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147-463: CRI states that it "endeavours to promote favourable relations between the PRC and the world" while upholding the PRC's official positions. As with other nations' external broadcasters such as Voice of America , BBC World Service and Radio Australia , CRI claims to "play a significant role in the PRC's soft power strategy" and Go Out policy , aiming to expand the influence of Chinese culture and media in

294-641: A prefectural capital and during the Three Kingdoms period , it was held by Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao before falling to the Wei Kingdom of Cao Cao . The AD third-century Western Jin demoted the town, placing the prefectural seat in neighboring Zhuozhou . During the Sixteen Kingdoms period when northern China was conquered and divided by the Wu Hu , Jicheng was briefly the capital of

441-438: A public diplomacy function. VOA's charter also requires it to be "a reliable and authoritative source of news" which "shall be accurate, objective, and comprehensive". The Voice of America Firewall was put in place with the 1976 VOA Charter and laws passed in 1994 and 2016 as a way of ensuring the integrity of VOA's journalism. This policy fights against propaganda and promotes unbiased and objective journalistic standards in

588-852: A bureau in Beijing the previous year. A 2015 investigative report by Reuters found a network of at least 33 radio stations in 14 countries that obscures CRI as its majority shareholder. A significant portion of the programming on these stations is either produced or provided by CRI, or by media firms CRI controls in the United States, Australia, and Europe. In February 2020, the United States Department of State designated CRI and other Chinese state-owned media outlets as foreign missions . CRI has focused on forging commercial partnerships, particularly in Europe, in which its content

735-624: A cave in Shahe in the Taihang Mountains , when China was in the midst of a civil war, to announce newly conquered areas and broadcast a Chinese political and cultural perspective to the world at large. The station moved from the Taihang Mountains to the capital, Peking , when The People's Republic of China was formed in 1949. Its name was changed to Radio Peking on April 10, 1950, and to Radio Beijing in 1983. On January 1, 1993,

882-416: A considerable portion for steel and cement making. Power plants in the coal-mining regions of Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi, where coal consumption has tripled since 2000, and Shandong also contribute to air pollution in Beijing. Shandong, Shanxi, Hebei and Inner Mongolia, respectively rank from first to fourth, among Chinese provinces by coal consumption. There were four major coal-fired power plants in

1029-761: A contract basis was declined, so a follow-on show called Shortwave Radiogram began transmission on June 25, 2017, from the WRMI transmitting site in Okeechobee, Florida. The Bethany Relay Station , operational from 1944 to 1994, was based on a 625-acre (2.53 km ) site in Union Township (now West Chester Township) in Butler County, Ohio , near Cincinnati . Major transmitter upgrades first were undertaken around 1963, when shortwave and medium-wave transmitters were built, upgraded, or rebuilt. The site

1176-698: A converted U.S. Coast Guard cutter Courier as a first mobile broadcasting ship . Control of VOA passed from the State Department to the U.S. Information Agency when the latter was established in 1953 to transmit worldwide, including to the countries behind the Iron Curtain and to the People's Republic of China. From 1955 until 2003, VOA broadcast American jazz on the Voice of America Jazz Hour . Hosted for most of that period by Willis Conover ,

1323-419: A few pedestrians can pass through at a time. Once ubiquitous in Beijing, siheyuans and hutongs are rapidly disappearing, as entire city blocks of hutongs are replaced by high-rise buildings. Residents of the hutongs are entitled to live in the new buildings in apartments of at least the same size as their former residences. Many complain, however, that the traditional sense of community and street life of

1470-475: A formal statement of principles to protect the integrity of VOA programming and define the organization's mission, and was issued by Director George V. Allen as a directive in 1960 and was endorsed in 1962 by USIA director Edward R. Murrow . VOA's charter was signed into law by President Gerald Ford . VOA's charter requires it to "present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively." Academics including Téwodros W. Workneh have described this as

1617-575: A global stage. CRI attempts to employ new media and partnerships with other media outlets to compete with other international media. Unlike other broadcasters, CRI's control via indirect majority ownership or financial support of radio stations in various nations is not publicly disclosed. CRI is presently the international radio arm of the China Media Group , under the control of the Central Publicity Department of

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1764-575: A high school senior in Westchester County, New York , had a Monday night program in which he shared everyday happenings in Yorktown Heights, New York . Brown's program ended due to its popularity: his "chatty narratives" attracted so much fan mail, VOA couldn't afford the $ 500 a month in clerical and postage costs required to respond to listeners' letters. During 1953, VOA personnel were subjected to McCarthyist policies, where VOA

1911-763: A large public gathering of Beijing residents against the Gang of Four and the Cultural Revolution in Tiananmen Square was forcefully suppressed . In October 1976, the Gang was arrested in Zhongnanhai and the Cultural Revolution came to an end. In December 1978, the Third Plenum of the 11th Party Congress in Beijing under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping reversed the verdicts against victims of

2058-476: A major center of electronics in China. In recent years, the expansion of Beijing has also brought to the forefront some problems of urbanization, such as heavy traffic , poor air quality , the loss of historic neighborhoods, and a significant influx of migrant workers from less-developed rural areas of the country. Beijing has also been the location of many significant events in recent Chinese history, principally

2205-599: A new directive from Russia's Kremlin after a new law was passed by the State Duma (Russia's lower house of parliament) and the upper house Federation Council and signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin , Voice of America was deemed a "foreign agent" under the Russian foreign agent law . In June 2021, the Russian news agency TASS reported that Russia's state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor complained that

2352-470: A pancake" ( tan da bing ). This pattern of development is frequently cited as a reason for Beijing's urban problems. Beijing has a monsoon-influenced humid continental climate ( Köppen : Dwa ), bordering on a cold semi-arid climate ( Köppen : BSk ) in the south and in the northwest, characterized by hot, humid summers due to the East Asian monsoon , and brief but cold, dry winters that reflect

2499-556: A part of several agencies. From its founding in 1942 to 1945, it was part of the Office of War Information , and then from 1945 to 1953 as a function of the State Department. VOA was placed under the U.S. Information Agency in 1953. When the USIA was abolished in 1999, VOA was placed under the BBG which is an autonomous U.S. government agency, with bipartisan membership. The Secretary of State has

2646-731: A part of the United States Information Agency (USIA), and established the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) with oversight authority, which took control from the Board for International Broadcasters which previously had overseen funding for RFE/RL. In 1998, the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act was signed into law, and mandated that the BBG become an independent federal agency as of October 1, 1999. This act also abolished

2793-526: A pattern of favoritism that materially benefitted some employees and contractors at the expense of the public. However, within hours after President Biden took office, Sieg was reinstated then transferred to a different role by then-acting VOA Director Yolanda Lopez and cleared of wrongdoing. Lopez abruptly resigned in September 2023 as the Committee intensified its investigation. In its June 2024 report,

