Radio Free Asia taken off air: millions of people deprived of access to reliable information
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is alarmed by the halt of Radio Free Asia’s shortwave services in Mandarin, Tibetan, and Lao – it is the only reliable source of news in regions where authoritarian regimes strictly control the public’s access to information. US Congress must take action to restore RFA and honour its commitments to press freedom around the world.
In early April 2025, Radio Free Asia (RFA) announced the suspension of its shortwave radio programming in the languages Mandarin, Tibetan, and Lao after its relay stations owned or leased by the US government were shut down. These cuts follow an executive order signed on 14 March by US President Donald Trump, which terminated federal funding for the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), effectively paralysing the agency that supports vital media outlets such as RFA.
“With the halt of RFA’s Mandarin, Tibetan, and Lao services, millions of people are being deprived of a crucial source of reliable news. The dismantling of RFA is an unjustifiable decision that risks turning entire regions – such as Tibet, which is controlled by the Chinese regime – into true information black holes. RSF calls on the US Congress and the international community to take action in response to this alarming situation.
Founded in 1996, Radio Free Asia is an international broadcaster that delivers news in countries and regions across Asia where press freedom is heavily restricted or non-existent, including North Korea, China, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
In China, RFA remains one of the few outlets still documenting human rights violations in Tibet, one of the most closed-off regions in the world in terms of news information due to the crackdown perpetrated by the Chinese regime. “The shutting of the RFA Tibetan Service will severely impact how Tibetans inside Tibet receive uncensored news, especially in their local dialect as RFA services broadcast in 3 major dialects, thereby reaching a wide cross-section of the Tibetans inside Tibet. This will not only impact how Tibetans receive news but also how the world hears about Tibet through RFA," said Lhakpa Kyizom, RSF Tibet correspondent.
Other RFA services severely reduced
RFA’s Burmese, Khmer, Korean and Uyghur language services have also faced severe reductions despite their vital nature. In Myanmar, access to RFA’s broadcasts is becoming increasingly scarce right as the recent, devastating earthquake has made access to reliable sources of information more urgent than ever. "Radio has always been a crucial lifeline for people in Myanmar, especially with the junta imposing internet shutdowns. RFA’s radio programs have reached even the most remote areas during the most difficult times. Now, with the country reeling from a massive earthquake while under a coup, access to reliable information has never been more critical. Removing such an important news outlet during a disaster like this is not just an attack on press freedom, it's a matter of life and death. People need to know where to find safety, where help is, and how to protect themselves — and RFA has been a vital source of that information,” explains the RSF Myanmar correspondent, who remains anonymous for security reasons.
The ongoing legal action to protect USAGM journalists
On 27 March, RFA filed a lawsuit to reinstate its funding, arguing that the termination by executive order violated federal law. Days before filing the suit, the broadcaster was forced to furlough most of its employees. Despite its reduced staffing, RFA continues to provide limited news coverage on its website and social media platforms in the nine languages it serves.
The executive order also affects other USAGM-funded news outlets such as Current Time TV, a Russian-language television channel co-produced by Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe (RFE). The channel, which proposes an alternative to the Kremlin’s propaganda, was forced to suspend its satellite broadcasts but remains available online and via the Svoboda satellite package, operated by RSF.
RSF remains fully committed to defending USAGM journalists. On 28 March, a US judge granted the motion for a temporary restraining order in a case brought by RSF together with a coalition of VOA employees and their unions to stop the Trump administration from dismantling the public service broadcaster.
