KateYHuang
07-04-2004, 07:51 PM
Beijing Harasses Independent Chinese-Language Television Station
Reporters Without Borders report details how the Chinese Government uses strong-arm tactics
New Tang Dynasty Television Station (NTDTV), an independent Chinese-language television station, has attracted Beijing's ire because some of the reporters practice Falun Gong .
The French watchdog organization for free journalism, Reporters Without Borders, reports that Chinese authorities in Beijing have taken a special interest in a certain Chinese-language television station, NTDTV.
In a recent news release, Reporters Without Borders said that Chinese officials in Beijing have a dubious track record for harassing the New York-based station, New Tang Dynasty Television. According to RSF, authorities ¡°have been harassing NTDTV since its launch in February 2002 as China ensures it maintains its grip on Chinese-language electronic media.¡±
The tentacles of pressure have extended to include pushing satellite operators out of doing business with NTDTV, as in the case of New Skies Satellites. NSS, which was transmitting the station¡¯s signal to Asia, bowed to ¡°financial and political pressure from Beijing¡± and axed its contract with NTDTV. The signal has been picked up by Eutelsat¡¯s W-5 satellite and has resumed broadcasting in Asia, including inside of Mainland China.
In a press statement on May 25, RSF said: ¡°China has showed itself ready to use the most reprehensible methods to protect its monopoly, including threats, political and financial pressure and blackmail. ¡_ Some western telecommunication companies cave in to Chinese pressure and suspend broadcasts of channels that challenge the Chinese communist party monopoly of the airwaves.¡±
It is unclear whether Beijing will continue to put similar pressure on Eutelsat, a French broadcast regulatory agency and the French government. NTDTV broadcasts inside of China and the channel¡¯s recent introduction to Europe and the Middle East via the Hotbird satellite make the future landscape of potential pressure uncertain, especially if past cases are taken into account.
NSS, a satellite operator in the Netherlands, broadcast the channel on an open signal for three days at the beginning of July 2003 before encrypting the signal, making it impossible for Chinese satellite dish owners to see it. The encrypted signal was broadcast for nearly a year while NSS representatives in Beijing were threatened with financial reprisals before it was finally cut off on May 1, 2004.
Beijing has accused NTDTV of being connected with Falun Gong, a peaceful meditation practice that is illegal in China and has been severely persecuted there since mid-1999. While many people who work for NTDTV practice Falun Gong, the station offers Chinese viewers a range of programs not censored by the government that cannot be found elsewhere.
Reporters Without Borders also says: ¡°NTDTV told Reporters Without Borders that other companies had refused to broadcast or host the channel on their satellites for fear of Chinese reprisals. At the start of 2004, Philippines satellite operator Mabuhay cancelled plans to transmit a special Chinese New Year broadcast after threats from the Chinese ambassador in Manila. PanAmSat, which carries the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on many of its satellite platforms worldwide, has also refused to broadcast NTDTV.¡±
Beijing uses 30 different satellite platforms to broadcast CCTV around the world, despite the fact that only six are necessary for coverage of 99 percent of the world¡¯s population. The overwhelming presence has been used as a tool to blackmail operators, as in 2002 when CCTV dumped Taipei International for accepting NTDTV, signing on again only after NTDTV was removed. The Atlanta operator ADTH, which had a handshake agreement to carry NTDTV, waffled in February 2003 out of concern over losing contracts with other Chinese channels.
Today, more than 200 million satellite viewers have free access to NTDTV throughout the world, and the French Superior Audiovisual Council approved the station this April. Eutelsat, the satellite operator now broadcasting NTDTV into China, is obliged under French law ¡°to comply with the principle of equality of access, pluralism and non-discrimination,¡± according to Reporters Without Borders.
On top of pressuring telecommunications operators, Chinese authorities have also been known to prevent NTDTV journalists from working by blocking their access to public events and press conferences in the United States and Europe.