2940-574: A period of 39 years. Also required was the execution or exile of government supporters of the Boxers and the destruction of Chinese forts and other defenses in much of northern China. Ten days after the treaty was signed the foreign armies left Beijing, although legation guards would remain there until World War II . With the treaty signed the Empress Dowager Cixi returned to Beijing from her "tour of inspection" on 7 January 1902 and

3087-452: A seat on the BBG. The BBG was established as a buffer to protect VOA and other U.S.-sponsored, non-military, international broadcasters from political interference. It replaced the Board for International Broadcasting (BIB) that oversaw the funding and operation of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty , a branch of VOA. In 2021, Voice of America launched 52 Documentary, a series that publishes weekly films about human experiences. They publish on

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3234-694: A southeasterly direction. The Miyun Reservoir, on the upper reaches of the Chaobai River, is the largest reservoir within the municipality. Beijing is also the northern terminus of the Grand Canal to Hangzhou , which was built over 1,400 years ago as a transportation route, and the South–North Water Transfer Project , constructed in the past decade to bring water from the Yangtze River basin. The urban area of Beijing, on

3381-551: A television service, as well as special regional programs to Cuba, Radio Martí and TV Martí . Cuba has consistently attempted to jam such broadcasts and has vociferously protested U.S. broadcasts directed at Cuba. In September 1980, VOA started broadcasting to Afghanistan in Dari and in Pashto in 1982. In 1981, VOA opened a bureau in Beijing, China. The next year, it began regular exchanges with Radio Peking . In 1985, VOA Europe

3528-426: A total of 600 million people. After this "pollution shock" air pollution became an important economic and social concern in China. After that the government of Beijing announced measures to reduce air pollution, for example by lowering the share of coal from 24% in 2012 to 10% in 2017, while the national government ordered heavily polluting vehicles to be removed from 2015 to 2017 and increased its efforts to transition

3675-405: A transmitter imported from Moscow . Xinhua New Chinese Radio (XNCR) went on the air from Yanan on December 30, 1940. XNCR transmitted to a larger geographical area after 1945, and its programs became more regular and formalized with broadcasts of news, official announcements, war bulletins, and art and literary programs. The English service started on September 11, 1947, transmitting as XNCR from

3822-887: A year jamming it." Chinese-language VOA broadcasts were jammed beginning in 1956 and extending through 1976. However, after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union, interviews with participants in anti-Soviet movements verified the effectiveness of VOA broadcasts in transmitting information to socialist societies. The People's Republic of China diligently jams VOA broadcasts. Cuba has also been reported to interfere with VOA satellite transmissions to Iran from its Russian-built transmission site at Bejucal . David Jackson, former director of Voice of America, noted: "The North Korean government doesn't jam us, but they try to keep people from listening through intimidation or worse. But people figure out ways to listen despite

3969-555: Is "BJ". The earliest traces of human habitation in the Peking municipality were found in the caves of Dragon Bone Hill near the village of Zhoukoudian in Fangshan District , where Peking Man lived. Homo erectus fossils from the caves date to 230,000 to 250,000 years ago. Paleolithic Homo sapiens also lived there more recently, about 27,000 years ago. Archaeologists have found neolithic settlements throughout

4116-728: Is 27.2 °C (81.0 °F). Precipitation averages around 528.0 mm (20.8 in) annually ( Haidian and Chaoyang has an average annual precipitation of 584.2 mm (23.0 in)), with close to three-quarters of that total falling from June to August. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 42% in July to 62% in January and February, the city receives 2,490.5 hours of bright sunshine annually. Extremes since 1951 have ranged from −27.4 °C (−17.3 °F) on 22 February 1966 to 41.9 °C (107.4 °F) on 24 July 1999 (unofficial record of 42.6 °C (108.7 °F)

4263-404: Is a global city and one of the world's leading centres for culture , diplomacy , politics , finance , business and economics , education , research , language , tourism , media , sport , science and technology and transportation and art. It is home to the headquarters of most of China's largest state-owned companies and houses the largest number of Fortune Global 500 companies in

4410-623: Is broadcast without attribution to CRI. According to a 2023 discourse analysis by the Central European Digital Media Observatory , CRI's content steers clear of any criticism of the Chinese government. At the beginning of 1984, it started to broadcast home service to the Beijing area on AM and FM frequencies. The service later expanded to dozens of major cities across the PRC, providing listeners inside

4557-447: Is causing harm and danger to the population. The air pollution does directly result in significant impact on the morbidity rate of cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease in Beijing. Exposure to large concentrations of polluted air can cause respiratory and cardiovascular problems, emergency room visits, and even death. Dust from the erosion of deserts in northern and northwestern China results in seasonal dust storms that plague

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4704-515: Is famous for its siheyuans , a type of residence where a common courtyard is shared by the surrounding buildings. Among the more grand examples are the Prince Gong Mansion and Residence of Soong Ching-ling . These courtyards are usually connected by alleys called hutongs . The hutongs are generally straight and run east to west so that doorways face north and south for good Feng Shui . They vary in width; some are so narrow only

4851-598: Is located in Northern China , and is governed as a municipality under the direct administration of the State Council with 16 urban, suburban, and rural districts . Beijing is mostly surrounded by Hebei Province and neighbors Tianjin to the southeast; together, the three divisions form the Jing-Jin-Ji cluster . It is ranked as the 10th most important city in the world by Knight Frank . Beijing

4998-456: Is no longer the common name for the city, some of the city's older locations and facilities, such as Beijing Capital International Airport , with the IATA code PEK, and Peking University , still retain the former romanization. The single Chinese character abbreviation for Beijing is 京 , which appears on automobile license plates in the city. The official Latin alphabet abbreviation for Beijing

5145-769: Is now a recreational park with a Voice of America museum. Other former sites include California ( Dixon and Delano ), Hawaii, Okinawa , Liberia (Monrovia), Costa Rica, Belize, and at least two in Greece ( Kavala and Rhodos). Between 1983 and 1990, VOA made significant upgrades to transmission facilities in Botswana ( Selebi-Phikwe ), Morocco, Thailand ( Udon Thani ), Kuwait, and São Tomé ( Almas ). Some of them are shared with Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia . VOA and USAGM continue to operate shortwave radio transmitters and antenna farms at International Broadcasting Bureau Greenville Transmitting Station (known as "Site B") in

5292-569: Is president and CEO of G&E Studio, which distributes CRI content to more than a dozen radio stations inside the United States. Voice of America Voice of America ( VOA or VoA ) is an international broadcasting state media network funded by the federal government of the United States of America . It is the largest and oldest of the U.S. international broadcasters. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content in 48 languages, which it distributes to affiliate stations around

5439-462: The APEC China 2014 and the 2015 China Victory Day Parade , respectively. During and prior to these events, Beijing's air quality improved dramatically, only to fall back to unhealthy levels shortly after. On 8 and 9 December 2015 Beijing had its first smog alert which shut down a majority of the industry and other commercial businesses in the city. Later in the month another smog "red alert"

