20.02.2026 – (12:01 PM) Htate See

Radio Free Asia (RFA), which nearly shut down its news operations last year due to budget cuts by the Trump administration, has resumed broadcasting to the Chinese public, RFA CEO Bai Feng said on February 17.

RFA and several other news outlets, including Voice of America (VOA), have been supported for years by funding approved by the U.S. Congress, which is overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM).

Former news anchor and acting CEO of USAGM, Carrie Lake, cut off funding to the outlets last year.

She did so, citing waste of taxpayer money and biased criticism of Trump.

Critics have accused the move of laying off many employees and giving China and other U.S. rivals an advantage.

The Mandarin-language service, which is available to audiences in China, RFA President and CEO Bai Feng wrote on LinkedIn that he was proud to resume broadcasting in Tibetan and Uyghur languages, and that the company is the only independent news organization in the world that provides local news in these regions.

He said the resumption of broadcasting was possible thanks to a contract with a private broadcasting service.

Bai Feng did not provide details, but said that the network will need to secure new funding from Congress to rebuild.

The Republican-Democratic spending bill that Trump signed in early February included $653 million for the USAGM, which oversees RFA, VOA and other government-funded media outlets.