Radio Free Asia says it is shutting down its news operations on Friday with its financing in dire straits due to the U.S. government shutdown and the Trump administration’s moves against government-funded news services.
Since 1996. Radio Free Asia has been an independent news source operating online and on broadcast throughout that region, particularly in areas where the free flow of information is repressed.
It has been operating with a skeleton staff the past few months, primarily producing a few stories online as the administration has sought to choke off its funding. Trump’s team has contended that operations like RFA, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America are poorly run and a waste of government resources.
“In an effort to conserve limited resources on hand and preserve the possibility of restarting operations should consistent funding become available, RFA is taking further steps to responsibly shrink its already reduced footprint,” said Bay Fang, RFA’s president and CEO.
Radio Free Asia will begin shutting down overseas bureaus, laying off and paying severance to staff members, most of whom have been on unpaid leave since last March, Fang said.