(Washington, DC—June 1, 2009) Radio Free Asia broadcast the following stories, and more, in May:
RFA Reports on Burma prodded over treatment of Rohingya
May 29 – RFA Burmese aired story [text in English] on Bangladesh calling on Burma to take “needful” steps to stop a flood of minority Rohingya asylum-seekers over the border. Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni told reporters the influx of Rohingya would continue “unless there is a qualitative change in Arakan state,” also known as Rakhine state, in western Burma, where most of the group resides.
RFA Reports on tensions remaining over Tibetan mine standoff
May 27 – RFA Tibetan and Mandarin aired story [text in English/Tibetan/Mandarin] on residents in the Tibetan Autonomous Region who said tensions remain despite claims by authorities to have resolved a standoff over a planned gold mine on site considered sacred. Residents of Markham say protests over the proposed mining plans have been under way for three to four months, following local authorities’ approval of a Chinese mining and lumbering firm to excavate the site, known as Ser Ngul lo.
RFA Reports on Chinese police detaining 200 after riots
May 27 – RFA Cantonese and Mandarin aired story [text in English/Cantonese/Mandarin] on 200 people in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong being detained following weekend riots, according to police. The riot erupted after weeks of attempts by local tea farmers to protest against alleged official corruption.
RFA Reports on North Korea firing more missiles
May 26 – RFA Korean aired story [text in English/Korean] on North Korea firing two more short-range missiles off its east coast, while accusing the United States of plotting against the nation. The U.S. envoy to the United Nations warned that Pyongyang’s reclusive government “will pay a price” for the nuclear and missile tests.
RFA Reports on China vowing action on trafficking
May 21 – RFA Cantonese and Mandarin aired story [text in English/Cantonese/Mandarin] on Chinese authorities vowing to extend an anti-trafficking campaign, which ended May 4. Despite authorities saying they have rescued more than 400 kidnapped women and children from human trafficking gangs, parents of missing children continue to call for greater efforts to end what they call a growing problem in China.
RFA Reports on withdrawal of group aiding Hmong
May 20 – RFA Lao aired story [text in English/Lao] on the sole humanitarian aid group assisting Lao ethnic minority Hmong refugees in Thailand announcing it will withdraw its services because of heavy restrictions preventing aid workers from doing their job. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, has provided medical care, food, sanitation, and clean water to residents of the Huay Nam Khao camp in northern Thailand’s Phetchabun province since July 2005.
RFA Reports on rare access granted at Suu Kyi trial
May 20 – RFA Burmese aired story [text in English/Burmese] on authorities granting rare access to reporters and foreign diplomats at the trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Authorities reversed their original decision to bar access after outcries from human rights groups and the international community. If convicted, Suu Kyi faces up to five years in prison.
RFA Reports on Vietnamese MPs to debate controversial mine
May 20 – RFA Vietnamese aired story [text in English/Vietnamese] on Vietnam’s parliament being set to discuss plans to mine bauxite from the Central Highlands region. The bauxite mining project will be included in the government's social and economic report to be discussed, said Nguyen Minh Thuyet, chairman of the National Assembly’s committee on culture, education, and youth.
RFA Reports on Mao portrait protesters getting asylum
May 19 – RFA Cantonese aired story [text in English/Cantonese] on two protesters who helped splatter red paint on Mao Zedong’s portrait during the Tiananmen Square protests 20 years ago being granted political asylum in the United States. Former journalist Yu Dongue, the last of three protesters jailed by Chinese authorities for defacing the portrait, was released in February 2006 after serving 17 years behind bars.
RFA Reports on Suu Kyi rejecting charges
May 14 – RFA Burmese aired story [text in English/Burmese] on imprisoned opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi rejecting charges that she violated the terms of her house arrest by authorities. Kyi Win, Suu Kyi’ attorney, met with the Nobel laureate at her May 13 court appearance at Insein Prison in Rangoon. He also noted the new charges were filed before her anticipated release on May 27.
RFA Reports on spread of H1N1 flu in China
May 13 – RFA Mandarin aired story [text in English/Mandarin] on Chinese authorities confirming the fourth case of H1N1 flu in the country’s eastern provinces. These cases are in addition to two people who showed symptoms in Hong Kong.
RFA Reports on authorities banning Sichuan quake memorials
May 12 – RFA Mandarin and Cantonese [text in English/Mandarin/Cantonese] aired story on authorities preventing bereaved families from holding memorials for children who died during the Sichuan earthquake last year. Many parents blame shoddy construction of school buildings that collapsed during the earthquake, killing thousands of children and teachers.
RFA Reports on child labor alleged at Chinese factory
May 12 – RFA Uyghur [text in English/Uyghur] aired story on allegations that a shoe factory in China’s southeastern Guangdong province is using Chinese ethnic minority child labor. Members of China’s largely Muslim Uyghur population, including children, have been sent to work in a shoe factory thousands of miles from home, according to workers from the Longfa Shoe Factory in China’s southeastern Guangdong province.
RFA Reports on the experience of Vietnamese boat people
May 11 – RFA Vietnamese aired story [text in English/Vietnamese] on former asylum-seekers and refugees from Vietnam recalling their experiences of being detained in Hong Kong three decades ago. From the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 until 1999, 143,700 Vietnamese refugees were resettled from Hong Kong to other countries.
RFA Reports on escape of Tibetan monks
May 9 – RFA Tibetan aired story [text in English/Tibetan] on five Tibetan monks who took part in 2008 protests against Chinese rule arriving in Delhi after eluding Chinese security forces for more than a year. Three of the monks—identified as Lobsang Gyatso, Jamyang Jinpa, and Jigme Gyatso—had disrupted a government-controlled tour by foreign journalists of Labrang monastery, in a Tibetan-populated area of China’s Gansu province, in April last year. Two others, Gendun Gyatso and Kelsang Jinpa, helped organize protests at Labrang in mid-March.
