HMM: Trump to Cut $4.5 Million from Radio Free Asia.

The Trump administration plans to cut $4.5 million from Radio Free Asia in a move that critics say would sharply reduce Chinese language broadcasts into China by the pro-democracy radio.

The budget cuts were announced at RFA’s Washington headquarters recently and drew opposition from the staff and the radio’s supporters in Congress, according to administration officials.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the government entity that is RFA’s parent organization, defended the funding cuts to Mandarin-language radio as part of a shift to the use of social media—outlets in China that are tightly controlled by the government and explicitly ban RFA content.

“RFA will continue to focus on Mandarin through social media which is the platform the agency has determined to be most cost-effective,” the board said in a statement to the Washington Free Beacon.

But given how many resources Beijing devotes to tracking social media, is the move more effective-effective?