5586-831: The Arabic service, were discontinued in 1945. In late 1945, VOA was transferred to the US Department of State. Also included among the cultural diplomacy programming on the Columbia Broadcasting System was the musical show Viva America (1942–49) which featured the Pan American Orchestra and the artistry of several noted musicians from both North and South America, including Alfredo Antonini , Juan Arvizu , Eva Garza , Elsa Miranda , Nestor Mesta Chaires , Miguel Sandoval , John Serry Sr. , and Terig Tucci . By 1945, broadcasts of

5733-598: The BBC , Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty , and Deutsche Welle were blocked in Russia, as after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian authorities increased censorship of independent journalism, anti-war protests, and dissenting voices. Nevertheless, many Russians have used VPNs and other software to get around Russian government blocks. As of March 2022, VOA broadcasts were reaching people in Russia and

5880-728: The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences , the Central Academy of Fine Arts , the Central Academy of Drama , the Central Conservatory of Music , and the Red Cross Society of China . Over the past 3,000 years, the city of Beijing has had numerous other names . The name Beijing , which means "Northern Capital" (from the Chinese characters 北 běi for north and 京 jīng for capital ),

6027-680: The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), led by the Beijing CCP Secretary . The Municipal CCP Committee issues administrative orders, collects taxes, manages the economy, and directs a standing committee of the Municipal People's Congress in making policy decisions and overseeing the local government. Since 1987, all CCP Secretary of Beijing is also a member of the Politburo . Government officials include

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6174-631: The Clinton administration advised cutting funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty , as it believed post-Cold War information and influence was not needed in Europe. This plan was not well received, and US President Bill Clinton then proposed the compromise of the International Broadcasting Act , which he signed into law in 1994. This law established the International Broadcasting Bureau as

6321-807: The Columbia Broadcasting System 's Latin American international network, which consisted of 64 stations located in 18 countries, the Crosley Broadcasting Corporation in Cincinnati, Ohio, and General Electric which owned and operated WGEO and WGEA, both based in Schenectady, New York , and KGEI in San Francisco , all of which had shortwave transmitters . Experimental programming began in

6468-660: The Convention of Peking ending that war, Western powers for the first time secured the right to establish permanent diplomatic presences within the city. From 14 to 15 August 1900 the Battle of Peking was fought. This battle was part of the Boxer Rebellion . The attempt by the Boxers to eradicate this presence, as well as Chinese Christian converts, led to Beijing's reoccupation by eight foreign powers . During

6615-463: The Great Wall and the Grand Canal —all of which are popular tourist locations. Siheyuans , the city's traditional housing style, and hutongs , the narrow alleys between siheyuans, are major tourist attractions and are common in urban Beijing. Beijing's public universities make up more than one-fifth of Double First-Class Construction universities, and many of them consistently rank among

6762-417: The Iron Curtain . Practically all defectors during Kohler's time said that the VOA helped in their decision to defect. Another indication of impact, according to Kohler, was the Soviet response. Kohler argued that the Soviets responded because the VOA was having an impact. Based on Soviet responses, it can be presumed that the most effective programs were ones that compared the lives of those behind and outside

6909-421: The Philippines . By the end of the war, VOA had 39 transmitters and provided service in 40 languages. Programming was broadcast from production centers in New York and San Francisco, with more than 1,000 programs originating from New York. Programming consisted of music, news, commentary, and relays of U.S. domestic programming, in addition to specialized VOA programming. About half of VOA's services, including

7056-409: The Qing dynasty as a direct successor of the Ming (delegitimising Li Zicheng and his followers) and Beijing became China's sole capital. The Qing emperors made some modifications to the Imperial residence but, in large part, the Ming buildings and the general layout remained unchanged. Facilities for Manchu worship were introduced, but the Qing also continued the traditional state rituals. Signage

7203-407: The Summer and Winter Olympics , and also the Summer and Winter Paralympics . Beijing combines both modern and traditional style architectures , with one side of the city being modernized and renovated to fit the times, and the other half still offering traditional hutong districts. Beijing is one of the oldest cities in the world , with a rich history dating back over three millennia. As

7350-423: The Temple of Heaven . Next, there is what is sometimes referred to as the "Sino-Sov" style, with structures tending to be boxy and sometimes poorly constructed, which were built between the 1950s and the 1970s. Finally, there are much more modern architectural forms, most noticeably in the area of the Beijing CBD in east Beijing such as the new CCTV Headquarters , in addition to buildings in other locations around

7497-410: The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 . The city has also hosted major international events, including the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2015 World Championships in Athletics , and the 2022 Winter Olympics , making it the first city to ever host both Winter and Summer Olympics. Beijing is situated at the northern tip of the roughly triangular North China Plain , which opens to the south and east of

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7644-508: The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), an independent agency of the U.S. government . Funds are appropriated annually under the budget for embassies and consulates. As of 2022, VOA had a weekly worldwide audience of approximately 326 million (up from 237 million in 2016) and employed 961 staff with an annual budget of $ 267.5 million. The Voice of America website had five English-language broadcasts as of 2014 (worldwide, Learning English , Cambodia , Zimbabwe , and Tibet ). Additionally,

7791-430: The Xianbei Former Yan Kingdom. After China was reunified by the Sui dynasty in 581, Jicheng, also known as Zhuojun , became the northern terminus of the Grand Canal . Under the Tang dynasty , Jicheng as Youzhou , served as a military frontier command center. During the An-Shi Rebellion and again amidst the turmoil of the late Tang, local military commanders founded their own short-lived Yan dynasties and called

7938-451: The hutongs cannot be replaced, and these properties are often government owned. Beijing had a long history of environmental problems . Between 2000 and 2009 Beijing's urban extent quadrupled, which not only strongly increased the extent of anthropogenic emissions, but also changed the meteorological situation fundamentally, even if emissions of human society are not included. For example, surface albedo , wind speed and humidity near

8085-431: The oldest surviving pagodas in Beijing date to the Liao period, including the Tianning Pagoda . The Liao fell to the Jurchen Jin dynasty in 1122, which gave the city to the Song dynasty and then retook it in 1125 during its conquest of northern China . In 1153, the Jurchen Jin made Beijing their "Central Capital", or Zhongdu . The city was besieged by Genghis Khan 's invading Mongolian army in 1213 and razed to

8232-455: The 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. The first known church was constructed by Catholics in 1652 at the former site of Matteo Ricci 's chapel; the modern Nantang Cathedral was later built upon the same site. The capture of Beijing by Li Zicheng 's peasant army in 1644 ended the dynasty, but he and his Shun court abandoned the city without a fight when the Manchu army of Prince Dorgon arrived 40 days later. Dorgon established

