Radio Free Asia (RFA) started the week by reporting on hungry soldiers from the regime of North Korea who are secretly selling part of their military equipment to buy food. They also published a profile of an 84-year-old activist who has been protesting in front of a Cambodian regime court for weeks to demand the release of her daughter. Another article addressed the increased repression against dissidents in the Vietnamese regime. However, most of the front page space was, as always, occupied by news related to the Chinese regime.
A protest in London against the possible location of a new mega-embassy that will help Beijing monitor dissidents; criticism of Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh for an Instagram post suggesting that Taiwan is part of China; raids against illegal Burmese migrants working on farms; Chinese military exercises simulating amphibious landings on Taiwan's beaches.
RFA, one of China's major media critics and other Asian countries governed by the Communist Party (North Korea, Vietnam, Laos), or other authoritarian and military formations (Cambodia and Myanmar), may be on its last legs. Its main benefactor, the United States, has cut off all funding by order of President Donald Trump.
In 1996, RFA, based in Washington, began its first broadcasts in English and Mandarin. Later, its radio, television, and digital press services expanded to other languages such as Vietnamese, Burmese, Korean, or Tibetan. Although it has always maintained an independent editorial line, its funding has depended on the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the US federal agency that launched this channel, along with other sister media, to counter communist propaganda and expose the shortcomings of Asian dictatorships, especially in human rights issues.
Last Saturday, Trump signed an executive order to freeze these funds, allocated by Congress through the USAGM, which, according to the order, will be "eliminated to the greatest extent possible under applicable law." The largest global news organization that depended on this funding, Voice of America (VOA), founded in 1942 to combat Nazi and Japanese propaganda, has also been left voiceless. Its director, Mike Abramowitz, announced that 1,300 employees have been placed on administrative leave, so they cannot work until the situation of the media is resolved.
"Even if the agency survives in some form, the actions taken today by the Administration will severely damage Voice of America's ability to promote a safe and free world. Additionally, the measure comes amid growing disinformation promoted by US adversaries such as Iran, China, and Russia," Abramowitz stated in a press release.
RFA is in the same predicament. "The cancellation of RFA's federal grant is a reward for dictators and despots, including the Chinese Communist Party. Not only have nearly 60 million people who consult RFA's reports weekly been deprived of their rights, but the decision also benefits US adversaries," shared the channel's president, Bay Fang, in another statement.
A reporter from RFA based in Southeast Asia confirmed to this newspaper that his position was suspended over the weekend. "Media outlets like VOA and RFA contribute to promoting American values amid our ongoing competition with China and expose heinous human rights abuses, such as the Uighur genocide and Beijing's covert activities abroad. The dismantling of these organizations is a huge gift to China," emphasized Michael McFaul, former US Ambassador to Russia.
In Beijing, as expected, they are celebrating. The Chinese newspaper Global Times, in its English edition, dedicated a lengthy editorial on Monday addressing the "propagandistic poison" that VOA has been all these years. "Known for fomenting conflicts, inciting social divisions, and even participating in regime change initiatives, VOA is widely recognized as the propaganda machinery carefully designed by Washington," it stated.
Although these media outlets have published solid investigations on human rights in China, many of their publications also tend to exaggerate and do not pass the rigorous fact-checking standards of major private US media outlets, which have extensive correspondent networks in Asia.
Chinese government spokespersons have accused VOA and RFA on several occasions of supporting Taiwan and Hong Kong independence movements, as well as fabricating repression against the Uighur minority in the Xinjiang region, which has been verified by UN observers and other international organizations. "Perhaps the US government has also realized that continuing to waste significant national funds on these outdated and ineffective propaganda institutions makes no sense and does not benefit their country," concluded the Global Times editorial.
This opinion seems to be shared by one of Trump's closest advisors, billionaire Elon Musk. "No one listens to them anymore," wrote Tesla's owner referring to VOA. "They are radical leftists who waste $1 billion a year of American taxpayers' money."