Falun Gong take TV satellite

2003-08-15 14:08

Beijing - Practitioners of the Falun Gong spiritual movement commandeered China's major television satellite twice this week, the Chinese government said on Friday, reporting the latest satellite hacking by the outlawed group.

Sino Satellite, known commonly as SinoSat, was "taken over by illegal TV signals" transmitted by Falun Gong at 21:05 on Tuesday and at 20:23 on Wednesday, the Ministry of Information Industry said.

The action prevented Chinese audiences from watching programmes on China Central Television, China Education Television and 10 provincial stations, the government said.

Though the government's Xinhua News Agency did not detail what programs were aired during the disruptions, Falun Gong - in hacking activities that began early last year - typically replaces regular fare with messages about its movement and the abuses it says it endures.

Falun Gong representatives in the United States acknowledge their hacking activities and say it is the only way they can circulate their message within China.

"(Falun Gong) practitioners in China have discovered a non-violent means - one that harms neither people nor equipment - to break through the information blockade and let the people see programs that openly show the human rights violations happening in their own country," Falun Gong spokesman Erping Zhang said last week in a release posted on the group's Web site.

The Chinese government banned Falun Gong in 1999 as a threat to public safety and considers it an "evil cult."

The movement has attracted millions of followers with a mix of traditional Chinese calisthenics and doctrines drawn from Buddhism, Taoism and the ideas of its founder, Li Hongzhi, a former government clerk.

Since it was banned, thousands of its followers have been detained by the Chinese government. Activists abroad say scores have died in police custody from beatings or mistreatment.

- AP