8379-425: The 1930s, but there were fewer than 12 transmitters in operation. In 1939, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission set the following policy, which was intended to enforce the US State Department 's Good Neighbor Policy , but which some broadcasters felt was an attempt to direct censorship: A licensee of an international broadcast station shall render only an international broadcast service which will reflect

8526-406: The Beijing area. Beijing's annual average concentration of major airborne fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, declined to 30 micrograms per cubic meter in 2022, the best air quality for the city since 2013. Due to Beijing's high level of air pollution, there are various readings by different sources on the subject. Daily pollution readings at 27 monitoring stations around the city are reported on

8673-445: The Chinese Communist Party , created following the first session of the 13th National People's Congress in March 2018. Radio was first introduced in China in the 1920s and 1930s. However, few households had radio receivers. A few cities had commercial stations. Most usage of radio was for political purpose, frequently on a local area level. The Chinese Communist Party first used radio in Yanan Shaanxi Province in March 1940 with

8820-440: The Committee found that the original allegations had merit and were supported by substantial evidence. Sieg remains employed at VOA. Beijing This is an accepted version of this page Beijing , previously romanized as Peking , is the capital city of China . With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city after Shanghai . It

8967-458: The Coordinator of Information (COI) had already begun providing war news and commentary to the commercial American shortwave radio stations for use on a voluntary basis, through its Foreign Information Service (FIS) headed by playwright Robert E. Sherwood , who served as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt 's speech writer and information advisor. Direct programming began a week after the United States' entry into World War II in December 1941, with

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9114-511: The Cultural Revolution and instituted the "policy of reform and opening up". Since the early 1980s, the urban area of Beijing has expanded greatly with the completion of the 2nd Ring Road in 1981 and the subsequent addition of the 3rd , 4th , 5th and 6th Ring Roads . According to one 2005 newspaper report, the size of newly developed Beijing was one-and-a-half times larger than before. Wangfujing and Xidan have developed into flourishing shopping districts, while Zhongguancun has become

9261-517: The Greek service ended after 72 years on air. RFE/RL launched the Russian language Current Time TV , in October 2014. In January 2016, upon his arrival in Moscow, Russian authorities detained and then deported Jeff Shell , the Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors that oversees the Voice of America, despite his having a valid Russian visa. Russian authorities did not explain their actions. Round-the-clock broadcasting of Current Time began on February 7, 2017. In December 2017, under

9408-476: The House Foreign Affairs Committee concluded that there was "credible evidence of corruption" regarding the matter of Setareh Derakhshesh Sieg, the former director of Voice of America's Persian News Network (PNN). Following a series of whistleblower complaints and an extensive internal investigation by civil servants, Sieg had been terminated in January 2021 for falsifying her education credentials, severe abuses of taxpayer dollars for personal benefit, and engaging in

9555-596: The Iron Curtain, questions on the practice of slave labor, as well as lies and errors in Stalin 's version of Marxism . In 1947, VOA started broadcasting to the Soviet citizens in Russia under the pretext of countering "more harmful instances of Soviet propaganda directed against American leaders and policies" on the part of the internal Soviet Russian-language media, according to John B. Whitton's treatise, Cold War Propaganda . The Soviet Union responded by initiating electronic jamming of VOA broadcasts on April 24, 1949. Charles W. Thayer headed VOA in 1948–49. Over

9702-611: The Mandarin version of the podcast from the World Radio Network : This broadcast was originally targeted at London in the United Kingdom. In 2006, they removed the "London" reference, which was part of the introduction as "Ni hao London. Hello London" The CRI English channels that can be heard online are: CRI offers a list of podcast programs in English: During major Chinese holidays (dubbed Golden Week ), such as Chinese New Year , May Day , and Mid-Autumn Festival , China Radio International typically broadcasts special programmes such as: Most of these programmes are not typical of

9849-457: The Ming capital Yingtian (modern Nanjing ) alienated many there, he established his fief as a new co-capital. The city of Beiping became Beijing ("Northern Capital") or Shuntian in 1403. The construction of the new imperial residence, the Forbidden City , took from 1406 to 1420; this period was also responsible for several other of the modern city's major attractions, such as the Temple of Heaven and Tian'anmen . On 28 October 1420,

9996-619: The PRC with timely news and reports, music, weather, English and Chinese learning skills, as well as other services. CRI News Radio (CRI环球资讯广播) was established on 28 September 2005. Its aim is to make CRI News Radio a first-class national news radio brand and its slogans are 'First News, News First', 'On-the-Spot China, Live World' etc. CRI News Radio can be heard online and in Beijing on the radio on 90.5 FM; in Tianjin 90.6 FM; in Chongqing 91.7 FM; in Guangdong , Hong Kong , and Macau 107.1 FM; in Shandong 89.8 FM; in Anhui 90.1 FM. Popular Shows The following programmes can be heard on

10143-438: The U.S. consolidated its international broadcasting efforts, with the establishment of the Bureau of Broadcasting. With the breakup of the Soviet bloc in Eastern Europe, VOA added many additional language services to reach those areas. This decade was marked by the additions of services in Standard Tibetan , Kurdish (to Iran and Iraq), Serbo-Croatian (Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian), Macedonian , and Rwanda-Rundi . In 1993,

10290-521: The US government's international English language TV service Worldnet , became part of VOA as "VOA TV". Radio programs in Russian ended in July 2008. In September 2008, VOA eliminated the Hindi-language service after 53 years. Broadcasts in Ukrainian, Serbian, Macedonian, and Bosnian also ended. These reductions were part of American efforts to concentrate more resources to broadcast to the Muslim world . In September 2010, VOA began radio broadcasts in Sudan. As U.S. interests in South Sudan grew, there

10437-633: The USIA, and merged most of its functions into those of the State Department. In 1994, Voice of America became the first broadcast-news organization to offer continuously updated programs on the Internet. The Arabic Service was abolished in 2002 and replaced by a new radio service, called the Middle East Radio Network or Radio Sawa , with an initial budget of $ 22 million. Radio Sawa offered mostly Western and Middle Eastern popular songs with periodic brief news bulletins. The Arabic Service expanded to television with Alhurra on February 14, 2004 (and later to various social media and websites). On May 16, 2004,

10584-470: The United States, close to Greenville, North Carolina . They do not use FCC -issued call signs , since the FCC does not regulate communications by other federal government agencies. The International Broadcasting Bureau also operates transmission facilities on São Tomé and Tinang, Concepcion, Tarlac , Philippines for VOA. [REDACTED]   Kosovo Republic of Kosovo (2008–present) On June 12, 2024,

10731-621: The VOA was serving its purpose, which he identified as aiding in the fight against communism. He argued that the numbers of listeners they were getting such as 194,000 regular listeners in Sweden, and 2.1 million regular listeners in France, was an indication of a positive impact. As further evidence, he noted that the VOA received 30,000 letters a month from listeners all over the world, and hundreds of thousands of requests for broadcasting schedules. There

