Radio Free Asia Suspends Operations: Impact of US Funding Cuts on Independent Asian News Coverage

Radio Free Asia announced Wednesday it will cease all news production operations due to the termination of US government funding, marking a significant moment in international broadcasting.

Founded in 1996 to provide independent reporting on China and other Asian nations with restricted media environments, RFA faces complete operational shutdown effective Friday.

The broadcaster has already dramatically reduced its workforce, with more than 90 percent of staff laid off or furloughed since March when the Trump administration cut substantial funding to US government-sponsored media outlets.

This closure coincides with President Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his Asia tour as he seeks to improve bilateral relations. RFA has long been criticized by Beijing for what Chinese officials describe as "false news."

While some funding cuts were successfully challenged in court, RFA faced additional financial constraints due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, which has persisted for nearly a month.

Bay Fang, RFA's president and CEO, explained that halting production would allow remaining funds to provide severance packages for staff who will now be formally terminated. "Our strategy all along has been to protect our people for as long as possible," she told AFP.

Fang remains open to new revenue streams that could enable RFA to resume operations. "We're trying to preserve what we would need to start back up," she stated, emphasizing the urgency of securing new funding quickly.

Unlike Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which survived partly through support from European governments led by the Czech Republic, RFA has been unable to secure alternative funding sources.

Voice of America, directly operated by the US government, ceased operations immediately following the Trump cuts, with its English website still displaying outdated content from March.

Former Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin described the action against RFA as "truly gratifying," reflecting Beijing's longstanding opposition to the broadcaster.

Sophie Richardson, co-executive director of the Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders, characterized the shutdown as "a gift to dictators like Xi Jinping," particularly concerning given Beijing's efforts to control international narratives about China.

Richardson noted that Trump has also ended funding for non-governmental organizations that documented developments in China, raising concerns about future information gaps regarding important regional issues.

Nicholas Burns, US ambassador to China under the Biden administration, criticized the decision on social media, calling it a "major mistake" that "will prevent us from telling the truth to the Chinese people and countering Beijing's propaganda."

RFA reported that China has already occupied transmission signals previously used by the outlet and increased its own broadcasting in Uyghur and Tibetan languages.

The broadcaster was notably one of few outlets providing Uyghur-language news independent from Beijing's control and led reporting on mass detention camps in China's Xinjiang region.

Despite reduced operations, RFA recently received two Edward R. Murrow Awards for its coverage of young people in Myanmar following the 2021 military coup.

RFA spokesman Rohit Mahajan noted that during Myanmar's devastating March earthquake, engagement with their content surged significantly: "We were that last man standing, so to speak. We're able to be that voice, that news, in that language, reporting on things like the weather and not just political insurrection or political dealings."