A group of 15
Falun Gong
followers charged of sabotaging cable TV network equipment were put
on trial Wednesday at the Intermediary People's Court in Changchun,
Jilin province, northeast China.
Those standing trial at the court were Zhou Runjun, Liang Zhenxing,
Liu Chengjun, Liu Weiming, Lei Ming, Zhao Jian, Yun Qingbin, Zhang
Wen, Sun Changjun, Li Dehai, Liu Dong, Zhuang Xiankun, Wei Xiushan,
Chen Yanmei and Li Xiaojie.
According to local public security authorities, at about 19:00
hours on March 5 this year, when residents in Changchun and
Songyuan cities of the province were viewing regular TV programs,
to their surprise, some Falun Gong devotees hijacked the cable TV
transmission and broadcast a propaganda program for the evil cult
through the use of their own small-sized broadcasting
equipment.
Due to the hijacking, two trunk cables of the cable TV transmission
network in Changchun were cut off, and subscribers to the network
in four districts of the city could not watch cable TV programs as
usual. The hijacking also resulted in the suspension of cable TV
programs for 210 minutes and left 16,000 people affected by video
and audio propaganda by the Falun Gong cult.
The perpetrators damaged TV broadcasting equipment that was under
protection of State laws and disrupted the public order of society
in a serious way.
According to a police officer named Li Shichang from the municipal
Public Security Bureau of Changchun, the Falun Gong devotees
involved in the TV hijacking case, also dubbed the "March5 Case",
were well-organized, and had financial support and relevant
technology, with a clear division of labor. The investigation and
ensuing confessions by the perpetrators eloquently showed that the
carefully-hatched crime had been engineered by Falun Gong
ringleader Li Hongzhi and the headquarters of the cult, and had
also received technical guidance from the cult's website.
According to sources with local procuratorial authorities involved
in the case, the suspects have violated the Clause One of Article
124 and Clause One under the Article 300 of the Criminal Law of the
People's Republic of China, and they would be accused of sabotaging
radio and TV broadcasting equipment and of negatively affecting law
enforcement through organizing and utilizing cults.
(Xinhua News
Agency September 19, 2002)