10878-573: The VOA website has versions in 48 foreign languages. Radio programs are marked with an "R"; TV programs with a "T": The number of languages varies according to the priorities of the United States government and the world situation. Before World War II, all American shortwave radio stations were in private hands. Privately controlled shortwave networks included the National Broadcasting Company 's International Network (or White Network), which broadcast in six languages,

11025-652: The agency. The charter is one part of this firewall and the other laws assist in ensuring high standards of journalism. According to former VOA correspondent Alan Heil, the internal policy of VOA News is that any story broadcast must have two independently corroborating sources or have a staff correspondent witness an event. VOA Radiogram was an experimental Voice of America program that started in March 2013 and ended in June 2017, which transmitted digital text and images via shortwave radiograms . There were 220 editions of

11172-493: The best in the Asia-Pacific and the world. Beijing is home to universities, including Tsinghua University and Peking University . Beijing CBD is a center for Beijing's economic expansion , with the ongoing or recently completed construction of multiple skyscrapers . Beijing's Zhongguancun area is a world leading center of scientific and technological innovation as well as entrepreneurship. Beijing has been ranked

11319-547: The broadcast during the other parts of the year. The analogy is similar to Christmas music broadcasts in the United States. In July 2006, CRI launched a new radio station called CRI Olympic Radio at 900 AM in Beijing. This special broadcast was in Mandarin, Korean, English, Russian, French, Spanish, Arabic, Japanese and German 24 hours a day. This service was terminated in late 2008 after the Beijing Olympics and now

11466-487: The broadcasts' actual impact. For example, in 1956, Polish People's Republic stopped jamming VOA transmissions, but People's Republic of Bulgaria continued to jam the signal through the 1970s. In 1966 Edward R. Murrow said that: "The Russians spend more money jamming the Voice of America than we have to spend for the entire program of the entire Agency. They spend about $ 125 million ($ 1,200,000,000 in current dollar terms)

11613-453: The capital to Nanjing . After the Qing general Yuan Shikai forced the abdication of the last Qing emperor and ensured the success of the revolution, the revolutionaries accepted him as president of the new Republic of China . Yuan maintained his capital at Beijing and quickly consolidated power, declaring himself emperor in 1915. His death less than a year later left China under the control of

11760-545: The center of Beijing, directly to the south of the Forbidden City , the former residence of the emperors of China. To the west of Tian'anmen is Zhongnanhai , the residence of China's current leaders. Chang'an Avenue , which cuts between Tiananmen and the Square, forms the city's main east–west axis. Beijing's pattern of development from the old inner city to its urban fringe are frequently described as "spreading like

11907-759: The city Yanjing , or the "Yan Capital." Also in the Tang dynasty, the city's name Jicheng was replaced by Youzhou or Yanjing. In 938, after the fall of the Tang, the Later Jin ceded the frontier territory including what is now Beijing to the Khitan Liao dynasty, which treated the city as Nanjing , or the "Southern Capital", one of four secondary capitals to complement its "Supreme Capital" Shangjing (modern Baarin Left Banner in Inner Mongolia ). Some of

12054-443: The city burned 26.3 million tons of coal, 73% of which for heating and power generation and the remainder for industry. Much of the city's air pollutants are emitted by neighboring regions. Coal consumption in neighboring Tianjin is expected to increase from 48 to 63 million tons from 2011 to 2015. Hebei Province burned over 300 million tons of coal in 2011, more than all of Germany, of which only 30% were used for power generation and

12201-754: The city such as the Beijing National Stadium and National Center for the Performing Arts . Since 2007, buildings in Beijing have received the CTBUH Skyscraper Award for best overall tall building twice, for the Linked Hybrid building in 2009 and the CCTV Headquarters in 2013. The CTBUH Skyscraper award for best tall overall building is given to only one building around the world every year. In

12348-450: The city to provide electricity as well as heating during the winter. The first one (Gaojing Thermal Power Plant) was shut down in 2014. Another two were shut in March 2015. The last one (Huaneng Thermal Power Plant) would be shut in 2016. Between 2013 and 2017, the city planned to reduce 13 million tons of coal consumption and cap coal consumption to 15 million tons in 2015. The government sometimes uses cloud-seeding measures to increase

12495-582: The city was officially designated the capital of the Ming dynasty in the same year that the Forbidden City was completed. Beijing became the empire's primary capital, and Yingtian, also called Nanjing ("Southern Capital"), became the co-capital. (A 1425 order by Zhu Di's son, the Hongxi Emperor , to return the primary capital to Nanjing was never carried out: he died, probably of a heart attack,

12642-707: The city with the largest scientific research output by the Nature Index since the list's inception in 2016. Beijing hosts 176 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of many organizations, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Silk Road Fund , the Chinese Academy of Sciences , the Chinese Academy of Engineering ,

12789-556: The city. Mountains to the north, northwest and west shield the city and northern China's agricultural heartland from the encroaching desert steppes. The northwestern part of the municipality, especially Yanqing District and Huairou District , are dominated by the Jundu Mountains , while the western part is framed by Xishan or the Western Hills . The Great Wall of China across the northern part of Beijing Municipality

12936-605: The city. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident triggered the Second Sino-Japanese War , World War II as it is known in China. During the war, Beijing fell to Japan on 29 July 1937 and was made the seat of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China , a puppet state that ruled the ethnic-Chinese portions of Japanese-occupied northern China . This government was later merged into

13083-586: The city; the Beijing Weather Modification Office sometimes artificially induces rainfall to fight such storms and mitigate their effects. In the first four months of 2006 alone, there were no fewer than eight such storms. In April 2002, one dust storm alone dumped nearly 50,000 tons of dust onto the city before moving on to Japan and Korea. The municipal government is regulated by the Municipal Committee of

13230-661: The construction of the Beijing Subway and the 2nd Ring Road . During the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, the Red Guard movement began in Beijing and the city's government fell victim to one of the first purges. By the autumn of 1966, all city schools were shut down and over a million Red Guards from across the country gathered in Beijing for eight rallies in Tian'anmen Square with Mao. In April 1976,

13377-557: The country. Kohler used all of this as evidence to claim that the VOA helped to grow and strengthen the free world. It also influenced the UN in their decision to condemn communist actions in Korea, and was a major factor in the decline of communism in the "free world, including key countries such as Italy and France. In Italy, the VOA did not just bring an end to communism, but it caused the country to Americanize. The VOA also had an impact behind

13524-627: The culture of this country and which will promote international goodwill, understanding and cooperation. Any program solely intended for, and directed to an audience in the continental United States does not meet the requirements for this service. Around 1940, shortwave signals to Latin America were regarded as vital to counter Nazi propaganda . Initially, the US Office of the Coordinator of Information sent releases to each station, but this

