{"id":1137,"date":"2011-05-30T09:04:02","date_gmt":"2011-05-30T14:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=1137"},"modified":"2011-05-30T09:04:02","modified_gmt":"2011-05-30T14:04:02","slug":"voa-criticized-for-dropping-mandarin-service-to-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2011\/05\/voa-criticized-for-dropping-mandarin-service-to-china\/","title":{"rendered":"VOA criticized for dropping Mandarin service to China"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I just noticed this article from the VOA website<\/a> regarding criticism it recently received from the Heritage Foundation for shutting down VOA’s Mandarin language shortwave radio service to China.<\/p>\n

It’s may be once in a blue moon when I agree with a Washington think tank, but in this case, the argument is certainly valid.<\/p>\n

VOA, following the lead of the BBC, Deutsche Welle and possibly other broadcasters, decided that it’s much more cost-effective to cut shortwave service and increase its web-based presence in China. Unfortunately, there are still many in China who rely on shortwave radio service for their uncensored view of the rest of the world. Indeed, China’s ruling party is concerned enough about this that they routinely jam VOA transmissions as a form of censorship. Of course, when it comes to shortwave radio, jamming is not often effective. But if broadcasters in the western world (meaning VOA, BBC, DW) decide not to bother broadcasting into China, limitation of service is 100% effective. Indeed, we’re “jamming” the service before it ever has a chance to leave our respective countries.<\/p>\n

Access to the internet, on the other hand, is completely controlled by the Chinese ruling party. Should they decide to, they can simply pull the plug and leave their citizens in the dark, informationally speaking. If you question this, simply ask people in Fiji<\/a>, Egypt<\/a> and Burma<\/a>–and, oh, yes– Iran is now tinkering with the idea<\/a>.<\/p>\n

China is an amazing country, not to mention a technological leader in communications; its government simply has a track record of filtering information in a manner which many view as a violation of a basic human right. And censorship is a thriving business:\u00a0 just ask Google<\/a>. Or try to view VOA’s Manadarin website while traveling in China: you, too, may find yourself a victim of Chinese censorship.<\/p>\n

Let us leave some information access available to those in China by keeping shortwave service alive there. There must be other cost-effective means of information sharing that doesn’t require throwing the baby out with the bath water<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read the original VOA article<\/a> here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I just noticed this article from the VOA website regarding criticism it recently received from the Heritage Foundation for shutting down VOA’s Mandarin language shortwave radio service to China. It’s may be once in a blue moon when I agree with a Washington think tank, but in this case, the argument is certainly valid. VOA, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[56,81,3],"tags":[146,403,404,10,402,405,182],"class_list":["post-1137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-broadcasters","category-current-events","category-news","tag-china","tag-heritage-foundation","tag-mandarin","tag-voa","tag-voa-cuts","tag-voa-mandarin-service","tag-voice-of-america"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-il","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1565,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2011\/08\/scrambling-to-keep-voa-china-on-the-air\/","url_meta":{"origin":1137,"position":0},"title":"Scrambling to keep VOA China on the air","author":"Thomas","date":"August 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Fox News) Congressional lawmakers are scrambling to prevent America's international media arm from going off-air in China, arguing that a plan to shift much of its reporting to the Internet won't do much good in a country notorious for its web censors. [...]The Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/a999voalogo_2050081722-26491.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1067,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2011\/02\/while-some-shortwave-broadcasters-are-leaving-china-market-one-expands\/","url_meta":{"origin":1137,"position":1},"title":"While some shortwave broadcasters are leaving the China market, one expands","author":"Thomas","date":"February 25, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: The Epoch Times) \"While BBC is canceling its Mandarin broadcasts in April 2011 and Voice of America (VOA) its Mandarin and Cantonese broadcasts in October 2011, Sound of Hope Radio (SOH) Network announced that they will be expanding short-wave broadcasting to China to meet the demands of its Chinese\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/SoundOfHope.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":59385,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/04\/taiwan-breaking-through-censorship-via-shortwave\/","url_meta":{"origin":1137,"position":2},"title":"Taiwan: Breaking through censorship via shortwave","author":"Thomas","date":"April 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia, who shares the following story: How Taiwan breaches censors' barriers (VOA News) Breaking the barriers of censorship in China, Myanmar and North Korea is a daunting task, as these countries have built almost impenetrable firewalls against outside news and information. But Radio\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/XHDATA-D109-WB-002-001-scaled-e1706022455779.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/XHDATA-D109-WB-002-001-scaled-e1706022455779.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/XHDATA-D109-WB-002-001-scaled-e1706022455779.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/XHDATA-D109-WB-002-001-scaled-e1706022455779.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/XHDATA-D109-WB-002-001-scaled-e1706022455779.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2343,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2011\/12\/cs-monitor-dont-let-voice-of-america-broadcasts-go-static\/","url_meta":{"origin":1137,"position":3},"title":"CS Monitor: Don’t let Voice of America broadcasts go static","author":"Thomas","date":"December 12, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Christian Science Monitor) Voice of America (VOA), the jewel in America's public diplomacy effort abroad, is set to be streamlined. Some programs can be downsized. But VOA is in the national interest, especially as Russia, China, and Iran expand state-supported media. Cuts should be handled with care. [...]An earlier\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/a999voalogo_2050081722-26491.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10987,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/voa-reduced-tv-to-china-during-hong-kong-protests\/","url_meta":{"origin":1137,"position":4},"title":"VOA Reduced TV to China during Hong Kong protests","author":"Thomas","date":"October 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The website BBG Watch recently posted a guest commentary from an anonymous VOA reporter regarding the loss of VOA Weishi TV during the Hong Kong protests. Here is an excerpt from BBG Watch: \"On Monday, September 29, the loyal viewers of Voice of America (VOA) \u201cWeishi,\u201d the VOA Mandarin TV\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"VOA-Weishi-TV","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/VOA-Weishi-TV.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/VOA-Weishi-TV.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/VOA-Weishi-TV.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5809,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/02\/voa-protests-jamming-of-english-service-to-china\/","url_meta":{"origin":1137,"position":5},"title":"VOA protests jamming of English service to China","author":"Thomas","date":"February 26, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: VOA) The Voice of America is protesting new jamming of its English broadcasts in China. VOA Director David Ensor condemned the new interference and said the U.S. government broadcaster is working with experts to determine the precise origin of the jamming. He said \"the free flow of information is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"voa logo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/a999voalogo_2050081722-26491.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1137\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}