Radio Free Asia
| Abbreviation | RFA |
|---|---|
| Formation | March 12, 1996 |
| Type | 501(c)(3) organization |
| 52-1968145 | |
| Purpose | Broadcast Media |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
Official languages | Burmese, Cantonese, English, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Mandarin, Tibetan, Uyghur, and Vietnamese |
| Owner | U.S. Agency for Global Media (until 2025) |
President | Bay Fang |
| Carolyn Bartholomew (Chair), Michael J. Green, Michael Kempner, Keith Richburg, Shanthi Kalathil, Allison Hooker | |
Parent organization | U.S. Agency for Global Media |
| Budget | $51.3 million (2023) |
| Staff | 253 |
| Website | rfa |
Radio Free Asia (RFA) is an American state-funded news service that published online news, information, commentary and broadcasts radio programs for its audiences in Asia until the suspension of its operations in 2025. The service, which provided editorially independent reporting, had the stated mission of providing accurate and uncensored reporting to countries in Asia that have poor media environments and limited protections for speech and press freedom.
RFA operated as a non-profit corporation, headquartered in Washington, D.C., with news bureaus and journalists in Asia, Europe, and Australia. RFA was established by the US International Broadcasting Act of 1994 with the stated aim of "promoting democratic values and human rights", and countering the narratives and monopoly on information distribution of the Chinese Communist Party, as well as providing media reports about the North Korean government. It has historically been funded and supervised by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (formerly Broadcasting Board of Governors), an independent agency of the United States government. RFA digitally published news articles, photos, videos, and podcasts on its website and social media channels including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, X in nine Asian languages for audiences in mainland China, Hong Kong, North Korea, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar.
On March 15, 2025, the United States Agency for Global Media terminated grants to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia following a directive from the Trump administration. The news service and its staff have defied the executive order and remained on the air while considering legal action to challenge the presidential directive. Since the announcement, RFA's Tibetan, Burmese, Korean, Lao, Cantonese, Khmer and Uyghur language services have shut down. Its news operations were suspended on October 31, 2025. In February 2026, some RFA broadcasts to China resumed.