Radio Free Asia to Halt Operations Oct. 31

Radio Free Asia will halt all news production and suspend operations effective Friday, Oct. 31 — the first full shutdown since its 1996 founding — citing funding uncertainty from the Trump administration’s cuts to the U.S. Agency for Global Media and the ongoing federal government shutdown. The pause follows months of deep reductions after March funding cuts, which furloughed roughly three-quarters of staff and earlier suspended Tibetan, Burmese, Uyghur and English services. RFA said its FY2024 budget was $60.8 million and that it reached nearly 60 million people weekly in countries with limited press freedom. The broadcaster will close overseas bureaus, formally lay off furloughed employees and pay severance while maintaining limited website and social updates. CEO Bay Fang and executive editor Rosa (Rose) Hwang framed the move as temporary if Congress restores funding, and legal challenges to the administration’s cuts are ongoing. Media and rights experts warn the suspension removes one of the few independent outlets covering abuses — such as Uyghur detentions in Xinjiang — leaving audiences in China, Myanmar, North Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos with diminished access to uncensored information.