Eyes on Asia

Eyes on Asia looks at how the Taliban takeover could resonate beyond the borders of Afghanistan. National War College professor Zachary Abuza discusses how it might revitalize terror groups in Southeast Asia. And RFA Uyghur Service director Alim Seytoff speaks about how Uyghurs in Afghanistan are fearful of cooperation between China and a Taliban regime eager for its diplomatic rec

COVID misinformation has caused red faces in China and Vietnam this week. Eyes on Asia looks at how both nations were duped by fake news related to the pandemic that from the perspective of each government, proved too good to be true. Featuring RFA journalists Mat Pennington, Paul Eckert, Jane Tang and Son Nguyen. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/virus-08112021102813.html htt

The authoritarian Cambodian government is forming a commission to monitor a segment of the population that already have their backs against the wall -- journalists. Eyes on Asia speaks to Nop Vy, the executive director of CamboJA, a journalists' network. He will be a lone independent voice on this commission that is intended to scrutinize ethical standards in journalism but is stac

It has been six months since the Myanmar military’s Feb. 1 coup that all but erased democracy and human rights progress made in the country since 2011. RFA Myanmar journalist Kyaw Min Htun brings us up to date on how things are looking for journalists living under junta rule. Then Simon Billenness, Executive Director of the International Campaign for the Rohingya, draws on his 25

Hong Kong arrested the publishers of a "seditious sheep" children's book in the latest sign of stultifying repression in a once vibrant city. RFA Cantonese journalist Carmen Wu (3:23) tells Eyes on Asia about deepening censorship and about the trend of people trying to leave Hong Kong or get their kids out to avoid political indoctrination. Then RFA Vietnamese journalist Son Nguyen

In the six months since outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a determination that China’s treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang met the definition of genocide, Washington has ramped up policies aimed at making China change course in the vast, troubled region -- restricting exports suspected of being made with Uyghur forced labor, blacklisting companies in the region, and pre

After a springtime of increasingly dire warnings of food shortages from UN officials and even leader Kim Jong Un himself, this month North Korea told work units and organizations at all levels in the country of 25 million to fend for themselves when it comes to food. Further reports have emerged of rising hunger in the North Korean countryside -- at least partly the result of the c

Eyes on Asia interviews Nathan Maung, the editor-in-chief of Kamayut Media, who was detained for three months by Myanmar's junta. He recounts the brutal interrogation he faced, life inside prison and what the future holds for Myanmar, five months after the military coup. And we dissect the Chinese President Xi Jinping's bombastic speech at the Chinese Communist Party's centennial,

Hong Kong's feisty Apple Daily newspaper printed its last copy on June 24. The 26-year-old pro-democracy tabloid is the latest victim to an ever-broadening crackdown on public criticism of the government under a draconian national security law imposed on Hong Kong by the ruling Chinese Communist Party a year ago. And we examine growing criticism of Vietnam as the government struggl

Eyes on Asia speaks with Jack Davies, principal author of a new RFA investigation into Chinese tycoon who was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison in China for running a huge, illicit gambling ring, and has relocated to Cambodia. The tycoon, Xu Aimin, has not only eluded arrest but he’s built a new business empire in Cambodia, including a casino in Sihanoukville that cat