22 U.S.C. § 6208: Radio Free Asia

Grants authorized under section 6204 of this title shall be available to make annual grants for the purpose of carrying out radio broadcasting to Asia. Such broadcasting service shall be referred to as “Radio Free Asia”. provide accurate and timely information, news, and commentary about events in Asia and elsewhere; and be a forum for a variety of opinions and voices from within Asian nations whose people do not fully enjoy freedom of expression. The Agency may not make any grant to Radio Free Asia unless the headquarters of Radio Free Asia and its senior administrative and managerial staff are in a location which ensures economy, operational effectiveness, and accountability to the Agency. Any grant agreement under this section shall require that any contract entered into by Radio Free Asia shall specify that all obligations are assumed by Radio Free Asia and not by the United States Government. Any grant agreement shall require that any lease agreements entered into by Radio Free Asia shall be, to the maximum extent possible, assignable to the United States Government. Grants made for the operating costs of Radio Free Asia may not exceed $30,000,000 in each of the fiscal years 2000 and 2001. Grants awarded under this section shall be made pursuant to a grant agreement which requires that grant funds be used only for activities consistent with this section, and that failure to comply with such requirements shall permit the grant to be terminated without fiscal obligation to the United States. It is the sense of the Congress that administrative and managerial costs for operation of Radio Free Asia should be kept to a minimum and, to the maximum extent feasible, should not exceed the costs that would have been incurred if Radio Free Asia had been operated as a Federal entity rather than as a grantee. whether Radio Free Asia is technically sound and cost-effective, whether Radio Free Asia consistently meets the standards for quality and objectivity established by this chapter, whether Radio Free Asia is received by a sufficient audience to warrant its continuation, the extent to which such broadcasting is already being received by the target audience from other credible sources; and the extent to which the interests of the United States are being served by maintaining broadcasting of Radio Free Asia. entering into any agreements for the utilization of Voice of America transmitters, equipment, or other resources that will significantly reduce the broadcasting activities of the Voice of America in Asia or any other region in order to accommodate the broadcasting activities of Radio Free Asia; or entering into any agreements in regard to the utilization of Radio Free Asia transmitters, equipment, or other resources that will significantly reduce the broadcasting activities of Radio Free Asia. The Chief Executive Officer of the Agency shall consult with such committees on the impact of any such reduction in Voice of America broadcasting activities or Radio Free Asia broadcasting activities. If the Chief Executive Officer determines at any time that Radio Free Asia is not carrying out the functions described in this section in an effective and economical manner, the Agency may award the grant to carry out such functions to another entity. Nothing in this chapter may be construed to make Radio Free Asia a Federal agency or instrumentality. was authorized under section 309 of the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 ( 22 U.S.C. 6208 ); was incorporated as a private, non-profit corporation in March 1996 in the hope that its operations would soon be obviated by the global advancement of democracy; and is headquartered in Washington, DC, with additional offices in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Phnom Penh, Seoul, Ankara, and Taipei. RFA broadcasts serve as substitutes for indigenous free media in regions lacking free media outlets. The mission of RFA is ‘to provide accurate and timely news and information to Asian countries whose governments prohibit access to a free press’ in order to enable informed decisionmaking by the people within Asia. 12 hours per day in Mandarin; 8 hours per day in 3 Tibetan dialects, Uke, Kham, and Amdo; 4 hours per day in Korean and Burmese; 2 hours per day in Cantonese, Vietnamese, Laotian, Khmer (Cambodian), and Uyghur; and 1½ hours per week in Wu (local Shanghai dialect). The governments of the countries targeted for these broadcasts have consistently denied and blocked attempts at Medium Wave and FM transmissions into their countries, forcing RFA to rely on Shortwave broadcasts and the Internet. routinely and aggressively block RFA’s website; monitor access to RFA’s website; and discourage online users by making it illegal to access RFA’s website. Despite these attempts, RFA has successfully managed to reach its online audiences through proxies, cutting-edge software, and active republication and repostings by its audience. RFA also provides forums for local opinions and experiences through message boards, podcasts, web logs (blogs), cell phone-distributed newscasts, and new media, including Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and YouTube. Freedom House has documented that freedom of the press is in decline in nearly every region of the world, particularly in Asia, where none of the countries served by RFA have increased their freedom of the press during the past 5 years. In fiscal year 2010, RFA is operating on a $37,000,000 budget, less than $400,000 of which is available to fund Internet censorship circumvention. Congress currently provides grant funding for RFA’s operations on a fiscal year basis.”