WASHINGTON – Radio Free Asia’s (RFA) global Mandarin brand 歪脑 | WHYNOT has won the Asian American Journalists Association’s (AAJA) top award for excellence in longform video storytelling for a documentary following a group of Chinese migrants from the Darién Gap to the United States. Through eye-opening interviews and footage from their perilous journey from the jungles of Colombia and Panama to New York, “Walk the Line” explores the group’s motivations, and the challenges they faced upon arrival.
“The WHYNOT team’s bold effort to document this harrowing journey demonstrates the risks Chinese were willing to take to escape repression,” said RFA President Bay Fang. “Though this recognition comes as RFA stands on the brink of closure, the award recognizes WHYNOT’s journalistic excellence as we fight to continue our work.”
Zou Xian (走线) or “Walk the Line’’ became a viral term on Chinese social media term, as a surge of migrants fled the Peoples Republic of China amid strict pandemic policies, economic instability, and human rights abuses. It is estimated that more than 37,000 Chinese attempted this perilous trip in 2023.
Walk the Line, which was released on December 17, 2024, was WHYNOT’s first feature-length documentary. The global digital brand, which launched in 2021, garnered numerous top honors for its journalism and news design, including a 2023 National Murrow Award, a Telly, Society of News Design Award, and multiple awards from the New York Festivals. WHYNOT stopped production of new content on March 21 following the Trump administration’s suspension of funding. The documentary was aired on Taiwan public media with multiple screenings, including on Kinmen Island, which is just 6 miles (10km) from Mainland China.
At present, more than 90 percent of RFA’s staff and journalists, including the team behind this project, are on unpaid leave, as USAGM continues to withhold RFA’s Congressionally appropriated funding. On May 28, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit allowed the preliminary injunction in Radio Free Asia v. United States to remain in place while the case proceeds. The ruling requires that USAGM must continue disbursing congressionally appropriated funds to RFA while the court considers the merits of the case.