RFA Uyghur’s Shohret Hoshur who won a gold medal for his reporting on youths who were jailed following a deadly clash with Chinese police on Dec. 28, 2011.
Washington — Radio Free Asia Uyghur service broadcaster Shohret Hoshur won a gold medal at this year’s New York Festivals radio awards in the category of best coverage of a breaking news story. In addition, three broadcasters from RFA’s Korean service were named as finalists in separate categories as announced at the international broadcasting contest’s awards reception June 18 in New York.
“At Radio Free Asia, our lives are focused on the audiences we serve in the most repressive information environments on earth. We are dedicated to bringing a voice to the voiceless, promoting the free exchange of ideas, and shining a light on events occurring in the dark,” said Libby Liu, President of Radio Free Asia. “We are honored by the New York Festivals’ recognition of our programs’ excellence, and we are constantly inspired by our audiences to fulfill our crucial mission of bringing uncensored news to millions living in closed societies.”
Information about RFA’s winner and finalists, and their entries follows.
- RFA Uyghur’s Shohret Hoshur’s gold-medal-winning entry, titled “Hear the Children Cry Freedom,” chronicles an incident in which four Uyghur youths, the youngest being 7 years old, were jailed following a deadly clash with Chinese police on Dec. 28, 2011. The youths were branded by the authorities as traitors for trying to seek political asylum outside China. The piece won in the category of best coverage of a breaking news story.
- RFA Korean service broadcaster Jung Min Noh was named as a finalist in the contest’s category of social issues/current events programming for his series on a bicycle rally and human rights campaign in Europe to bring attention to China’s forced repatriation of North Korean refugees.
- RFA Korean’s Won Hee Lee was named as a finalist in the category of best human interest story for her piece on a Korean-American living in the United States engaged in a project attempting to reunite families separated after the Korean War through personalized video greeting letters.
- RFA Korean’s Jinseo Lee was named as a finalist in the category of educational programming for his series on a group of North and South Korean college students meeting in Germany to discuss the possibility of a unified Korea.
Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors.
