IB
Union Calendar No. 175
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2232
[Report No. 105–303]
To provide for increased international broadcasting activities to China.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 23, 1997
Mr. ROYCE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on International Relations
OCTOBER 6, 1997
Additional sponsors: Mr. COX of California, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. MCCOLLUM,
Mrs. FOWLER, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. SOLOMON, Mr.
HYDE, Mr. BOB SCHAFFER, Mr. KING, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. GIB-
BONS, Mr. MCINTOSH, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. SHADEGG, Mr.
SPENCE, and Ms. PELOSI
OCTOBER 6, 1997
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 23, 1997]
A BILL
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,
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 ‘‘Interim
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 activi-
ties 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 Amer-
ica, as a surrogate for a free press in the People’s Re-
public of China, provide an invaluable source of un-
censored information to the Chinese people, including
objective and authoritative news of in-country and re-
gional 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, Canton-
ese, and Tibetan, as well as further broadcasting ca-
pability in the dialects spoken in the People’s Repub-
lic of China.
(8) Radio Free Asia and Voice of America, in
working toward continuously broadcasting to the Peo-
ple’s Republic of China in multiple languages, have
the capability to immediately establish 24-hour-a-day
Mandarin broadcasting to that nation by staggering
the hours of Radio Free Asia and Voice of America.
(9) Simultaneous broadcasting on Voice of Amer-
ica radio and Worldnet television 7 days a week in
Mandarin are also important and needed capabilities.
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 INTER-
NATIONAL BROADCASTING TO CHINA AND NORTH KOREA.—
In addition to such sums as are otherwise authorized to
be appropriated for ‘‘International Broadcasting Activi-
ties’’ for fiscal years 1998 and 1999, there are authorized
to be appropriated for ‘‘International Broadcasting Activi-
ties’’ $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 sup-
port of enhanced broadcasting to China.
(2) LIMITATION.—Of the funds under paragraph
(1) authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 1998,
$3,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated to facili-
tate the timely augmentation of transmitters at
Tinian, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands.
(d) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts authorized to be ap-
propriated for ‘‘International Broadcasting Activities’’, the
Director of the United States Information Agency and the
Board of Broadcasting Governors shall seek to ensure that
the amounts made available for broadcasting to nations
whose people do not fully enjoy freedom of expression do
not decline in proportion to the amounts made available
for broadcasting to other nations.
(e) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS FOR NORTH KOREA.—Of
the funds under subsection (b), $2,000,000 is authorized to
be appropriated for each fiscal year for additional person-
nel and broadcasting targeted at North Korea.
SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, in consultation with the Board of Broadcasting
Governors, the President shall prepare and transmit to Con-
gress a report on a plan to achieve continuous broadcasting
of Radio Free Asia and Voice of America to the People’s
Republic of China in multiple major dialects and lan-
guages.
SEC. 5. UTILIZATION OF UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL
BROADCASTING SERVICES FOR PUBLIC SERV-
ICE 
ANNOUNCEMENTS 
REGARDING 
FUGI-
TIVES FROM UNITED STATES JUSTICE.
United States international broadcasting services, par-
ticularly the Voice of America, shall produce and broadcast
public service announcements, by radio, television, and
Internet, regarding fugitives from the criminal justice sys-
tem of the United States, including cases of international
child abduction.