shunli, 52, who had been in police custody since September last year and was suffering from various medical conditions, was admitted to intensive care at the Beijing Qinghe 999 Hospital last month, and later transferred to the 309 Military Hospital where she died.
RFA Reports on jailing of Hmong for defying government campaign
March 14 – RFA Vietnamese aired story [text in English/Vietnamese] on a provincial court in northern Vietnam sentencing a Hmong Christian to 18 months in jail for defying a government campaign forcing the ethnic minority group to return to older funeral practices now considered wasteful by many in the community. Hoang Van Sang, 60, was handed an 18-month jail term by a court in Tuyen Quang province for “abusing democratic rights to infringe on the State and others’ benefits,” his lawyer told RFA.
RFA Reports on Chinese market clash leaving six dead
March 14 – RFA Cantonese and Mandarin aired story [text in English/Cantonese/Mandarin] on the deaths of six people in the central Chinese city of Changsha after a fight broke out between two ethnic minority Uyghur market stallholders. The incident comes as China is still reeling from a series of fatal March 1 stabbings that left 33 dead in the southwestern city of Kunming.
RFA Reports on rights groups demanding Thailand not deport Uyghurs
March 14 – RFA Uyghur aired story [text in English/Uyghur] on Thailand coming under pressure not to deport more than 200 Uyghurs back to China. The Uyghurs were detained near the Thai border with Malaysia while fleeing ethnic tension at home.
RFA Reports on exclusion of Rohingyas in Myanmar census
March 13 – RFA Myanmar aired story [text in English/Myanmar] on Myanmar’s government announcing that Muslim Rohingyas will not be included as an ethnic group in Myanmar’s first census exercise in more than 30 years. The move was met with wide criticism as it signals the government’s unwillingness to recognize Rohingyas as a national ethnicity.
RFA Reports on Lao dam project advancing despite environmental concerns
March 12 – RFA Lao aired story [text in English/Lao] on Laos announcing plans to begin construction on the controversial Don Sahong dam on the Mekong River in December. The Don Sahong dam will be located almost a mile from the Lao-Cambodia border and will block the Hou Sahong channel—which environmental groups say is the only year-round channel for trans-boundary fish migration on the Mekong.
RFA Reports on China offering online training to ‘50 cent’ army
March 12 – RFA Mandarin aired story [text in English/Mandarin] on China announcing a certified training course for its "50-cent army" of Internet propagandists who are paid to manipulate public opinion by posting and re-tweeting comments favorable to the ruling Chinese Communist Party. State-run online news service Xinhuanet said it would run the first part of its course on the "management of online public opinion," in a bid to train large numbers of people to write comments supportive of the government and its policies.
RFA Reports on Hong Kong broadcaster halting production plans amid free press fears
March 11 – RFA Cantonese and Mandarin aired story [text in English/Cantonese/Mandarin] on a Hong Kong broadcaster suspending plans to launch mobile TV service in July amid concerns that the days of the territory's formerly freewheeling press are already long gone. Hong Kong Television Network (HKTV) will suspend new program production and postpone plans to launch a mobile TV service after Hong Kong's government regulator said it would need a broadcasting license.
RFA Reports on new Myanmar committee for drafting of cease-fire pact
March 10 – RFA Myanmar aired story [text in English/Myanmar] on Myanmar government negotiators and ethnic rebel leaders agreeing to jointly frame a nationwide cease-fire agreement aimed at ending decades of fighting. The ethnic groups’ Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) and the government’s Union Peace Working Committee (UPWC) announced that they would form a committee to write up the text of the cease-fire pact, which officials are anxious to sign as early as April.
RFA Reports on Kunming attacks sparking online rumors and crackdown
March 7 – RFA Mandarin aired story [text in English/Mandarin] on the March 1 deadly knife attacks in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming sparking further Internet controls, as police punish online "rumor-mongers" and warn those who try to start a debate on the causes behind the attacks.
RFA Reports on Vietnamese farmers protesting developer’s crackdown in land dispute
March 7 – RFA Vietnamese aired story [text in English/Vietnamese] on hundreds of Vietnamese farmers protesting against a violent crackdown by a developer. The developer allegedly sent armed men to prevent them from reclaiming their rice fields acquired for a satellite city project.
RFA Reports on North Korea detaining dozens connected to missionary
March 7 – RFA Korean aired story [text in English/Korean] on North Korean authorities detaining dozens of people accused of helping a South Korean missionary smuggle himself into the country. Some evidence suggests that a number of them face execution on charges of conspiring with the missionary to set up underground churches in North Korea.
RFA Reports on jailing of Tibetan over content on mobile phone
March 6 – RFA Tibetan aired story [text in English/Tibetan] on Chinese police detaining a Tibetan monk in the Chamdo prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region after accusing him of sharing politically sensitive information with others from his mobile phone. On Feb. 28, in the same area, Chinese authorities detained and fatally beat another monk after finding him in possession of banned writings and videos.
RFA Reports on woman self-immolating in Tiananmen Square
March 5 – RFA Mandarin and Cantonese aired story [text in English/Mandarin/Cantonese] on a woman setting fire to herself in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on the opening day of China's annual session of parliament. But evidence of her protest was swiftly expunged from the scene, according to eyewitnesses.
RFA Reports on Myanmar enacting media freedom law but retaining licensing controls
March 5 – RFA Myanmar aired story [text in English/Myanmar] on Myanmar’s parliament adopting the country’s first laws to enshrine media freedom since reformist President Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian administration came to power in 2011. But the government continues to retain the power to withhold or revoke publishing licenses unilaterally.
RFA Reports on fears of further backlash against Uyghurs in wake of Kunming attack
March 5 – RFA Uyghur, Cantonese, and Mandarin aired story [text in English/Uyghur/Cantonese/Mandarin] on concerns that China's mostly Muslim Uyghur minority could face a further backlash of discrimination in the wake of the Kunming railway station killings.
