New VOA book National Secrets released

WASHINGTON, D.C. - History buffs and scholars in Hong Kong and Taiwan are snapping up copies of a new VOA book focused on taboo subjects that have long been banned in Communist China.

The book, based on a popular Voice of America Mandarin-language television segment called History's Mysteries, includes politically sensitive material about the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the early days of the Communist Party, and the late Zhao Ziyang, the former Party Secretary who was placed under house arrest in 1989.

"Due to heavy censorship, many people in Mainland China are unaware of these topics, or only know the official versions of them provided by the government," said Robert Su Li, the producer and host of History's Mysteries. "Our job is to tell them the truth."

The book, titled National Secrets, went on sale in July, just in time for the Hong Kong Book Fair, and is now in its second printing.

"Our generation has suffered great pain and we've paid a huge price, but the way mainlanders forget is very scary. I felt an urgent need to record history," VOA China Branch Chief Sasha Gong told the South China Morning Post, which profiled the book.

History's Mysteries debuted in June 2012 and its episodes have been viewed more than 1.1 million times on YouTube and the VOA Chinese website. Both websites are blocked in China, but are accessible to Chinese audiences via proxy servers and other circumvention technology.

National Secrets is the first in a planned series of books featuring scripts from History's Mysteries and potentially other VOA shows as well.
(VOA/Kyle King)

Radio Free Asia announces new QSL for September

RADIO FREE ASIA ISSUES FOURTH 15TH ANNIVERSARY QSL CARD SEPTEMBER 2011

Radio Free Asia (RFA) announces the release of our 39th QSL card. This is the fourth QSL card commemorating 2011 as RFA’s 15th anniversary. Not only is The Dalai Lama the subject of this card, but The Dalai Lama was also the subject of RFA’s very first QSL card. RFA’s first broadcast was in Mandarin Chinese on September 29, 1996 at 2100 UTC. Acting as a substitute for indigenous free media, RFA concentrates its coverage on events occurring in and/or affecting the countries to which we broadcast. Those countries are: Burma, Cambodia, Laos, North Korea, Peoples Republic of China, and Vietnam. This QSL card will be used to confirm all valid reception reports for September 2011. Similar designs will be announced monthly between now and the end of the year. To learn more about RFA’s anniversary, visit www.rfa15.org.

RFA is a private, nonprofit corporation that broadcasts news and information to listeners in Asian countries where full, accurate, and timely news reports are unavailable. Created by Congress in 1994 and incorporated in 1996, RFA currently broadcasts in Burmese, Cantonese, Khmer, Korean to North Korea, Lao, Mandarin, the Wu dialect, Vietnamese, Tibetan (Uke, Amdo, and Kham), and Uyghur. RFA strives for accuracy, balance, and fairness in its editorial content. As a ‘surrogate’ broadcaster, RFA provides news and commentary specific to each of its target countries, acting as the free press these countries lack. RFA broadcasts only in local languages and dialects, and most of its broadcasts comprise news of specific local interest. More information about Radio Free Asia, including our current broadcast frequency schedule, is available at www.rfa.org .

RFA encourages listeners to submit reception reports. Reception reports are valuable to RFA as they help us evaluate the signal strength and quality of our transmissions. RFA confirms all accurate reception reports by mailing a QSL card to the listener. RFA welcomes all reception report submissions at www.techweb.rfa.org (follow the QSL REPORTS link) not only from DX’ers, but also from its general listening audience. If you have a smart phone, feel free to use the QR code below to access the automated reception report system and submit your reception reports to the web site.

You also have the option of using the following Microsoft Tag from your smartphone. The free mobile app for your smartphone is available at http://gettag.mobi .

Reception reports are also accepted by email at qsl@rfa.org, and for anyone without Internet access, reception reports can be mailed to:

Reception Reports
Radio Free Asia
2025 M. Street NW, Suite 300
Washington DC 20036
United States of America.
Upon request, RFA will also send a copy of the current broadcast schedule and a station sticker.
(RJ Janitschek)