Radio Free Asia

  Many countries in Asia suffer from over-bearing governments that restrict the flow of media down to what is shown or not shown or what is talked about. Thus the creation of Radio Free Asia in 1951 under the name of "Committee for Free Asia" broadcasting anti-communist propaganda to China. RFA broadcasted from facilities in Manilla in the Philippians, Dacca and Karachi in Pakistan, as well as from Tokyo, there may have been other sites but those were not listed. Starting in 1955 RFA went off the air followed shortly after CIA involvement ended as well. The formally covert run RFA came under the wing of the Board of International Broadcasting. The current Radio Free Asia is a US-funded organization, incorporated in March 1996, and began broadcasting in September 1996. Although senators debated a name change, Richard Richter, the then president of Radio Free Asia, was instructed to change the name back from Asia-Pacific Network to Radio Free Asia, as "we must have the courage to confront tyranny, and to do so under the banner of freedom." Radio Free Asia was forced to change in part due to financial pressures from the US government, for although they operate with an independent board, their money mostly comes from the Treasury. 

So yes RFA was a U.S. government operation to help fight the communist take over of China but it has since become a major news outlet for countries in East Asia going against the oppressive rule of their respective governments. RFA currently serves 6 different countries spreading news and other media to countries where the government generally tampers with the media as to only show one kind of message, those countries are China, Vietnam, North Korea, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia. A brief description of itself as given by RFA can be seen here on their youtube page. RFA broadcasts in nine languages, via shortwave, satellite transmissions, medium-wave (AM and FM radio), and through the Internet. The first transmission was in Mandarin Chinese and it is RFA's most broadcast language at twelve hours per day. RFA also broadcasts in Cantonese, Tibetan (Kham, Amdo, and Uke dialects), Uyghur, Burmese, Vietnamese, Lao, Khmer (to Cambodia) and Korean (to North Korea). The Korean service launched in 1997 with Jaehoon Ahn as its founding director. Since broadcasting began in 1996, Chinese authorities have consistently jammed RFA broadcasts. Three RFA reporters were denied access to China to cover U.S. President Bill Clinton's visit in June 1998. The Chinese embassy in Washington had initially granted visas to the three but revoked them shortly before President Clinton left Washington en route to Beijing. The White House and United States Department of State filed complaints with Chinese authorities over the matter but the reporters ultimately did not make the trip. The Vietnamese-language broadcast signal was also jammed by the Vietnamese government since the beginning. Human rights legislation has been proposed in Congress that would allocate money to counter the jamming. Research by the OpenNet Initiative, a project that monitors Internet filtering by governments worldwide, showed that the Vietnamese-language portion of the Radio Free Asia website was blocked by both of the tested ISPs in Vietnam, while the English-language portion was blocked by one of the two ISPs. To address radio jamming and Internet blocking by the governments of the countries that it broadcasts to, the RFA website contains instruction on how to create anti-jamming antennas and information on web proxies. On March 30, 2010, China's domestic internet filter, known as the Great Firewall, temporarily blocked all Google searches in China, due to an unintentional association with the long-censored term "rfa". According to Google, the letters, associated with Radio Free Asia, were appearing in the URLs of all Google searches, thereby triggering China's filter to block search results. RFA has been providing its services for many years and has now begun to branch out to TV ontop of their usual radio broadcasts, as well as through the internet via youtube and satellite transmissions. RFAs mission is stated as such "Through objective, timely reporting and news analysis, Radio Free Asia (RFA) takes an unflinching look at topics and developments affecting the lives of ordinary citizens living in China, Vietnam, North Korea, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar – six Asian countries that limit free press and restrict access to media. RFA’s Mandarin, Tibetan, Cantonese, Uyghur, Vietnamese, Korean, Lao, Khmer (Cambodian), and Burmese services uncover the truth behind issues often deemed too sensitive to be covered accurately or with deserved attention in state-controlled media and local news outlets that self-censor. Our journalists often utilize vast networks of cultivated, reliable sources and receive tips from citizen journalists and eyewitnesses on the ground to break exclusive news in some of the world’s toughest media environments. Through news broadcasts, online engagement, and call-in shows, RFA also serves as an open forum, allowing listeners to discuss freely their views and perspectives. RFA reaches its audiences through webcast video, television, satellite, social media networks, and digital multimedia content on its websites, in addition to trusted short- and medium-wave radio broadcasts. RFA began broadcasting in September 1996, when its Mandarin Service aired its first report. A private, non-profit organization, RFA is funded by an annual grant through the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors".