On March 14, 2025, under President Donald Trump’s policy to reduce U.S. government expenditures, an executive order was issued requiring all operations of the State Department, including the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), to be drastically curtailed.
This resulted in downsizing offices, eliminating many subsidiary departments, and forcing numerous staff to resign. The funding freeze for five radio stations under USAGM’s direct supervision, including Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA), led to their operations being suspended from March 15, with staff placed on leave.
As a consequence, the Voice of America Tibetan Service and Radio Free Asia’s Tibetan Service—which have served as bridges between Tibet and the outside world and as voices for the Tibetan people—now face an extremely critical situation, unable to continue their operations.
In short, although legal battles and continued efforts are being made to restore the operations of these two Tibetan-language radio stations, their future status currently remains uncertain.
After news of the disruption to these radio services spread within Tibet, many Tibetans expressed deep sorrow and anxiety.
A Tibetan from Lhasa, speaking anonymously due to security concerns, told me: “These two radio stations are, for us, the only means through which we can see the wider world through a small window. Without them, we will essentially be left in darkness.”
A young person from eastern Tibet also shared their feelings: “Thanks to these U.S.-supported Tibetan-language radio stations, news from inside Tibet could be broadcast internationally, and we could learn about the outside world. The sudden closure of these stations is unbelievable.”
In this article, I will share my experiences and perspectives on the historical connection between the Tibetan people and these two radio stations, the benefits they have provided to Tibetans, and the losses resulting from their closure. I will also discuss how this situation affects the Tibetan cause on the international stage and the new challenges Tibetans will face in accessing news and information in the future.
A Profound Connection
Like many Tibetans, I share a deep and emotional history with these two radio stations. Their broadcasts—bringing hope-inspiring news, thought-provoking discussions, and programs on religion, culture, customs, and language preservation—have blossomed like flowers of compassion in the hearts of Tibetans.
When I was young, I spent several years and studied Buddhism at Sera Monastery near Lhasa, Tibet’s capital. Entering through the monastery’s main gate, one arrives at the monastery’s shop. Our monk quarters were on the second floor above this shop. The shop area belonged to Sera Mey Monastery’s Shungpa Khangtsen (house). From our window, we could see devotees entering and leaving the monastery through the main gate.
Before China’s complete occupation of Tibet in 1951, my teacher had served as the secretary of Sera Je Monastery’s Hardhong Khangtsen. After the Chinese occupation, when thousands of monasteries and temples were destroyed and monks and nuns expelled, my teacher returned to his native village and lived the difficult life of a farmer. After China slightly relaxed its religious policies in Tibet in 1978, he returned to Sera Monastery and resumed his role as secretary. His main responsibility was managing the monastery’s properties as a treasurer.
One of my clearest memories is that 9 to 10 in the evening was my teacher’s most important time of day. This was when he listened to Tibetan-language radio programs broadcast from abroad. First, he would carefully close all doors and windows, thoroughly checking the surroundings and beneath the windows for any people. After adjusting the radio frequency and lowering the volume, he would hold the radio close to his ear and listen with intense concentration. During this time, we students had to remain absolutely quiet, not disturbing him. At that time, I didn’t understand why he considered listening to the radio so important or what he was listening to. Sometimes his face would show a smile and joy, which was surely a sign that he had heard good news.
Later, I became interested in the radio programs he was listening to. I discovered that he was listening to the Voice of America Tibetan Service.
Eventually, I too listened to VOA news with my teacher many times. I later learned that my teacher was not the only one in the monastery who listened to VOA’s Tibetan Service; many other monks did as well. Through these radio broadcasts, they could learn about His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s activities, Tibet-related issues, international support for Tibet, and global news. Sometimes they could even hear speeches by the U.S. President and His Holiness the Dalai Lama from their meetings discussing Tibet. When important news about His Holiness or Tibet was broadcast, the Chinese government would deliberately jam the program and play loud music and noise to interfere with the reception. When important Tibet-related news was heard, trusted senior monks would come to our quarters, where they would discuss the news content, share experiences, and talk optimistically and hopefully about Tibet’s future.
After I had been in political exile in India for several years, my teacher passed away. Until his death, he never stopped listening to Voice of America and Radio Free Asia.
During that period, regardless of the Chinese Communist government’s severe restrictions, there was widespread clandestine listening to VOA’s Tibetan Service—and later Radio Free Asia and Voice of Tibet (Norway)—throughout Tibet’s monasteries, among farmers and nomads. Their experiences of accessing news seem to have been similar.
After arriving as a political exile in India, due to circumstances and my interests, I had the opportunity to work as a regional correspondent for Voice of Tibet (Norway) in southern India from 2009 to 2018. Subsequently, from 2018 to 2025, I served for seven years as the southern India regional correspondent for VOA’s Tibetan Service.
At both radio stations, my primary responsibility was collecting news from inside Tibet and broadcasting it to the international community. During those approximately 17 years, I was able to report on and disseminate news about the self-immolations of more than 155 Tibetans who protested against the Chinese government, as well as reporting on these key issues:
- Various peaceful protest movements
- The lack of religious freedom
- Environmental degradation problems
- Forced relocation of nomads
- Land confiscation cases
- Arrests, imprisonments, and death sentences of Tibetans
- Closure of local monasteries
- Prohibitions against keeping photos of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in private homes
- Policies restricting the learning and use of the Tibetan language
- News about the establishment of Communist Party surveillance offices in monasteries
In total, I was able to broadcast over 1,900 news stories from inside Tibet to the international community.
Looking back on this period, I feel proud that my work contributed, even if modestly, to the Tibetan community and cause. However, I learned that my work led the Chinese government to harass and interrogate my parents and family members in Tibet, causing them many difficulties.
The Chinese authorities imposed strict prohibitions on my family from contacting me abroad, resulting in a complete severing of communication between me and my family for more than a decade, leaving me unaware of their situation. This is not just my personal circumstance but a common challenge faced by many Tibetans in exile.
Sadly, with the suspension of funding to the USAGM and its ongoing reorganization, both the Voice of America Tibetan Service and Radio Free Asia’s Tibetan Service have had to suspend operations, and radio staff have become unemployed.
Notably, on the second day after the news of VOA’s suspension broke, Chinese state media outlets expressed their welcome. For instance, Global Times and Beijing Daily published articles gleefully praising the U.S. government’s decision. They labeled VOA as a “factory of lies” and accused it of being among the most critical foreign entities toward China. Their jubilation clearly demonstrates who benefits and who is harmed by the decision to suspend these radio operations.
Impact and Significance
The influence of these two radio stations has preserved the morale, hope, and ethnic pride of Tibetans inside Tibet and has kept the Tibet issue alive internationally. Likewise, the international community, led by the United States, has criticized the Chinese government on issues of human rights and religious freedom in Tibet and has supported the Tibetan cause.
To counter external information and propaganda and to control Tibetans’ interest in and access to foreign media such as VOA and RFA, the Chinese government has established numerous state-controlled radio and television stations throughout Tibet. Especially in the last decade, the number of such media outlets has increased, and their media power has grown.
These Chinese government media primarily focus on the following themes:
- Promoting Chinese government positions and policies
- Claiming Tibetan people’s lives have improved under Chinese Communist Party leadership
- Opposing Tibetan separatist movements
- Calling for the protection of national unity and ethnic harmony
- Disseminating news about economic construction and development in Tibet
- Defaming and criticizing His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile
While strictly prohibiting listening to foreign news in Tibet, the Chinese government also severely restricts international journalists from freely traveling there. Moreover, local people face heavy penalties for contacting foreign media or providing information to the outside world.
All this demonstrates how highly the Chinese government values controlling information dissemination and ideological dominance in Tibet.
While China is spending many billions of dollars to expand its propaganda power throughout the world, the United States is withdrawing from the battlefield of information and propaganda. This withdrawal is not merely a budget cut but abandoning one of the most important soft power resources that has maintained American interests and values across generations.
For Tibetans, these radio stations are not just sources of information but lifelines connecting an oppressed people to the global community. Their closure represents not only an organizational loss but also the withdrawal of a voice that has given lifeblood to the challenging Tibetan cause.
Renowned Tibetan writer inside Tibet, Tsering Woeser, has said that if RFA and VOA’s Tibetan services close, “Tibetan voices will disappear from this world.”
In March, the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile in Dharamsala held emergency discussions on this critical issue. The Sikyong (President) of the Central Tibetan Administration, Penpa Tsering, committed to working toward restoring these broadcasts, stating that their suspension is “a major loss to the Tibetan struggle.”
Mr. Golok Jigme, a prominent former Tibetan political prisoner who was imprisoned in Tibet for listening to and giving interviews to VOA and RFA and who now resides in the U.S., emphasized: “I know firsthand how vital these two radio stations are to Tibetans living under Chinese rule. They provide hope and truthful information in an environment of fear and propaganda.” Many other former Tibetan political prisoners have also shared their experiences of how these two radio stations have benefited Tibet and Tibetans and expressed their disappointment at the suspension of operations.
During her response in the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, Norzin Dolma, the Minister of Information and International Relations of the Central Tibetan Administration, said that the sudden suspension of the operations of these two radio stations is deeply regrettable and has closed a window through which Tibetans inside Tibet could view the world.
Stephen Capus, the head of Radio Free Europe, has stated that the blocking of funding for these two radio stations is a huge gift to America’s enemies.
The Cost of Silence
If these two foreign news programs permanently disappear from Tibet in the future, it will inevitably lead to these serious situations:
- No one to counter Chinese government distortions and falsehoods
- Obstacles to the actual situation in Tibet reaching the outside world
- Difficulties in internal information exchange
- The international community’s inability to understand conditions in Tibet
- A situation where Tibetan suffering and calls cannot be transmitted to the outside world
Under such circumstances, it is clear that the Chinese Communist government will have a good opportunity to act without restraint in Tibet and implement increasingly oppressive and brutal policies against Tibetans. The status of the Tibetan language and culture will also be at risk.
The loss impacts not only the approximately six million Tibetans inside Tibet but also millions of Tibetan cultural and linguistic heirs in the Himalayan regions of India, Nepal, and Bhutan. It also contradicts the United States’ China policy. This represents a major victory for the Chinese Communist government and its authorities in the 21st-century information media struggle, while the losers are the U.S. government and vulnerable people around the world, including Tibetans, as evident from the Chinese government’s welcoming articles. Therefore, there are many reasons why these two radio stations must continue their operations in full.
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* Gyaltsen Choedrak is a Tibetan journalist who served as a correspondent for Voice of America’s Tibetan Service from 2018 to 2025 and previously for Voice of Tibet from 2009 to 2018. He currently lives in exile in India.