Chinese state media has praised Donald Trump’s decision to cut public funding to Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA), outlets known for their reporting on authoritarian regimes.
The move, impacting thousands of employees, has seen approximately 1,300 staff placed on paid leave at VOA since the executive order was issued on Friday.
While critics have condemned the cuts as a blow to democracy, China’s state-run Global Times newspaper criticised VOA’s “appalling track record” in reporting on China, stating it had been “discarded by its own government like a dirty rag”.
The White House defended the decision, asserting it would “ensure that taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda”.
The cuts target the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which receives Congressional funding and supports outlets including VOA, RFA, and Radio Free Europe. These outlets have gained international recognition for their reporting in countries with restricted press freedoms, such as China, Cambodia, Russia, and North Korea.
Despite broadcast restrictions in some of these countries – VOA, for example, is banned in China – audiences can access the content via shortwave radio or VPNs.
RFA’s reporting on human rights abuses in Cambodia, including coverage of the Hun Sen regime, has been criticised by the former ruler, who called the cuts a “big contribution to eliminating fake news”. RFA was also among the first to report on China’s detention centres in Xinjiang, where authorities are accused of detaining Uyghur Muslims without trial. Beijing denies these allegations, claiming the centres are “re-education camps” combating “terrorism and religious extremism”.
VOA has received awards for its coverage of North Korean defectors and allegations of a Chinese Communist Party cover-up of Covid-19 fatalities.
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