Chinese media, Hun Sen celebrate White House order to close US-funded news outlets
Asian dissidents, activists voice dismay over funding freeze to Radio Free Asia.
Representatives of closed Asian societies without free press on Monday welcomed the U.S. administration’s decision to halt broadcasts by Voice of America and freeze funding to Radio Free Asia, while democracy activists and dissidents expressed disbelief and dismay.
China’s state-backed Global Times published an editorial focusing on VOA which it called “a lie factory” and “a thoroughly biased propaganda poison.”
“The so-called beacon of freedom, VOA, has now been discarded by its own government like a dirty rag,” it said.
In a Facebook post, former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who is Senate president and the father of the current premier, called the closure of U.S.-funded “propaganda” outlets “a major contribution to eliminating fake news, disinformation, lies, distortions, incitement, and chaos around the world.”
Meanwhile, human rights activists in some of the world’s most repressive countries spoke out in support of what they see as “beacons of hope” and upholders of the truth.
“There’s something I will remember forever … When my mother was told I’d be released after having served my sentence, she was sitting outside on the patio the whole day to wait for me. The first sound of my voice she heard was on Radio Free Asia and that made her cry out loud,” Le Quoc Quan, a Vietnamese dissident lawyer who served 30 months in prison and who now lives in the United States, recalled on Facebook.
‘Significant setback for the democracy’
Another Vietnamese democracy activist, who spent seven years in jail on subversion charges, said RFA and Voice of America had freed his thinking from the strictures of communist rule before he was imprisoned.
“These two stations played a pivotal role in helping me break free from the propaganda and indoctrination of the Communist Party of Vietnam, shaping my beliefs and actions,” Nguyen Tien Trung wrote from exile in Germany.
The discontinuation of RFA and VOA “represents a significant setback for the democracy and human rights movements in Vietnam, China, Asia, and globally,” he wrote.
“Communist parties in China and Vietnam will dominate narratives unchallenged, preventing Asian audiences from hearing alternative perspectives – stories of democratic progress, freedom, and the dignity that comes from respecting human rights.”
An executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump late Friday called for the reduction of non-statutory components of the United States Agency for Global Media, or USAGM, the federal agency that funds RFA, VOA and several other independent global news organizations that broadcast in more than 60 languages.
VOA Director Michael Abramowitz wrote Saturday that virtually the entire staff had been placed on administrative leave.
Staff at RFA were still working Monday and the Washington-based news organization has yet to announce how the funding freeze would impact operations.
Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said it was “devastating to lose Radio Free Asia from the media landscape in Asia.”
“RFA has many courageous reporters who shone a light on rights abuses that authoritarian governments would prefer to hide,” she said in a social media post. “This is a gift to abusive governments in the region.”
RFA covers some of the countries in Asia where press freedom is the most restricted, including China, North Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. It sends news in 10 languages through text, social media, radio and television.
Chinese journalist and human rights activist Gao Yu said in a post on X that authorities had warned her against talking to VOA and RFA.
“This made me realize that these two American media outlets are what the Chinese Communist authorities fear the most,” she said. “This is undoubtedly a moment that the Chinese Communist regime will celebrate.”
A fan of RFA’s Cantonese service, the main language spoken in Hong Kong, where opposition politicians and Western governments say political freedoms have been severely curtailed, expressed disappointment about the possible closure.
“I read your RFA Cantonese news every day. You’re doing a great job! It’s such a pity for it to end like this. I hope there’s a turnaround. Keep going!” said the poster, identified as Lukacat Lime.
Messages of support from Cambodians, Burmese
Thousands of messages of support for RFA and VOA flooded Khmer-language internet forums, with readers and listeners expressing their dismay.
“Khmer people need help because if there is no RFA or VOA we don’t know which news we can listen to,” a woman named Sokra wrote.
The United States and other countries have criticized the suppression of democracy in Cambodia in the years since the U.N.-organized an election in 1993, hoping to heal the decades of conflict and genocide after Cambodia became embroiled in the Vietnam War.
“The news of the potential shutdown is devastating,” said Viriya Lim, another RFA Khmer listener.
“Your reporting has been a crucial source of truth and information for so many. Please know that your efforts have made a real difference, and we are incredibly grateful for your service,” Lim wrote on RFA Khmer’s Facebook.
In Myanmar, where successive generations have struggled to throw off military rule, people expressed their appreciation for RFA.
“Because my father listened to RFA early in the morning and late at night since I was young, so I knew about the dictatorship, democracy, civil society organizations and different countries,” Moe Aung wrote on Facebook.
“I will always give thanks to RFA. I pray you continue to stand.”
In South Korea, Ha Tae-kyung, a three-term lawmaker and vocal critic of North Korea’s woeful human rights record, said it felt as if Washington was undermining its standing by shutting RFA and VOA.
“These organizations have been dedicated to North Korean human rights and democratization for decades,” said Ha. “It takes decades to build a well-constructed tower but only a single day to bring it down.”
Beijing’s criticism
The Chinese government did not immediately react to Friday’s executive order. But the Global Times editorial took aim at VOA, claiming that its independence and credibility “have long been questioned and criticized.”
“Known for stirring up conflicts, inciting social divisions, and even participating in regime change efforts, VOA is widely recognized as Washington’s carefully crafted propaganda machine for peaceful evolution, earning itself a notorious reputation on the global stage,” the Global Times said.
It mentioned RFA and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, too, saying that the organizations’ primary function is “to serve Washington’s need to attack other countries based on ideological demands.”
Hu Xijin, a top Chinese propagandist and former Global Times editor, praised the decision, calling RFA “malicious toward China” and the funding cut “greatly satisfying.” He shared his remarks on his WeChat channel, which quickly spread across Chinese state-owned media outlets like iFeng.com and other Chinese social media platforms.
Those remarks were amplified on social media by China’s army of nationalistic “little pink” commentators, who have started targeting VOA’s Chinese and Taiwanese journalists, posting their photos and accusing them of doing “dirty work” and being “yellow-skinned with white hearts.”
On Monday, an op-ed from Beijing Daily, a state-owned media outlet, mocked the shutdown of RFA, RFE, and VOA declaring, “The ‘beacon of freedom’ has collapsed.” and “U.S. Hegemony will eventually perish under global condemnation.
Some journalists working for Chinese media, such as Andy Boreham at the state English-language newspaper Shanghai Daily, said the prospect of RFA having to lay off staff over funding cuts was “excellent news.”
The New Zealand-born journalist labelled RFA “one of the U.S.’s most insidious anti-China propaganda outlets.”
RFA is funded by the U.S. Congress but retains full editorial independence from the government. All editorial staff are expected to conduct themselves professionally and ethically and promote the highest standards of journalism.
Edited by RFA staff.
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