Radio Free Asia (RFA) has resumed its broadcasts to China, its chief executive announced on Tuesday. This comes after funding cuts under the Trump administration nearly shut down the US-backed broadcaster last year. Kari Lake, a former news anchor appointed by Donald Trump as acting chief executive of the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), ended funding for RFA and sister outlets like Voice of America (VOA), citing "waste of taxpayer money and anti-Trump bias." Critics said this move gave ground to China and other adversaries and caused many layoffs. Bay Fang, RFA’s president and chief executive, said on LinkedIn, "We are proud to have resumed broadcasting to audiences in China in Mandarin, Tibetan, and Uyghur, providing some of the world’s only independent reporting on these regions in the local languages." She added that private contracts with transmission services made the comeback possible. Details were not given, but she noted that consistent funding needs approval from Congress. In February, a bipartisan spending bill signed by Trump included $653 million for USAGM, which oversees RFA and VOA. This amount is lower than previous years but much higher than Trump's $153 million request aimed at shutting down USAGM. US lawmakers from both parties criticized Trump's push to dismantle these outlets, saying it weakened America's global influence as China expands its reach. China’s embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu declined to comment on US policy but accused RFA of anti-China bias: "Radio Free Asia has long spread falsehoods and smeared China, and they have a poor record when it comes to reporting on China-related issues. We hope more media outlets in the US can make objective and fair-minded reports on China and China-US relations." Chinese state media praised the cuts last year. Rights activists note that for decades, RFA has exposed abuses in China and other authoritarian states, highlighting the plight of oppressed groups like Uyghur Muslims. RFA spokesperson Rohit Mahajan said on Friday that the outlet uses private companies to broadcast to Tibet, North Korea, and Myanmar. The Mandarin content is currently online-only, with plans to restart airwave broadcasts soon. Programs in Tibetan, Uyghur, Korean, and Burmese air on short and medium wave frequencies. Satellite transmissions via USAGM have not yet restated.