13671-588: The early 1980s, VOA began a $ 1.3 billion rebuilding program to improve broadcast with better technical capabilities. During the implementation of the Martial law in Poland between 1981 and 1983, VOA's Polish broadcasts expanded to seven hours daily. Throughout the 1980s, VOA focused on covering events from the 'American hinterland', such as 150th anniversary of the Oregon Trail . Also in the 1980s, VOA also added

13818-450: The early 21st century, Beijing has witnessed tremendous growth of new building constructions, exhibiting various modern styles from international designers, most pronounced in the CBD region. A mixture of both 1950s design and neofuturistic style of architecture can be seen at the 798 Art Zone , which mixes the old with the new. Beijing's tallest building is the 528-meter China Zun . Beijing

13965-493: The energy system to clean sources. Joint research between American and Chinese researchers in 2006 concluded that much of the city's pollution comes from surrounding cities and provinces. On average 35–60% of the ozone can be traced to sources outside the city. Shandong Province and Tianjin Municipality have a "significant influence on Beijing's air quality", partly due to the prevailing south/southeasterly flow during

14112-558: The fighting, several important structures were destroyed, including the Hanlin Academy and the (new) Summer Palace . A peace agreement was concluded between the Eight-Nation Alliance and representatives of the Chinese government Li Hongzhang and Yikuang on 7 September 1901. The treaty required China to pay an indemnity of US$ 335 million (over US$ 4 billion in current dollars) plus interest over

14259-697: The first broadcast from the San Francisco office of the FIS via General Electric's KGEI transmitting to the Philippines in English (other languages followed). The next step was to broadcast to Germany, which was called Stimmen aus Amerika ("Voices from America") and was transmitted on February 1, 1942. It was introduced by the “ Battle Hymn of the Republic " and included the pledge: "Today, and every day from now on, we will be with you from America to talk about

14406-427: The foreign agent Voice of America radio station challengingly refused to observe Russian law because it had not established a Russian legal entity. Roskomnadzor also said that VOA was as a foreign agent "obliged to mark their content and provide information about all aspects of their activity, including a detailed description of contacts with the authorities." In March 2022, VOA and other news broadcasters, including

14553-466: The free TIVAR app from the Google Play store using any Android device. The mode used most often on VOA Radiogram , for both text and images, was MFSK32 , but other modes were also occasionally transmitted. The final edition of VOA Radiogram was transmitted during the weekend of June 17–18, 2017, a week before the retirement of the program producer from VOA. An offer to continue the broadcasts on

14700-539: The frequency 900 AM is occupied by CRI News Radio, which covers only Beijing. Other than radio channels, CRI also operates these pay television channels via satellite airing: China Radio International broadcasts in the following languages: The Tibetan, Uygur and Kazakh services are broadcast in association with local radio stations (Tibet People's Broadcasting Station and Xinjiang People's Broadcasting Station). China International Broadcasting Network (CIBN, traded as Chinese : 国广东方网络(北京)有限公司 , an internet TV service,

14847-585: The ground two years later. Two generations later, Kublai Khan ordered the construction of Dadu (or Daidu to the Mongols, commonly known as Khanbaliq ), a new capital for his Yuan dynasty to the northeast of the Zhongdu ruins. The construction took from 1264 to 1293, but greatly enhanced the status of a city on the northern fringe of China proper . The city was centered on the Drum Tower slightly to

14994-723: The influence of the vast Siberian anticyclone . Spring can bear witness to sandstorms blowing in from the Gobi Desert across the Mongolian steppe , accompanied by rapidly warming, but generally dry, conditions. Autumn, similar to spring, is a season of transition and minimal precipitation. From 2001 to 2024, the hottest period in Beijing is early August, and the coldest period is late January. According to China's seasonal division standard, Beijing enters spring on 26 March, summer on 20 May, autumn on 13 September, and winter on 31 October. The average annual temperature in

15141-641: The larger Wang Jingwei government based in Nanjing. In the final phases of the Chinese Civil War , the People's Liberation Army seized control of the city peacefully on 31 January 1949 in the course of the Pingjin Campaign . On 1 October that year, Mao Zedong announced the creation of the People's Republic of China from atop Tian'anmen . He restored the name of the city, as

15288-527: The largest fleets in the world. Beijing became the first city in China to require the Chinese equivalent to the Euro 4 emission standard . Coal burning accounts for about 40% of the PM 2.5 in Beijing and is also the chief source of nitrogen and sulphur dioxide. Since 2012, the city has been converting coal-fired power stations to burn natural gas and aims to cap annual coal consumption at 20 million tons. In 2011,

15435-487: The last of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China , Beijing has been the political center of the country for most of the past eight centuries, and was the largest city in the world by population for much of the second millennium CE . With mountains surrounding the inland city on three sides, in addition to the old inner and outer city walls , Beijing was strategically poised and developed to be

15582-462: The likelihood of rain showers in the region to clear the air prior to large events, such as prior to the 60th anniversary parade in 2009 as well as to combat drought conditions in the area. More recently, however, the government has increased its usage of such measures as closing factories temporarily and implementing greater restrictions for cars on the road, as in the case of " APEC blue " and "parade blue", short periods during and immediately preceding

15729-975: The middle of 1942, officially took over VOA's operations. VOA reached an agreement with the British Broadcasting Corporation to share medium-wave transmitters in Great Britain, and expanded into Tunis in North Africa and Palermo and Bari, Italy , as the Allies captured these territories. The OWI also set up the American Broadcasting Station in Europe . Asian transmissions started with one transmitter in California in 1941; services were expanded by adding transmitters in Hawaii and, after recapture,

15876-578: The municipality, including in Wangfujing , located in central Peking. The first walled city in Beijing was Jicheng , the capital city of the state of Ji which was built in 1045 BC. Within modern Beijing, Jicheng was located around the present Guang'anmen area in the south of Xicheng District . This settlement was later conquered by the state of Yan and made its capital. After the First Emperor unified China in 221 BC, Jicheng became

16023-511: The name of the station was again changed, this time to China Radio International, in order to avoid any confusion with local Beijing radio broadcasting. Its online broadcasting platform: China International Broadcasting Network (CIBN) was formally established in 2011, as a joint venture of China Radio International, Huawen Media Investment , JinZhengYuan, Youku , Oriental Times Media and Suning Holdings Group . Radio Peking began exchanges with Voice of America in 1982. Voice of American had opened

16170-477: The new capital, to Beijing, a decision that had been reached by the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference just a few days earlier. In the 1950s, the city began to expand beyond the old walled city and its surrounding neighborhoods, with heavy industries in the west and residential neighborhoods in the north . Many areas of the Beijing city wall were torn down in the 1960s to make way for

16317-571: The next few years, the U.S. government debated the best role of Voice of America. The decision was made to use VOA broadcasts as a part of U.S. foreign policy to fight the propaganda of the Soviet Union and other countries. The Arabic service resumed on January 1, 1950, with a half-hour program. This program grew to 14.5 hours daily during the Suez Crisis of 1956, and was six hours a day by 1958. Between 1952 and 1960, Voice of America used

