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News Room
Tibetan language broadcasts in
danger of losing critical funding
By Tenzin Dorjee
We recently learned that the Tibetan language broadcasts of Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Voice of America (VOA) - US-based radio programs that broadcast into Tibet - may be in danger of losing some critical US government funding. The Broadcasting Board of Governors' (BBG), which oversees RFA and VOA, has proposed a reduction of US congressional funding
for the Tibetan broadcasts. This is
very alarming! RFA and VOA are virtually
the only independent
sources of news available to Tibetans inside Chinese-occupied
Tibet, whose access to outside information is almost entirely
restricted by China's heavy media censorship.[Right: His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Radio Free Asia. Photo: AFP] The proposed budget cuts would reduce RFA's Tibetan broadcast from 8 hours to 4 hours per day and VOA's Tibetan broadcast from 4 hours to 3 hours per day. As a result, tens of thousands of Tibetan nomads, farmers and other regular listeners, who cherish the radio broadcast as their only reliable source of information, would find their access to news and information seriously compromised. Tibetans living in Tibet aptly refer to RFA and VOA as the information lifeline of Tibet. They know that these two radio services are funded by the United States government and are very grateful for this American support to the Tibetan people. As the 2008 Beijing Olympics approach, the Tibetan freedom struggle is building momentum and poised to become more dynamic than ever. The next few years are a critical phase of the freedom struggle as social and political activism is expected to increase dramatically. At this critical and historic moment, it is imperative that the Tibetan radio services receive more support, not less, from the American government. -End-Please call the Representatives listed below who head the House Appropriations Committee which will decide the fate of these important Tibetan language radio services. Please express your concern about the potential funding cuts and support for the United States government's continued funding for both Radio Free Asia and Voice of America's Tibetan broadcasts. ___ If
you live in Wisconsin, please call Congressman
Dave Obey, Chairman of House Committee on
Appropriations: ___ If
you live in New York, please call Congresswoman
Nita M. Lowey, Chair of State, Foreign Operations
Subcommittee: ___ TALKING POINTS 2. Thank the Representative for his/her past support of RFA and VOA's Tibetan services. The two radio services represent the only reliable sources of news available to Tibetans inside Chinese-occupied Tibet, whose access to outside information is severely restricted due to China's heavy media censorship. 3. While the Chinese government pumps billions of dollars into suppressing freedom of press in Tibet, the Tibetan broadcasts of RFA and VOA represent the closest thing Tibetans have to freedom of information. 4. With the 2008 Beijing Olympics around the corner, the next few years are a critical phase in the Tibetan people's struggle for freedom. There will be a rise in social and political activism in the Tibet movement and Beijing's repressive behavior will come under intense global scrutiny. Therefore, there is an urgent need for more hours of Tibetan broadcast in Tibet by the two radio services, not less. 5. Since the United States government will be awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet later this year, this proposal to cut funding for Tibetan radio seems highly inappropriate and contradictory to existing American public support of the Tibetan cause. 6. We believe that such cuts may be interpreted by authoritarian regimes like China as a sign of weakening American resolve in the promotion of freedom and democracy. 7. For all the above reasons, please continue the United States government's support of RFA and VOA's Tibetan broadcasts. Thank you for your support at this critical time. 
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