An American Light Goes Out
To the applause of the Chinese Communist Party, the United States has turned off the Cantonese service of Radio Free Asia, which has been a lifeline to Hong Kongers, in particular
A press release from Radio Free Asia says that, in the absence of “assured or consistent” funding, RFA has had to shrink down its operations, “with some language services going completely dark.”
The “latest casualty,” says the press release, is “RFA Cantonese,” one of the last independent outlets in Hong Kong. “RFA’s reporters have always risked their personal safety to report on what’s being ignored or censored by the CCP-controlled media.”
“CCP,” as you know, stands for “Chinese Communist Party.”
When RFA Cantonese went down, many people were saddened, even distressed. But the CCP and its echoers, of course, rejoiced.
After being sworn in for his second term, President Trump moved to shut down the U.S. “radios,” which include RFA, RFE/RL (which combines Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty), and Radio Martí (which broadcasts to Cuba). They also include the Voice of America and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.
In a piece a few months ago, I wrote, “Some of us regard the radios as jewels in the American crown, whatever their flaws and problems. Trump and his administration have a very different view.”
They do indeed.
As far as I can tell, the fiercest opponents of our radios are (1) the Republican Party, as represented by the administration, and (2) the dictatorships about which the radios have provided honest reporting.
In previous times, the Republican Party was especially enthusiastic about the radios, knowing that they were an important part of the “information war” between the Free World and its enemies.
The Global Times is an organ of the Chinese Communist Party. In that above-cited piece of mine, I quoted an editorial in that paper, which said, “The so-called beacon of freedom, VOA, has now been discarded by its own government like a dirty rag.”
I also quoted a former editor-in-chief of the paper, Hu Xinjin: “Voice of America has been paralyzed! And so has Radio Free Asia, which is just as malicious toward China. How truly gratifying!”
Gratifying for some, true, and not for others—many others.
“In Russia, the state media were equally exultant,” I wrote. Let me paste some further sentences:
Vladimir Kara-Murza had a wry comment, when news came that Trump had shut down the radios. (Kara-Murza is a Russian democracy leader and a former political prisoner.) “One more champagne bottle opened in the Kremlin. They must be running out by now.”
A “news” site of the Cuban dictatorship, Cubadebate, celebrated the end of Radio Martí: “the most expensive, failed, and corrupt communications project in the history of the United States.” (Radio Martí’s annual budget was about $13 million, by the way.)
When the Cantonese service of Radio Free Asia was finally mothballed, one “pro-China social-media influencer”—I have quoted the RFA press release—posted this:
The Global Times, too, weighed in, saying,
The notorious anti-China media Radio Free Asia (RFA) announced on its website and social media accounts that its Cantonese service would cease operations from Tuesday due to a shortage of funds and a reduction in staff caused by the suspension of funding by the US government.
“For a long time,” the paper said, “the Cantonese service of RFA repeatedly fabricated false news to smear China on issues related to [the] regions of Hong Kong and Xinjiang.”
“Xinjiang,” as you know, is the region in northwestern China that Uyghurs call “East Turkestan.” It is there that the Chinese government is carrying out a genocide against the Uyghur people, according to the U.S. State Department, among other bodies.
One of the things that influenced the State Department, in making that determination, was the reporting of Radio Free Asia.
A bit more exultation, from the CCP corner:
When it comes to mourning, rather than exulting, RFA quotes some people who have relied on its Cantonese service. (It does so in its press release.) One common theme is simple gratitude—gratitude for honest reporting, for the provision of a tonic to CCP propaganda. Another theme is: What outlet can we turn to now?
In late May, I interviewed Nyrola Elimä at the Oslo Freedom Forum. She is a Uyghur researcher and journalist, now living in Sweden. I wrote about her for The Dispatch, and I wrote some more here at Onward and Upward. (For the Dispatch piece, go here, and for the follow-up, go here.) I would now like to write a bit more.
I asked Ms. Elimä about Radio Free Asia and what its closure, or all-but-closure, means. “It’s a big blow,” she said. People in free countries may not realize it, but the U.S. radios are “extremely important for oppressed people.”
In China, she explained, many people have long listened to Radio Free Asia, despite the fact that it is illegal to do so. If you listen to RFA, you are committing a serious crime.
Nyrola remembered a day when she was about nine years old and at the home of a friend—not a Uyghur friend but a Han Chinese friend. This would have been in about 1994. The friend’s mother was listening to the family radio, and Nyrola could not believe what was coming out of that radio. There was an open discussion about the Chinese Communist Party, and even criticism of that party. People were talking about something that had happened in Tiananmen Square about five years before.
“I was fascinated,” Nyrola told me. “I was like, ‘What is this?’ I had never heard anyone talk this way in my life.’” Her friend’s mother told her that they were listening to Radio Free Asia, “and we listen to it every day.” It was illegal, though—so “don’t tell anyone.”
Nyrola went home and told her mother. She forbade Nyrola to go to that friend’s home ever again. “It’s so dangerous,” she said. Still—people listened, hungry for information that cut through the official lies.
The Uyghur diaspora, Nyrola told me, “relies on Radio Free Asia.” Therefore, the evisceration of the agency is “a huge loss for us.”
Before I continue, I should perhaps note something: The fact that dictators and their supporters rejoice over a certain U.S. policy or action does not, automatically, make that policy or action wrong. But it is a considerable indication.
In an essay a while back, I reflected on patriotism, and related questions. I’d like to paste a few paragraphs:
The hat says “Make America Great Again.” Leaving aside the question of “again,” we could have a long, contentious discussion of what makes America great.
In the first weeks of his second term, Trump moved to abolish many institutions and programs, including Radio Free Asia, PEPFAR, and the National Endowment for Democracy. RFA is one of our broadcasting services, of course. PEPFAR is the anti-AIDS program instituted by President George W. Bush in 2003. NED was founded at the instigation of President Reagan in 1983.
As some of us see it, these are jewels in the American crown, things that reflect a national greatness. Elon Musk, President Trump’s senior adviser, declared NED an “evil organization.” Americans have wildly different ideas of good and evil, right and wrong.
Speaking about the years prior to 2016, some people refer to “the Before Times.” As there were Before Times, I suppose there will be After Times too. And I wonder whether some things that are being abolished or crippled today can be restored, in those future times.
RFA, in its press release, quotes a commenter on Facebook:
Thank you RFA for letting Hong Kong people know the truth about news from all over the world, especially the truth about how the CCP oppresses Hong Kong people. I believe you will come back again; we will wait.
Isolationism rears its ugly ahead yet again. You would think a billionaire would understand the concept of getting more bang for a buck.
Trump is proving to be a great friend to communist dictatorships. But MAGA doesn’t care if he’s a socialist or a friend to communist dictators - if he does something it must be right. Talk about blind faith.