The to consecrate the new temple at , a private shortwave radio broadcaster and online news service funded by the U.S. government that describes its mission as providing "accurate and timely news and information to Asian countries whose governments prohibit access to a free press."
The station broadcasts both on air and online in nine languages, including Burmese, Cantonese, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Mandarin, Tibetan, Uyghur, and Vietnamese. After Mandarin, the primary language spoken in China, the Tibetan service is the oldest offered by the station, and its broadcasts run second-longest at eight hours per day.
Radio Free Asia was originally founded in the early days of the Cold War as an anti-communist propaganda broadcaster funded by the CIA, and was reincorporated privately in 1996 following the International Broadcasting Act of 1994. Its funding is now administered through the report from the station follows. Though the voiceover and brief accompanying report are in Tibetan, there are plenty of images of the Dalai Lama greeting and exchanging gifts with the governor.
Radio Free Asia also created a six-minute video report about the public talk at the Coliseum last Saturday, and is likewise narrated in Tibetan. The Dalai Lama remains in Madison through Thursday, July 24, when he will perform the Tenshug long life prayer offering in a public ceremony at the Dane County Coliseum. This is his last scheduled visit to the United States in advance of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, which begin on Friday, August 8.
If you have a video about Madison or by Madisonians, please consider adding it to the Isthmus YouTube group or send a message.
