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Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,222
Registered: ‎11-08-2014

C-SPAN SHOWCASES THE WORK OF RADIO FREE ASIA

I'm so sorry this is "after the fact",  but I'm sure that a quick search of C-SPAN 2 will bring up this extremely, (surprisingly to me) compelling discussion that occurred recently at George Washington University.

 

I couldn't sleep early this a.m., and groggily started listening.   The president of Radio Free Asia was talking, and frankly, I thought, good, it'll help me to sleep!   Not so.  This affable but intense chief executive, Libby Liu, was electrifying in the sweeping picture she was giving of efforts to penetrate the enclosed media blanket over much of Asia.

 

Her parents fled the Chinese Communist revolution of 1949, and she has intimate, comprehensive command of the past and current state of affairs there.  But every Asian country is covered.

 

I have heard of Radio Free Europe, of course, but this is my first exposure to R.F.A.   They operate on similar principles.  Every correspondent that they have is endangered merely by working for them, and many of the consumers of R.F.A. media in the targeted countries run the risk of imprisonment or worse.  Of 14 correspondents they once had in Vietnam, all are now either imprisoned or in exile.

 

Apart from her work at Radio Free Asia, Libby Liu had fascinating comments and intimate knowledge about the Chinese diaspora across the globe.  To anyone interested in the subject, it was absolutely riveting.

 

Rarely have I heard a speaker with the complete mastery of her subject and the ability to present facts the way this talented individual did.  And I was half-asleep!

Valued Contributor
Posts: 720
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: C-SPAN SHOWCASES THE WORK OF RADIO FREE ASIA

Thank you for your interesting post @Oznell . I would have enjoyed watching that. I had never heard of radio free Asia either nor that woman. I did a search for her on YouTube thinking I might be able to find the program but I couldn't. However, I did find a presentation she did at The Institute of World Politics.

 

This reminded me of a recent article I read in one of our church magazines about a North Korean couple who escaped and they are now two out of 220 North Korean refugees who have been legally admitted into the U.S. First the husband escaped to South Korea without telling his wife his plan. Eight months later he was able to get word to her and she also escaped to South Korea. She had to hike 6 hours to a spot where she could get a Chinese phone signal that would allow her to call outside of North Korea. The article said without the internet or the ability to talk on the phone to people outside of North Korea, citizens had no idea what life was like in other parts of the world. They escaped in 2009 to South Korea and eventually came to the USA in 2015 where they are currently attending college.

 

In her presentation I found tonight, Libby Liu said it's so important to get short wave radios to people in countries where they don't have access to the internet, etc. so they can get some kind of information from the outside world through radio free Asia. She seems to be a courageous and determined woman.

 

 

 

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,222
Registered: ‎11-08-2014

Re: C-SPAN SHOWCASES THE WORK OF RADIO FREE ASIA

That is so very interesting, @cimeranrose.  That harrowing experience of the North Korean couple-- imagine the courage it takes to be able to plan and execute a daring escape like that, one which if it fails, the consequences could be as dire as possible.  At least in that case they pulled it off, and there's a happy ending with them safe and attending college...  Great story!

 

Fantastic that there is now the technology, and organizations like Ms. Liu's, that can help get information into these closed societies, with the result that at least some people can have hope and better futures.    

Valued Contributor
Posts: 720
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: C-SPAN SHOWCASES THE WORK OF RADIO FREE ASIA

In case you'd be interested in reading the article sometime @Oznell , you can Google "From Darkness to Living Color" by Morgan Jones (LDS Living magazine).

 

It made me realize again how thankful I am for the good old USA (flaws and all, lol).

Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,222
Registered: ‎11-08-2014

Re: C-SPAN SHOWCASES THE WORK OF RADIO FREE ASIA

Thanks, @cimeranrose, and ain't that the truth!