Story Archive
2009-12-30
Members of the Dai ethnic minority in China's Yunnan province are losing their traditional means of survival as dams affect the waters of the Mekong River.
2009-12-28
Thousands of Hmong were forcibly removed from a refugee camp in Thailand and sent back to Laos where some may face persecution at the hands of the government.
2009-12-24
Officially, the military regime fights drug production in Shan State, Burma, but our reporters meet with local residents who expose the army as a main participant in the manufacturing process.
2009-12-18
In Ubon Tatchathani province, Thailand, construction of the Pak Mun dam was so disastrous for the local economy that it stalled all new dam projects across the country.
2009-12-18
A poor rice farmer in Ubon Tatchathani province, Thailand, wins a 32-year battle over a dam that flooded her land. Grandma Hai tells all.
2009-12-18
China stakes a claim in Chiang Rai province, Thailand, with its new casinos.
2009-12-11
A fishing community in Chiang Khong, Thailand, talks about changes in the ecology of the river that make it difficult to continue the traditions of their trade. The Mekong catfish, a monster that can reach nine feet in length and over 650 lbs in weight, has been endangered since 2004. But is their scarcity due to overfishing, industrial development upstream, or climate change?
2009-12-10
Changes to the flow of the Mekong River in the southern section of China's Yunnan province have forced many residents to seek new opportunities in urban centers.
2009-12-10
In northeastern Burma’s Shan state, our Mekong team speaks with the Lahu minority people about being forced into difficult, often deadly service to the Burmese army.
2009-12-07
Residents along the Mekong River in southern China must adapt their lives to the changes a network of massive dams has wrought on the waterway.
2009-12-07
Experts say two-thirds of Himalayan glaciers could melt over the next 40 years. The Mekong team treks to the Mingyong Glacier in northern Yunnan, China, a 12-km sheet of ice.
2009-12-03
Flowing for the first time through this regional capital in Yunnan province, China, the Lancang provides electricity to neighboring Thailand while an ethnic minority produces rubber.
2009-12-02
As the Mekong changes its name and wends through the highlands of Yunnan province, the massive scale of China’s plans to dam the mighty river are readily apparent.
2009-11-25
An activist holes up in Japan's international airport after being refused re-entry to China by authorities.
2009-11-20
Nomads describe the ancient practices of water burial and sky burial, threatened by China's policies in Tibet.
2009-11-19
The lifestyle of Tibet’s traditionally plain-roaming nomads has undergone dramatic changes as a result of new policies enacted by the Chinese government.
2009-11-12
China’s One Child Policy has effectively halted the country’s booming population growth, but has created a host of new social problems officials are struggling to reconcile with.
2009-11-09
Tibet—once known as the mythical haven Shangri-La—is where the Mekong River begins.
2009-11-08
Tibetans live along the upper reaches of the Mekong River as they have for centuries.
2009-11-01
The ancestral lifestyle of the Khampa nomads in Tibet is threatened by a forced modernization.
2009-11-01
Dzachu, Tibetan for the Mekong River, is said to be sacred by nomads living on the Qinghai plateau.
2009-10-30
Follow the Mekong River through Tibet, whose people ascribe mystical significance to its reddish banks and icy waters.
2009-10-09
Coercion, graft, and underage recruits: Former soldiers describe widespread abuses.
2009-10-09
The Tibetan spiritual leader meets with top U.S. lawmakers but not with President Obama, who will go to China in November.
2009-10-07
China's Cultural Revolution was a period of enormous political and social upheaval. RFA broadcaster Zhang Min, a child at the time, recalls her experiences.
2009-10-02
China's 60 years of Communist Rule: Chairman Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution in 1966 to purge the Communist Party and regain personal control of China’s political direction.
2009-10-01
The Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts in Dharamsala, India was established by the Dalai Lama to keep Tibet’s culture alive. The school’s senior opera master says he hopes someday to return Tibetan culture to Tibet.
2009-09-30
Chinese history since 1949 has been marked by a series of political campaigns that have taken a heavy toll on human life. Though China has emerged as a modern world power, problems remain, particularly with regard to human rights.
2009-09-24
Amy Chanthaphavong, crowned Miss Asian America in August, discusses her first pageant win and the importance of her Lao cultural ties.
2009-09-23
The Newseum—a new addition to Washington D.C.’s array of museums—highlights the importance of unrestricted media for a democracy. But the Newseum’s director of exhibit development tells RFA that media freedom around the world is declining, even as the world’s hunger for news keeps growing.
