Chinese state media welcomed Donald Trump's move to cut public funding for news organizations like Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA), which have long reported on authoritarian regimes. This action has sparked widespread concern and ignited discussions about press freedom and the dissemination of information. The implications of this decision are far-reaching, affecting the global media landscape and the availability of unbiased news.
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03-20, 2025The decision has impacted thousands of employees, with VOA alone placing approximately 1,300 employees on unpaid leave since the executive order last Friday. Critics have called the move a setback for democracy, but China's state-run Global Times newspaper condemned VOA's "poor record" in reporting on China, stating it has "now been abandoned by its own government like a dirty rag." This reflects the ongoing tensions and differing perspectives on media coverage between the U.S. and China.
The White House defended the move, stating it would "ensure taxpayers are no longer footing the bill for radical propaganda." Trump's cuts target the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), a congressionally supported agency that funds the affected news organizations, such as VOA, RFA, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. These organizations have earned praise and international recognition for their reporting in places like China, Cambodia, Russia, and North Korea, where press freedom is severely restricted or nonexistent. Their role in providing uncensored news is crucial for informed public discourse.
Although government departments in some of these countries block the broadcasts—for example, VOA is banned in China—people can listen via shortwave radio or bypass restrictions with VPNs. RFA frequently reports on the suppression of human rights in Cambodia, and former Cambodian autocratic ruler Hun Sen praised the cuts as "a great contribution to eliminating fake news." The media outlet was also among the first to report on China's network of Xinjiang detention centers, where authorities have been accused of detaining hundreds of thousands of Uyghur Muslims without trial. Beijing denies the claims, saying people voluntarily attend "re-education camps" aimed at combating "terrorism and religious extremism." VOA has received awards for its reporting on North Korean defectors and the Chinese Communist Party's alleged cover-up of Covid deaths.
VOA, primarily a broadcast media outlet that also broadcasts in Mandarin, was recognized last year for its podcasts about the rare 2022 protests in China against Covid lockdowns. But China's Global Times welcomed the cuts, calling VOA a "lie factory." An editorial published by the newspaper on Monday stated, "As more and more Americans begin to break through their information cocoons and see a real world and a multidimensional China, the demonizing narratives spread by VOA will eventually become a joke." Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of the Global Times, wrote, "VOA is paralyzed! So is Radio Free Asia, which has been very vicious towards China. This is good news."
VOA journalist Valdya Baraputri, who lost her job in the weekend's layoffs, said such a reaction was "easily predictable." She previously worked for the BBC World Service. "Of course, canceling VOA will allow channels that are the opposite of accurate and balanced reporting to thrive," she told the BBC. The National Press Club, the main representative group for American journalists, said the order "undermines the long-standing commitment of the United States to a free and independent media." VOA was founded during World War II, partly to counter Nazi propaganda, and reaches about 360 million people each week in nearly 50 languages. Over the years, it has broadcast to China, North Korea, communist Cuba, and the former Soviet Union. It has also been a useful tool for many Chinese people learning English.
VOA Director Michael Abramowitz said Trump's order weakens VOA, while "America's adversaries, such as Iran, China, and Russia, are investing billions of dollars to create false narratives to denigrate America." Baraputri, who is from Indonesia but worked in Washington, D.C., first joined VOA in 2018, but her visa was terminated at the end of Trump's first administration. She rejoined in 2023 because she wanted to be part of an organization that "insisted on impartial, fact-based, and government-uninfluenced reporting." The recent layoffs left her "feeling betrayed by my perception of American press freedom." She also worries about colleagues who may be forced to return to hostile homelands, where they could face persecution for their journalistic work.
Meanwhile, the Czech Republic has called for the European Union to intervene so that it can continue to operate Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The radio station reports in 27 languages from 23 countries, reaching more than 47 million people each week. Radio Free Asia President Bay Fang said in a statement that the organization plans to challenge the order. He stated that cutting funding to these media outlets is a "reward to dictators and tyrants, including the Chinese Communist Party, who most want their influence to be unchecked in the information space." RFA was founded in 1996 and reaches nearly 60 million people each week in China, Myanmar, North Korea, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. In China, in addition to English and Mandarin, it broadcasts in minority languages such as Tibetan and Uyghur.
Fang pointed out that "[Trump's order] not only deprives nearly 60 million people each week who rely on Radio Free Asia's reporting to learn the truth, but also benefits America's adversaries at the expense of our own interests." While Chinese state media has welcomed the cuts, it is difficult to know what the Chinese people think, given the strict censorship of the internet in China. Outside of China, those who have listened to VOA and RFA for many years seem disappointed and concerned. Chinese dissident Du Wen, who lives in Belgium, wrote on X, "Looking back at history, countless exiles, rebels, intellectuals, and ordinary people have persisted in the darkness because of the voices of VOA and Radio Free Asia, and have seen hope in fear because of their reports." "If the free world chooses to remain silent, then the voice of the dictator will become the only echo in the world."