16464-415: The next month. He was buried, like almost every Ming emperor to follow him, in an elaborate necropolis to Beijing's north.) By the 15th century, Beijing had essentially taken its current shape. The Ming city wall continued to serve until modern times, when it was pulled down and the 2nd Ring Road was built in its place. It is generally believed that Beijing was the largest city in the world for most of

16611-609: The north of modern Beijing and stretched from the present-day Chang'an Avenue to the northern part of Line 10 subway . Remnants of the Yuan rammed earth wall still stand and are known as the Tucheng. In 1368, soon after declaring the new Hongwu era of the Ming dynasty , the rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang captured Dadu/Khanbaliq and razed the Yuan palaces to the ground. Since the Yuan continued to occupy Shangdu and Mongolia , Dadu

16758-604: The odds. They're very resourceful." Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, VOA covered some of the era's most important news, including Martin Luther King Jr. 's 1963 " I Have a Dream " speech and Neil Armstrong 's 1969 first walk on the Moon , which drew an audience estimated at between 615 and 750 million people. In 1973, due to the détente policies in the Cold War, Soviet jamming of the VOA ceased; it restarted in 1979. In

16905-456: The operator of Youku ( Chinese : 合一信息技术（北京）有限公司 ) for 10% stake and Suning Holdings Group , the parent company of PPTV for 10% stake. CRI owns 60% of Finland-based GBTimes. GBTimes is headed by Zhao Yinong and operates radio stations across Europe that broadcast CRI-produced content. G&E Studio is 60% owned by Guoguang Century Media, a Beijing firm completely owned by the CRI. James Su

17052-471: The plains in the south-central of the municipality with elevation of 40 to 60 metres (130–200 feet), occupies a relatively small but expanding portion of the municipality's area. The city spreads out in concentric ring roads . The Second Ring Road traces the old city walls and the Sixth Ring Road connects satellite towns in the surrounding suburbs. Tian'anmen and Tian'anmen Square are at

17199-413: The program had 30 million listeners at its peak. A program aimed at South Africa in 1956 broadcast two hours nightly, and special programs such as The Newport Jazz Festival were also transmitted. This was done in association with tours by U.S. musicians, such as Dizzy Gillespie , Louis Armstrong , and Duke Ellington , sponsored by the State Department. From August 1952 through May 1953, Billy Brown,

17346-549: The program, transmitted each weekend from the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station. The audio tones that comprised the bulk of each 30-minute program were transmitted via an analog transmitter , and could be decoded using a basic AM shortwave receiver with freely downloadable software of the Fldigi family. This software was available for Windows , macOS , Linux , and FreeBSD systems. Broadcasts could also be decoded using

17493-418: The region through TV, FM and medium wave radio, digital, and direct-to-home satellite. In May 2023, Russia banned acting VOA chief Yolanda Lopez from ever entering the country. The current director, Michael Abramowitz, assumed the position in July 2024. He previously served as president of Freedom House and spent nearly 25 years as a reporter and editor for The Washington Post . Voice of America has been

17640-596: The residence of the emperor and thus was the perfect location for the imperial capital. The city is renowned for its opulent palaces, temples, parks, gardens, tombs, walls and gates . Beijing is one of the most important tourist destinations in the world. In 2018, Beijing was the second highest earning tourist city in the world after Shanghai . Beijing is home to many national monuments and museums and has eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites —the Forbidden City , Temple of Heaven , Summer Palace , Ming Tombs , Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site , Beijing Central Axis and parts of

17787-586: The rule of the Qing dynasty over China was restored, albeit much weakened by the defeat it had suffered in the Boxer Rebellion and by the indemnity and stipulations of the peace treaty. The Dowager died in 1908 and the dynasty imploded in 1911. The fomenters of the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 sought to replace Qing rule with a republic and leaders like Sun Yat-sen originally intended to return

17934-463: The show were carried by 114 stations on CBS's "La Cadena de las Américas" network in 20 Latin American nations. These broadcasts proved to be highly successful in supporting President Roosevelt's policy of Pan-Americanism throughout South America during World War II. The VOA ramped up its operations during the Cold War . Foy Kohler , the director of VOA during the Cold War, strongly believed that

18081-552: The significant growth of shortwave radio listeners. During the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 , VOA's broadcasts were deemed controversial, as Hungarian refugees and revolutionaries thought that VOA served as a medium and insinuated the possible arrival of the Western aid. Throughout the Cold War , many of the targeted countries' governments sponsored jamming of VOA broadcasts, which sometimes led critics to question

18228-463: The streaming app, VOA+, and YouTube. Films average 10–15 minutes and are translated with captions in several languages, including Russian, Persian, Mandarin, Urdu, and English. Euna Lee directs the program. From 1948 until its amendment in 2013, Voice of America was forbidden to broadcast directly to American citizens, pursuant to § 501 of the Smith–Mundt Act . The intent of the 1948 legislation

18375-741: The summer and the mountains to the north and northwest. In preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics and to fulfill promises to clean up the city's air, nearly US$ 17 billion was spent. Beijing implemented a number of air improvement schemes for the duration of the Games, including halting work at all construction sites, closing many factories in Beijing permanently, temporarily shutting industry in neighboring regions, closing some gas stations, and cutting motor traffic by half by limiting drivers to odd or even days (based on their license plate numbers) , reducing bus and subway fares, opening new subway lines, and banning high-emission vehicles. The city further assembled 3,800 natural gas -powered buses, one of

18522-427: The surface were decreased, whereas ground and near-surface air temperatures , vertical air dilution and ozone levels were increased. Because of the combined factors of urbanization and pollution caused by burning of fossil fuel , Beijing is often affected by serious environmental problems, which lead to health issues of many inhabitants. In 2013 heavy smog struck Beijing and most parts of northern China, impacting

18669-399: The urban area of Beijing is 12.9 °C (55.2 °F) to 13.3 °C (55.9 °F), of which the average daily minimum temperature is 7.7 °C (45.9 °F) to 8.4 °C (47.1 °F), and the average daily maximum temperature is 18.5 °C (65.3 °F) to 18.9 °C (66.0 °F). The monthly daily average temperature in January is −2.7 °C (27.1 °F), while in July it

18816-451: The war... The news may be good or bad for us – We will always tell you the truth." Roosevelt approved this broadcast, which then-Colonel William J. Donovan (COI) and Sherwood (FIS) had recommended to him. It was Sherwood who actually coined the term "The Voice of America" to describe the shortwave network that began its transmissions on February 1, from 270 Madison Avenue in New York City. The Office of War Information , when organized in

18963-418: The warlords commanding the regional armies. Following the success of the Kuomintang 's Northern Expedition , the capital was formally moved to Nanjing in 1928. On 28 June the same year, Beijing's name was returned to Beiping (written at the time as "Peiping"). On 7 July 1937, the 29th Army and the Japanese army in China exchanged fire at the Marco Polo Bridge near the Wanping Fortress southwest of

