[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 394 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 394

Recognizing the 25th anniversary of Radio Free Asia and its mission to 
   provide an independent source of news to closed societies in Asia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 29, 2021

    Mr. Coons (for himself and Mr. Portman) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing the 25th anniversary of Radio Free Asia and its mission to 
   provide an independent source of news to closed societies in Asia.

Whereas, after the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, a bipartisan group of 
        Senators and Members of the House of Representatives, led by then-
        Senators Joseph R. Biden and Jesse Helms, came together and sponsored 
        legislation to create Radio Free Asia, a news outlet with a 
        congressionally mandated mission to provide unbiased, independent, and 
        domestic journalism for audiences in China, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, North 
        Korea, Tibet, and Vietnam, whose people do not fully enjoy freedom of 
        expression;
Whereas Radio Free Asia--

    (1) was established by United States law as part of the United States 
International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.);

    (2) was incorporated as a private, nonprofit corporation on March 11, 
1996; and

    (3) made its inaugural broadcast in Mandarin to the Chinese people on 
September 29, 1996;

Whereas Laos, Vietnam, China, and North Korea rank amongst the worst 9 countries 
        in the world for media freedom in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index, as 
        based on an evaluation of pluralism, independence of the media, quality 
        of legislative framework, and safety of journalists;
Whereas Radio Free Asia delivers programming and content using many media 
        platforms, including radio, television, and the internet, in the 
        languages of Mandarin, Korean, Burmese, Tibetan, Uyghur, Khmer 
        (Cambodian), Cantonese, Lao, and Vietnamese, and through English 
        translations and content on the website and social media of Radio Free 
        Asia;
Whereas Radio Free Asia launched BenarNews in 2015, an online news affiliate 
        that publishes news and content for audiences in Indonesia, Bangladesh, 
        Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines that is focused on the 
        consequences of extremism and contributes to coverage by Radio Free Asia 
        of the influence of the People's Republic of China in Southeast Asia and 
        the expanded military presence of the People's Republic of China in the 
        South China Sea;
Whereas Radio Free Asia in 2020 launched online brand, WHYNOT/WAINAO, engaging 
        younger Chinese Mandarin-speaking audiences around the world, who are 
        often skeptical of pervasive Chinese government narratives, fostering an 
        open dialogue on banned or under-covered topics through probing 
        independent-thinking journalism, features, and content;
Whereas Radio Free Asia, consistent with its congressional mandate of editorial 
        independence, works to ensure that its journalists and services adhere 
        to the highest journalistic standards and ethics, without influence or 
        interference by the United States Government or any administration;
Whereas the Uyghur Service of Radio Free Asia has served a vital role by 
        providing an independent source of information on the repression and 
        mass detention of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious 
        minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's 
        Republic of China;
Whereas the documentation of abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region by 
        Radio Free Asia has helped inform the policies of the Congress and the 
        executive branch, including a determination by the State Department that 
        the Chinese government, under the direction of the Chinese Communist 
        Party, is engaged in genocide against Uyghurs and members of other 
        ethnic and religious minority groups;
Whereas Radio Free Asia has documented the rapid deterioration of autonomy and 
        democratic freedoms in Hong Kong by the Chinese central government, 
        including restrictions on freedom of speech and the press and crackdowns 
        on activists, journalists, and protesters;
Whereas Radio Free Asia has been a primary source of information on Tibetan 
        regions in the People's Republic of China, including on the March 2008 
        Lhasa Uprising and ensuing security crackdown, the spate of Tibetan 
        self-immolations, and restrictions on Tibetan language, education, 
        religious practice, and the display of images of the Dalai Lama;
Whereas, in March 2020, Radio Free Asia reported that the Chinese government was 
        under-reporting the number of coronavirus fatalities in Wuhan province, 
        which was later verified by leaked internal Chinese documents obtained 
        by other news outlets;
Whereas Radio Free Asia has provided the Burmese people with continuous coverage 
        of the 2021 military-led coup that deposed the elected government and 
        ended 10 years of democratic reforms and growth of civil society;
Whereas, in 2017, Radio Free Asia documented the human rights abuses against and 
        expulsion of Rohingya from Burma, whose plight Radio Free Asia affiliate 
        BenarNews has continued to cover in refugee camps in Bangladesh;
Whereas Radio Free Asia has done in-depth reporting on the behavior of the North 
        Korean government, including the use of forced labor, political prisoner 
        camps, activities at nuclear testing sites, and internal acknowledgments 
        of the presence of COVID-19 in the country;
Whereas high-level defectors and refugees from North Korea have credited reports 
        by Radio Free Asia as a factor in their decision to leave the country 
        and seek their future beyond the North Korean borders;
Whereas the Lao, Khmer (Cambodian), and Vietnamese services of Radio Free Asia 
        have reported on high-level corruption of officials and leaders, 
        silencing of independent voices and journalists, and the struggles of 
        civil society, as well as activities by China that affect the flow of 
        the Mekong River;
Whereas the journalism by Radio Free Asia has earned recognition among its 
        peers, is cited by respected international and regional media outlets, 
        and has won numerous awards for its investigative reporting and 
        exclusive features from journalistic and human rights groups;
Whereas Radio Free Asia has been unjustly targeted by repressive regimes, with 
        its websites blocked, its radio signals jammed, and its journalists put 
        at risk;
Whereas Nguyen Tuong Thuy, Truong Duy Nhat, and Nguyen Van Hoa, contributors to 
        the Vietnamese Service of Radio Free Asia, have been unjustly jailed and 
        detained;
Whereas Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, who have both worked as journalists for 
        the Khmer (Cambodian) Service of Radio Free Asia, continue to face 
        unsubstantiated charges; and
Whereas Chinese authorities have detained and harassed family members of the 
        Uyghur Service of Radio Free Asia in a campaign of intimidation: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the importance of Radio Free Asia on its 
        25th anniversary as an independent news organization chartered 
        and funded by Congress with a mission to bring uncensored, 
        accurate news to people living in closed societies in Asia;
            (2) honors the dedication and courage of the former and 
        current journalists of Radio Free Asia in the face of threats 
        and adversity from foreign governments and rising risks for 
        press freedom in Asia and across the globe; and
            (3) commends the continued effectiveness and success of 
        Radio Free Asia in its pursuit of independence and credible 
        journalism.
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