China Friday condemned the Falun Gong cult for hijacking again
the satellite signals of government-run Sino Satellite, which
violated the basic principles of relevant civilian
communications.
The TV satellite, belonging to the Sino-Satellite Communications
Co. Ltd., was taken over by illegal TV signals transmitted by Falun
Gong cult followers twice, once at 9:05 pm Tuesday and once at 8:23
pm Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Information
Industry.
The illegal signals hindered the Chinese audience from watching
routine programs of China Central Television, China Education TV
Station and 10 provincial TV stations.
"Falun Gong's law-breaking activity is information terrorism and
banditry in the high-tech era," said a company executive. "It
infringes on the rights and interests of our company, and its
reputation as well. We retain the right to investigate the legal
responsibility of the cult."
A senior official of the State Administration of Radio, Film and
Television, said the TV hijacking once again indicates the cult's
goal to cause damage to the country and the people.
Those who back up and connive with the banned cult should be
held responsible for the illegal act and will eventually eat their
own bitter fruits, the official said.
The public who were disrupted from receiving the country's radio
and television programs, also angrily condemned the Falun Gong
cult's evil act. They urged the cult be severely punished to
safeguard the interests of the people.
This week's hijackings were not the first time Falun Gong cult
activists had broadcast illegal TV signals to cut into transmission
using Sino Satellite.
The satellite was taken over on Sept. 21 last year, during the
Middle Autumn Festival when people should have been enjoying
entertainment programs on TV with their families.
Their attacks in late June last year also disrupted people in
many remote villages in China from being able to watch the World
Cup finals.
Sino Satellite, launched in 1998, serves dozens of clients
including those of prime importance to the daily lives of Chinese,
such as the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the
Chinese Offshore Petrol Corporation, the National Meteorological
Bureau and China Unicom.
Through this satellite, TV programs are able to reach rural
residents in remote villages in most land-locked areas in the
country, and China Education TV Station broadcasts education
programs to students nationwide.
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(Xinhua News Agency August 16, 2003)