North Korea escapees finishing their graduate degrees in New York City. Pro-democracy exiles building new lives after fleeing Hong Kong. A teenaged woman soldier on the front lines of Myanmar’s civil war. These are some of the people RFA journalists spoke with in 2024 — and here are their compelling stories:

Uyghur Youth Initiative #ofcourse TikTok challenge

A TikTok video by three Uyghur women living in Germany goes viral, mixing humor with human rights abuses and genocide.

“The Uyghur crisis is a very urgent and serious topic,” Muqeddes Memet, 18, one of the women in the video, told RFA Uyghur.

“If we add a little humor content, people will watch it. If we always talk about an urgent topic, people will get tired. If we add some jokes, they will pay better attention.”

Wang Shujun — historian, activist, convicted Chinese spy?

Wang Shujun, 76, lived for the last 30 years in New York as a scholar working in an insular community of pro-democracy advocates fighting for change in China.

A series of reports by RFA Investigative reveals a life turned upside-down when the FBI accused Wang of spying for Beijing. He vigorously denied it but in August was found guilty on four espionage charges. Wang will be sentenced in January 2025.

Tibetan monks and residents protesting China’s dam project

Police arrested more than 1,000 Tibetans, including Buddhist monks, in southwestern China’s Sichuan province on Feb. 23, after they protested the construction of a dam expected to destroy six monasteries and force the relocation of two villages, two sources from inside Tibet told Radio Free Asia.

Exclusive RFA Tibetan video showed the protests which began on Feb. 14, and subsequent arrests, prompting global reaction.

Some of the protesters were beaten so badly that they required medical attention, three sources told Radio Free Asia.

Popular ‘monk’ Thich Minh Tue worries Vietnamese officials

A 43-year-old Vietnamese man became an internet hit in May when several influencers began documenting his barefoot pilgrimage across Vietnam. He amassed legions of supporters who were drawn to his simple lifestyle and humble attitude.

But the attention Tue was getting appeared to worry the authorities, leading to his detention and prompted international calls for his release.

In November, RFA Vietnamese obtained a copy of a letter purportedly written by Tue renouncing his vow of poverty. Supporters question its authenticity, saying authorities may be trying to isolate him from the public.

Moe Pyae Sone, Karen National Liberation Army fighter

“I’ve gained combat experience,” she says. “I’ve participated in quite a few battles.”

RFA spoke with Moe Pyae Sone, 18, at an internally displaced people’s camp just south of Myawaddy, where ethnic rebels overran military junta positions in April.

Wearing camouflage pants, a tactical vest, braided hair, pink plastic clogs and a wide grin, she recalls participating in protests against Myanmar’s military junta after the Feb. 2021 coup before joining rebel forces a year later.

Pyongyang to Manhattan: Escaping North Korea for the Big Apple

Born into a wealthy, elite family, siblings Lee Hyunseung, 38, and Seohyun, 32, fled North Korea a decade ago with their parents.

Before graduating from Columbia University in May, they witnessed campus demonstrations against Israel’s military strikes on Gaza.

“The fact that the United States truly respects freedom of expression strikes a chord in my heart,” Hyunseung told RFA Korean. “In North Korea or China, it’s unimaginable to even think about such things.”

Ly Chandaravuth, environmental activist, Mother Nature Cambodia

Before returning to Cambodia to stand trial in May, Ly Chandaravuth shared a series of videos with RFA Khmer.

“Currently, we are living in fear,” he said. “For example we have a house but we are afraid of losing it,” referring to Cambodia’s natural resources. “We have ore mining but we are still poor. Those who benefit from ore mining are foreigners, foreign companies or powerful people.”

Chandaravuth was among 10 Mother Nature Cambodia activists who were handed six-year sentences and taken into custody after being convicted of plotting against the government on July 2.

Hong Kong exiles rebuilding their lives

Five years ago, a million Hong Kong residents took to the streets to protest a plan to extradite Hong Kongers to mainland China.

A crackdown followed. Thousands were arrested, news outlets were shut down and civil society groups were disbanded. In March, the reins were tightened further with Hong Kong’s Article 23 security law.

Many Hong Kongers have fled in the years since. RFA spoke with four exiles about their old lives in Hong Kong and their new ones in the United States, the things they miss about home and what they worry about.

Lao content creators detained for comical pothole fishing video

Graphic artists using the names Dai James and James Famor uploaded an AI-generated video to Facebook, showing them fishing in water-filled potholes on a street, surrounded by crocodiles – a video that went viral in Laos. The police came knocking.

A friend who produces and posts videos to social media confirmed the arrest and release to RFA Lao.

Police required Famor to attend a “re-education” class, forcing him to confess and apologize before freeing him.

Edited by Paul Eckert

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Staff.

This post was originally published on Radio Free.