19110-414: The website of the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau (BJEPB). The American Embassy of Beijing also reports hourly fine particulate (PM2.5) and ozone levels on Twitter. Since the BJEPB and US Embassy measure different pollutants according to different criteria, the pollution levels and the impact to human health reported by the BJEPB are often lower than that reported by the US Embassy. The smog

19257-418: The world, as well as the world's four biggest financial institutions by total assets. It is also a major hub for the national highway , expressway , railway , and high-speed rail networks. For a decade before the COVID-19 pandemic , the Beijing Capital International Airport was Asia's busiest airport (2009–2019) and the second busiest airport in the world (2010–2019). In 2020, the Beijing subway

19404-433: The world. Its targeted and primary audience is non-American outside of the US borders. As of November 2022, its reporting reached 326 million adults per week across all platforms. It is financed by the U.S. Agency for Global Media after approval by Congress. VOA was established in 1942, and the VOA charter was signed into law in 1976 by U.S. President Gerald Ford . It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and overseen by

19551-484: Was a desire to provide people with free information. In 2013, VOA ended foreign-language transmissions on shortwave and medium wave to Albania, Georgia, Iran, and Latin America, as well as English-language broadcasts to the Middle East and Afghanistan. This was done due to budget cuts. On July 1, 2014, VOA cut most of its English-language transmissions to Asia, as well as shortwave transmissions in Azerbaijani, Bengali, Khmer, Kurdish, Lao, and Uzbek. The following month,

19698-498: Was a joint venture of China Radio International with other companies. The company was owned by Global Broadcasting Media Group ( Chinese : 国广环球传媒控股有限公司 , a joint venture (50–50) of China Radio International and Chinese : 金正源联合投资控股有限公司 , literally JinZhengYuan Union Investment Holding ) for 34.0004% stake, Huawen Media Investment for 30.9996% stake, a subsidiary ( Chinese : 桂林东方时代投资有限公司 ) of listed company Oriental Times Media ( Chinese : 东方时代网络传媒股份有限公司 ) for 15% stake,

19845-402: Was accused by Senator Joseph McCarthy, Roy Cohn , and Gerard David Schine of intentionally planning to build weak transmitting stations to sabotage VOA broadcasts. However, the charges were dropped after one month of court hearings in February and March 1953. Sometime around 1954, VOA's headquarters were moved from New York to Washington D.C. The arrival of cheap, low-cost transistors enabled

19992-489: Was an analysis done of some of those letters sent in 1952 and 1953 while Kohler was still director. The study found that letter writing could be an indicator of successful, actionable persuasion. It was also found that broadcasts in different countries were having different effects. In one country, regular listeners adopted and practiced American values presented by the broadcast. Age was also a factor: younger and older audiences tended to like different types of programs, no matter

20139-452: Was applied to the city in 1403 during the Ming dynasty to distinguish the city from Nanjing (the "Southern Capital"). The English spelling Beijing is based on the government's official romanization (adopted in the 1980s) of the two characters as they are pronounced in Standard Mandarin . An older English spelling, Peking , was used by Jesuit missionary Martino Martini in a popular atlas published in Amsterdam in 1655. Although Peking

20286-409: Was bilingual or Chinese. This early Qing Beijing later formed the setting for the Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber . Northwest of the city, Qing emperors built several large palatial gardens including the Old Summer Palace and the Summer Palace . During the Second Opium War , Anglo-French forces captured the outskirts of the city, looting and burning the Old Summer Palace in 1860. Under

20433-400: Was built on the rugged topography to defend against nomadic incursions from the steppes. Mount Dongling , in the Western Hills and on the border with Hebei , is the municipality's highest point, with an altitude of 2,303 metres (7,556 ft). Major rivers flowing through the municipality, including the Chaobai , Yongding , Juma , are all tributaries in the Hai River system, and flow in

20580-411: Was created as a special service in English that was relayed via satellite to AM, FM, and cable affiliates throughout Europe. With a contemporary format including live disc jockeys, the network presented top musical hits as well as VOA news and features of local interest (such as "EuroFax") 24 hours a day. VOA Europe was closed down without advance public notice in January 1997 as a cost-cutting measure. It

20727-433: Was followed by VOA Express, which from July 4, 1999, revamped into VOA Music Mix. Since November 1, 2014, stations are offered VOA1 (which is a rebranding of VOA Music Mix). In 1989, Voice of America expanded its Mandarin and Cantonese programming to reach the millions of Chinese and inform the country about the pro-democracy movement within the country, including the demonstration in Tiananmen Square. Starting in 1990,

20874-611: Was issued. According to Beijing's environmental protection bureau's announcement in November 2016, starting from 2017 highly polluting old cars will be banned from being driven whenever Smog "red alerts" are issued in the city or neighboring regions. In recent years, there has been measurable reductions in pollutants after the "war on pollution" was declared in 2014, with Beijing seeing a 35% reduction in fine particulates in 2017 and further reduction by 2020. The primary factors behind this reduction were replacing coal power with natural gas and cleaning up polluting industrial facilities in

21021-414: Was seen as an inefficient means of transmitting news. The director of Latin American relations at the Columbia Broadcasting System was Edmund A. Chester , and he supervised the development of CBS's extensive "La Cadena de las Américas" radio network to improve broadcasting to South America during the 1940s. Even before the December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , the U.S. government's Office of

21168-400: Was set on 15 June 1942). See or edit raw graph data . Three styles of architecture are predominant in urban Beijing. First, there is the traditional architecture of imperial China, perhaps best exemplified by the massive Tian'anmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace), which remains the People's Republic of China's trademark edifice, the Forbidden City , the Imperial Ancestral Temple and

21315-426: Was the fourth busiest and second longest in the world . The Beijing Daxing International Airport , Beijing's second international airport, is the largest single-structure airport terminal in the world. The city has hosted numerous international and national sporting events, the most notable being the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2008 Summer Paralympics Games. In 2022, Beijing became the first city ever to host both

21462-478: Was to protect the American public from propaganda by its own government and to avoid any competition with private American companies. The act was amended via the passage of the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act provision of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2013 . The amendment was intended to adapt the law to the Internet and to allow American citizens access to VOA content. Under the Eisenhower administration in 1959, VOA Director Henry Loomis commissioned

21609-449: Was used to supply the Ming military garrisons in the area and renamed Beiping ( Wade–Giles : Peip'ing, "Northern Peace"). Under the Hongwu Emperor's feudal policies, Beiping was given to his son Zhu Di , who was created " Prince of Yan ". The early death of Zhu Yuanzhang 's heir led to a succession struggle upon his death, one that ended with the victory of Zhu Di and the declaration of the new Yongle era . Since his harsh treatment of

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