Radio Free Asia Resumes Broadcasts to China, Countering CCP Global Influence

RFA and other U.S.-funded outlets are strategically important in bringing uncensored information to the Chinese public, advocates said.

Published on Feb. 28, 2026

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Radio Free Asia (RFA) has partially resumed broadcasts in Mandarin, Tibetan, and Uyghur to mainland China after suspension of operations last year due to a significant U.S. government funding cut. The restoration of broadcasting was made possible by a private contract with transmission services, but rebuilding the network would require continued funding from new congressional approvals.

Why it matters

RFA, along with other U.S.-funded media outlets like Voice of America, have for many years provided uncensored information to regions under authoritarian control, countering the Chinese Communist Party's global propaganda efforts. The dismantling of these news organizations was criticized for weakening Washington's global influence while Beijing expanded its own.

The details

Last year, former news anchor Kari Lake, appointed acting CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) by President Donald Trump, terminated funding to these media outlets, citing waste of taxpayer money and anti-Trump bias. In early February, Trump signed a bipartisan spending bill to allocate $653 million to USAGM, down from $867 million annually over the past two years. RFA's broadcast in Mandarin is currently only available online, with the goal of resuming regular radio broadcasts as soon as possible.

  • On Feb. 17, RFA's CEO announced the partial resumption of broadcasts.
  • In early February, Trump signed a bipartisan spending bill to allocate $653 million to USAGM.

The players

Radio Free Asia (RFA)

A nonprofit headquartered in Washington, primarily serving information-limited regions in Asia, with a focus on news reporting, commentary, and feature content covering politics, human rights, society, economics, and culture.

Kari Lake

A former news anchor who was appointed acting CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) by President Donald Trump.

Donald Trump

The former President of the United States who appointed Kari Lake as acting CEO of USAGM and later signed a bipartisan spending bill to allocate funding to USAGM.

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What they’re saying

“We are proud to have resumed ... providing some of the world's only independent reporting on these regions in the local languages.”

— Bay Fang, President and CEO of Radio Free Asia (LinkedIn)

“Initially, the Trump administration canceled the broadcast due to budgetary or financial considerations. But now, they may have realized disseminating accurate information to people in Xinjiang or other parts of mainland China through broadcasting is very important, given the current situation in China, especially after seeing democratic or revolutionary movements in other countries like those in Iran.”

— Shen Ming-shih, Research fellow at the Division of National Security Research at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research (The Epoch Times)

What’s next

RFA's spokesperson, Rohit Mahajan, stated that the organization has signed contracts with private companies to broadcast to audiences in Tibet, North Korea, and Burma (also known as Myanmar), and that satellite transmissions previously via USAGM have not yet resumed.

The takeaway

The resumption of RFA's broadcasts to China, along with the increased news coverage from Voice of America, represents a strategic upgrade to the U.S. global public opinion strategy in countering the Chinese Communist Party's news blockade and discourse system, which is seen as crucial for promoting changes within mainland China.