H. Res. 693 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
December 21, 2022. 
Whereas, after the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, a bi-
partisan group of Senators and Members of the House of 
Representatives, led by then-Senators Joseph R. Biden 
and Jesse Helms, came together and sponsored legisla-
tion to create Radio Free Asia, a news outlet with a con-
gressionally-mandated mission to provide unbiased, inde-
pendent, and domestic journalism for audiences in the 
Asian nations of 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 corpora-
tion 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
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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), Can-
tonese, Lao, and Vietnamese, and through English trans-
lations 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 Man-
darin-speaking audiences around the world, who are often 
skeptical of pervasive Chinese government narratives, fos-
tering an open dialogue on banned or under-covered top-
ics through probing independent-thinking journalism, fea-
tures, 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 journal-
istic standards and ethics, without influence or inter-
ference by the United States Government or any Admin-
istration;
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Whereas the Uyghur Service of Radio Free Asia has served 
a vital role by providing an independent source of infor-
mation 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 in-
form the policies of the Congress and the Executive 
Branch, including a determination by the State Depart-
ment that the Chinese government, under the direction of 
the Chinese Communist Party, is engaged in genocide 
against Uyghurs and members other ethnic and religious 
minority groups; 
Whereas Radio Free Asia has documented the rapid deterio-
ration of autonomy and democratic freedoms in Hong 
Kong by the Chinese central government, including re-
strictions on freedom of speech and the press and crack-
downs on activists, journalists, and protesters; 
Whereas Radio Free Asia has been a primary source of infor-
mation 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-im-
molations, and restrictions on Tibetan language, edu-
cation, 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;
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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 serv-
ices of Radio Free Asia have reported on high-level cor-
ruption 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 rec-
ognition among its peers, is cited by respected inter-
national and regional media outlets, and has won numer-
ous awards for its investigative reporting and exclusive 
features from journalistic and human rights groups;
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Whereas Radio Free Asia has been unjustly targeted by re-
pressive regimes, with its websites blocked, its radio sig-
nals 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 de-
tained; 
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 fam-
ily members of the Uyghur Service of Radio Free Asia 
in a campaign of intimidation: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes the importance of Radio Free Asia 
on its 25th anniversary as an independent news organi-
zation 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
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(3) commends the continued effectiveness and suc-
cess of Radio Free Asia in its pursuit of independence 
and credible journalism. 
Attest: 
Clerk.