US to lower 'voice' in China

The US plans to cut back on radio broadcasts in China through the Voice of America (VOA) radio network, echoing similar moves by cash-strapped broadcasters such as the British Broadcasting Corporation, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The 2012 budget proposal submitted to Congress last week would end VOA's Mandarin-language short-wave radio broadcasts, focusing instead on transmitting news through the Internet and mobile phones. The US would continue broadcasting in Chinese by bolstering Radio Free Asia's Mandarin-language broadcasts.

The move is a reflection of both budget pressures and changing technology. The US is rethinking how it can best promote democracy around the world in the wake of the revolts in the Middle East that were spurred in part by social networking.

According to the Taipei Times, despite growing protests, the US government's VOA broadcasting system is determined to go ahead with budget cutting plans and cancel shortwave radio broadcasts into China.

“This is another alarming sign that America is cowering before China's gangster regime,” Representative Dana Rohrabacher said.

“The Chinese people are our greatest allies and the free flow of information is our greatest weapon,” says Rohrabacher, a Republican and member of the House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee.

Meanwhile, AsiaOne notes that the VOA cuts will include the dismissal of 45 Chinese-language broadcasters, 38 from the 69-strong Mandarin service and all broadcasters from its Cantonese services, according to a report in The Washington Times.