China boosts radio coverage in Tibet and Xinjiang as US-backed voices fade
The winter update from the HFCC, the international body that coordinates shortwave radio frequencies, shows a significant expansion in reported broadcasts by China National Radio, especially in Tibetan and Uyghur. This increase comes as the United States drastically cuts funding for the U.S. Agency for Global Media as well as Radio Free Asia, a historic independent voice that has documented repression in Tibet and Xinjiang.
Beijing (AsiaNews) – On 9 November, the High Frequency Coordination Conference (HFCC), which coordinates the use of shortwave among broadcasters worldwide, published its new radio broadcast schedule for the winter season.
The update highlights a further increase in frequencies registered by the Chinese state broadcaster China National Radio (CNR), especially for Tibetan and Uyghur-language services.
The HFCC manages and coordinates global databases of frequencies used by international radio stations, with the aim of minimising interference between stations. However, the association relies solely on data provided directly by broadcasters.
Some stations may register more frequencies than they actually use, or, conversely, not include all the programmes they actually broadcast. Therefore, the HFCC schedule is not an exact snapshot of the entire shortwave radio landscape, but rather reflects the stated intentions of individual broadcasters, which sometimes also have political objectives.
In countries with strict censorship, shortwave radio remains a favoured medium for the dissemination of independent voices because it circumvents restrictions, escapes controls, and maintains listeners' anonymity.
Since 2018, CNR has been part of the state-owned conglomerate, Voice of China, which brings together radio, television, and digital platforms under the supervision of the Central Propaganda Department.
This reorganisation centralised the management of state media, allowing for effective coordination of their expansion.
Meanwhile, cuts by USAID, the US aid agency, have drastically reduced the dissemination of alternative voices in the country.
In 2024, the US allocated over US$ 800 million to the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), with US$ 71 million for Radio Free Asia (RFA) alone. Although funded by Congress, RFA operates with legal guarantees against direct political interference. However, the proposed 2026 budget includes 3 million for the agency's orderly closure.
Since its founding, it has been one of the main channels to hear anti-establishment voices. Tibetan and Uyghur-language broadcasts have documented repression in Tibet and Xinjiang, detention camps, and forced labour practices violating fundamental human rights.
A direct correlation between the expansion of China-funded services and the contraction of those subsidised by the United States is difficult to verify. However, the programming schedule compiled by the HFCC suggests an attempt by Chinese media to fill the information gap left by the United States.
It is probably no coincidence that the CNR is expanding the number of broadcasts scheduled in Tibetan and Uyghur, specifically those aimed at the minorities primarily affected by the gutting of the RFA.
The CNR has announced that it will broadcast 17 Tibetan-language programmes this winter, from late October to March (B25 season), one more than the recently concluded summer season (A25), and 16 more than for last year's summer season, from 31 March to 27 October 2024 (A24), i.e. before the US funding cuts.
In light of these programming updates, it is reasonable to see a direct relationship between the downsizing of US-funded media and the expansion of Chinese-backed media, notes Maria Repnikova, an expert on Chinese political communication,
Programmes are broadcasting in local languages, seemingly at odds with Beijing's long-standing efforts to strengthen the integration of ethnic minorities through the promotion of the national language, Mandarin Chinese.
Nevertheless, the aim of ethnic language services is to allow “the leader’s thoughts to penetrate the hearts of people of different ethnicities like a shower of honey,” said a senior official from Beijing’s Central Propaganda Department at the anniversary celebration of the state-run Chinese Tibetan Radio.
.png)
17/03/2025 14:33
