Radio Free Asia ceases operations for the first time in 29 years amid the lockdown
Radio Free Asia (RFA) announced on Wednesday that it would temporarily halt operations for the first time in its history, amid the government shutdown and after the Trump administration cut its funding.
In a statement, Radio Free Asia’s executive editor, Rose Huang, said the hiatus was “due to uncertain funding.”
“For RFA journalists who have sacrificed so much in challenging powerful and malignant forces, this is a painful moment.”
Radio Free Asia, established in 1996 under the International Broadcasting Act, reaches nearly 60 million people weekly in six countries without a free press: China, Myanmar, North Korea, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.
In fiscal year 2024, RFA had a budget of $60.8 million. Before the furloughs earlier this year, the organization consisted of 400 full-time employees and 500 reporters and contractors.
The pause comes amid the ongoing government shutdown, which reached 29 days on Wednesday and is on the verge of becoming the longest funding outage in US history.
In March, President Trump ordered funding cuts to the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees RFA. USAGM, led by acting CEO Victor Morales and special counsel Carey Lake, a Trump ally, received more than $866.9 million in congressionally appropriated funds in fiscal year 2024, according to its annual financial report.
As a result of the cuts, RFA furloughed three-quarters of its workforce. In late March, it said in a legal filing that it would close its doors by the end of April without court intervention, according to Reuters.
Radio Free Asia says on its website that it provides limited news updates on its website and social media. In her statement, Hwang said that Radio Free Asia would return if its funding was restored.
“Independent journalism is the core of RFA. For the first time since RFA was founded almost 30 years ago, this voice is in danger,” Huang said.
Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
