IIA
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2232
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
NOVEMBER 10, 1997
Received
NOVEMBER 13, 1997
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
AN ACT
To provide for increased international broadcasting activities
to China.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
HR 2232 RFS
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Radio Free Asia Act
of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Government of the People’s Republic of
China systematically controls the flow of information
to the Chinese people.
(2) The Government of the People’s Republic of
China demonstrated that maintaining its monopoly
on political power is a higher priority than economic
development by announcing in January 1996 that its
official news agency Xinhua, will supervise wire serv-
ices selling economic information, including Dow
Jones-Telerate, Bloomberg, and Reuters Business,
and in announcing in February of 1996 the ‘‘In-
terim Internet Management Rules’’, which have the
effect of censoring computer networks.
(3) Under the May 30, 1997, order of Premier
Li Peng, all organizations that engage in business
activities 
related 
to 
international 
computer
networking must now apply for a license, increasing
still further government control over access to the
internet.
(4) Both Radio Free Asia and the Voice of
America, as a surrogate for a free press in the Peo-
HR 2232 RFS
ple’s Republic of China, provide an invaluable source
of uncensored information to the Chinese people, in-
cluding objective and authoritative news of in-coun-
try and regional events, as well as accurate news
about the United States and its policies.
(5) Radio Free Asia currently broadcasts only
5 hours a day in the Mandarin dialect and 2 hours
a day in Tibetan.
(6) Voice of America currently broadcasts only
10 hours a day in Mandarin and 31⁄2 hours a day
in Tibetan.
(7) Radio Free Asia and Voice of America
should develop 24-hour-a-day service in Mandarin,
Cantonese, and Tibetan, as well as further broad-
casting capability in the dialects spoken in the Peo-
ple’s Republic of China.
(8) Radio Free Asia and Voice of America, in
working toward continuously broadcasting to the
People’s Republic of China in multiple languages,
have the capability to immediately establish 24-hour-
a-day Mandarin broadcasting to that nation by stag-
gering the hours of Radio Free Asia and Voice of
America.
(9) Simultaneous broadcasting on Voice of
America radio and Worldnet television 7 days a
HR 2232 RFS
week in Mandarin are also important and needed ca-
pabilities.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR IN-
CREASED FUNDING FOR RADIO FREE ASIA
AND VOICE OF AMERICA BROADCASTING TO
CHINA.
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR RADIO
FREE ASIA.—
(1) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—
There are authorized to be appropriated for ‘‘Radio
Free Asia’’ $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1998 and
$22,000,000 for fiscal year 1999.
(2) LIMITATIONS.—
(A) Of the funds under paragraph (1) au-
thorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 1998,
$8,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated for
one-time capital costs.
(B) Of the funds under paragraph (1),
$700,000 is authorized to be appropriated for
each such fiscal year for additional personnel to
staff Cantonese language broadcasting.
(b) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS
FOR
INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING TO CHINA AND NORTH
KOREA.—In addition to such sums as are otherwise au-
thorized to be appropriated for ‘‘International Broadcast-
HR 2232 RFS
ing Activities’’ for fiscal years 1998 and 1999, there are
authorized to be appropriated for ‘‘International Broad-
casting Activities’’ $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1998 and
$7,000,000 for fiscal year 1999, which shall be available
only for enhanced Voice of America broadcasting to China
and North Korea.
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR RADIO
CONSTRUCTION.—
(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In
addition to such sums as are otherwise authorized to
be appropriated for ‘‘Radio Construction’’ for fiscal
years 1998 and 1999, there are authorized to be ap-
propriated for ‘‘Radio Construction’’ $10,000,000
for fiscal year 1998 and $3,000,000 for fiscal year
1999, which shall be available only for construction
in support of enhanced broadcasting to China.
(2) LIMITATION.—Of the funds under para-
graph (1) authorized to be appropriated for fiscal
year 1998, $3,000,000 is authorized to be appro-
priated to facilitate the timely augmentation of
transmitters at Tinian, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands.
(d) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts authorized to be
appropriated for ‘‘International Broadcasting Activities’’,
the Director of the United States Information Agency and