On April 22, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a wide-ranging reorganization of the State Department. Though the details of the restructuring have yet to be published, it seems clear that human rights will be downgraded, and a number of staff positions related to human rights and other key thematic concerns will be cut. The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) was singled out for particular scorn by Secretary Rubio: He falsely labeled it a “platform for left-wing activists to wage vendettas,” and claimed that it pursued “radical causes at taxpayer expense.”
The move was just the latest in a series of efforts, many of them initiated by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to downsize or eliminate key instruments of American human rights diplomacy, some of which have been around for decades, and whose track record is very strong. Unless these moves are quickly reversed, the U.S. government will lack the tools it needs to formulate and implement a serious human rights policy. Authoritarian leaders around the world, including Chinese Party Secretary Xi Jinping, are watching closely, and will no doubt celebrate if these cuts turn out to be permanent.
When it comes to China and human rights, there are three key players to watch: DRL, now slated to be renamed the Department of Democracy, Human Rights, and Religious Freedom; the National Endowment for Democracy (NED); and the China-focused programs at Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA). (NED and RFA are independent entities that are funded by Congress. VOA is government-run but independent.)
DRL’s China-focused work took a big hit even before last month’s reorganization.
In late January, the administration announced a freeze on all foreign aid funding, one that included DRL’s absolutely vital China-focused human rights and rule of law grants program. Some of that funding has since been restored, but in the meantime, many civil society groups that rely on DRL funding have been forced to close down. Some of China’s best and brightest activists and lawyers have lost a crucial source of support, and are now scrambling to figure out what to do next. It’s not clear whether DRL’s China grants program will solicit proposals for new grants later this year, or whether the existing slate of awards will be the last.
Also in late January, the government cut off the NED’s access to funding. (The bulk of NED’s funding is directly allocated by Congress, and is not part of State Department funding streams.) This second blow, coming on the heels of the pause in DRL funding, further damaged a fragile support ecosystem for China-focused human rights groups. Though Congressionally-mandated funding for NED has since been dispersed, the organization’s future remains in doubt, which creates even more uncertainty for the frontline organizations and activists that rely on the organization’s support to fund their day-to-day operations.
In mid-March, the administration turned its attention to crucial global media programs that are funded through the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), including VOA and RFA. On March 14, the administration announced that USAGM would stop all funding, and that key USAGM-funded media outlets, including VOA and RFA, would close down. Both VOA and RFA have an amazing history of China-related work, stretching back several decades. RFA, for example, broadcast and published in several key languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Uyghur, and Tibetan. Its closure was lamented by scores of Chinese listeners, many of whom took to social media. Prominent rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang called RFA and VOA “almost a necessity of life,” and leading muckraking journalist Gao Yu declared herself “heartbroken” over the Trump administration’s decision to shutter the two outlets.
VOA and RFA won a short-lived reprieve on April 22, when the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted a preliminary injunction, ordering the USAGM to restore funding to the outlets, among other programs, as litigation continues. (Both organizations had brought suit against USAGM after the shutdown was announced.) As of this writing, it remains unclear whether and how the administration will implement the ruling. Staff have not yet gone back to work, and neither VOA nor RFA are yet back on the air or resuming publishing. Still, the court’s order showed that litigation can be an effective tool to push back against the administration’s illegal actions.
On the campaign trail, then-candidate Trump talked tough on China. After taking office, he appointed a number of so-called China hawks to key senior foreign policy posts, including Rubio as Secretary of State, and former Representative Michael Waltz as National Security Advisor. (Waltz was pushed out of his post on May 1.) And yet, with the exception of eye-popping tariffs on Chinese imports, we still don’t have a sense of what Trump’s China policy will look like. One hundred days into his second term, we don’t know whether Trump’s foreign policy team will prioritize human rights in China, or whether it will be given short shrift as other concerns, including trade, come to the fore. The few signals that have emerged thus far have been extremely mixed.
Whatever happens next, the administration has already taken several key tools for advancing human rights in China off the table. If NED and VOA/RFA are permanently shuttered, and if DRL’s China-focused grants program comes to an end, then the ability of the U.S. government to have an impact on human rights in China will be deeply diminished, likely for years to come.
What should the China-watching community do in response to the Trump administration’s efforts to end China-focused human rights funding, and to shutter key media outlets like RFA and VOA? First and foremost, private foundations need to step up their funding for Chinese rights activists. No private funder, no matter how large, can step into the shoes of the U.S. government. Still, private funders can and should respond to this moment of crisis by supporting at least some of the groups that have lost out on DRL or NED grants and face potential closure without new sources of support.
Academics, think tanks, and non-governmental organizations also have a role to play. We can support activists, journalists, and intellectuals, many of whom are based here in the U.S., who have lost jobs, visas, and key professional platforms. Support can take various forms, whether it be the offer of a scholarly visa to replace a lost work visa, an invitation to give a lecture or co-write a paper or policy brief, or cooperation on convening an activist roundtable. Paid contract work, whether short-term or longer-term, is always welcome, but other forms of assistance are also hugely valuable during this difficult time.
Last but not least, China scholars and researchers should be reaching out to members of Congress to make sure that they are aware of the damage that is being done by the administration’s decision to unilaterally disarm the human rights front. Thus far at least, the Republican majority in Congress has shown precious little willingness to act as a check on the administration. But as Trump’s public support continues to plummet, Republican representatives may become more willing to act, if only to distance themselves from an increasingly unpopular administration. We should make sure that Congress is aware that funding for DRL, NED, VOA, and RFA is vitally important. Restoration of that funding should be on Congress’ long and ever-growing to-do list.
Those of us who care about human rights in China, and about the human rights prong of U.S. foreign policy, have both a professional duty and a moral obligation to respond to this crisis. In the days after the foreign aid funding freeze was announced back in January, I spoke with dozens of Chinese activists whose work was directly affected by the cuts. Many of them were in shock: They simply could not believe that the U.S. government, which for decades had expressed support for the cause of human rights in China, would move so quickly to end its support. With almost no notice, many groups lost a vital lifeline. Jobs were lost, important work was stopped, and lives were upended. “I’m so heartbroken for our communities,” one activist told me. “We deserve better, and the U.S. government betrayed us.” I had to tell her that I agreed.
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