This article was compiled with information from a May 25, 2004, Reporters Without Borders press release. Reporters Without Borders defends imprisoned journalists and press freedom throughout the world, as well as the right to inform the public and to be informed, in accordance with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Reporters Without Borders report details how the Chinese Government uses strong-arm tactics
New Tang Dynasty Television Station (NTDTV), an independent Chinese-language television station, has attracted Beijing's ire because some of the reporters practice Falun Gong .
The French watchdog organization for free journalism, Reporters Without Borders, reports that Chinese authorities in Beijing have taken a special interest in a certain Chinese-language television station, NTDTV.
In a recent news release, Reporters Without Borders said that Chinese officials in Beijing have a dubious track record for harassing the New York-based station, New Tang Dynasty Television. According to RSF, authorities ¡°have been harassing NTDTV since its launch in February 2002 as China ensures it maintains its grip on Chinese-language electronic media.¡±
The tentacles of pressure have extended to include pushing satellite operators out of doing business with NTDTV, as in the case of New Skies Satellites. NSS, which was transmitting the station¡¯s signal to Asia, bowed to ¡°financial and political pressure from Beijing¡± and axed its contract with NTDTV. The signal has been picked up by Eutelsat¡¯s W-5 satellite and has resumed broadcasting in Asia, including inside of Mainland China.
In a press statement on May 25, RSF said: ¡°China has showed itself ready to use the most reprehensible methods to protect its monopoly, including threats, political and financial pressure and blackmail. ¡_ Some western telecommunication companies cave in to Chinese pressure and suspend broadcasts of channels that challenge the Chinese communist party monopoly of the airwaves.¡±
It is unclear whether Beijing will continue to put similar pressure on Eutelsat, a French broadcast regulatory agency and the French government. NTDTV broadcasts inside of China and the channel¡¯s recent introduction to Europe and the Middle East via the Hotbird satellite make the future landscape of potential pressure uncertain, especially if past cases are taken into account.
NSS, a satellite operator in the Netherlands, broadcast the channel on an open signal for three days at the beginning of July 2003 before encrypting the signal, making it impossible for Chinese satellite dish owners to see it. The encrypted signal was broadcast for nearly a year while NSS representatives in Beijing were threatened with financial reprisals before it was finally cut off on May 1, 2004.
Beijing has accused NTDTV of being connected with Falun Gong, a peaceful meditation practice that is illegal in China and has been severely persecuted there since mid-1999. While many people who work for NTDTV practice Falun Gong, the station offers Chinese viewers a range of programs not censored by the government that cannot be found elsewhere.
Reporters Without Borders also says: ¡°NTDTV told Reporters Without Borders that other companies had refused to broadcast or host the channel on their satellites for fear of Chinese reprisals. At the start of 2004, Philippines satellite operator Mabuhay cancelled plans to transmit a special Chinese New Year broadcast after threats from the Chinese ambassador in Manila. PanAmSat, which carries the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on many of its satellite platforms worldwide, has also refused to broadcast NTDTV.¡±
Beijing uses 30 different satellite platforms to broadcast CCTV around the world, despite the fact that only six are necessary for coverage of 99 percent of the world¡¯s population. The overwhelming presence has been used as a tool to blackmail operators, as in 2002 when CCTV dumped Taipei International for accepting NTDTV, signing on again only after NTDTV was removed. The Atlanta operator ADTH, which had a handshake agreement to carry NTDTV, waffled in February 2003 out of concern over losing contracts with other Chinese channels.
Today, more than 200 million satellite viewers have free access to NTDTV throughout the world, and the French Superior Audiovisual Council approved the station this April. Eutelsat, the satellite operator now broadcasting NTDTV into China, is obliged under French law ¡°to comply with the principle of equality of access, pluralism and non-discrimination,¡± according to Reporters Without Borders.
On top of pressuring telecommunications operators, Chinese authorities have also been known to prevent NTDTV journalists from working by blocking their access to public events and press conferences in the United States and Europe.
This article was compiled with information from a May 25, 2004, Reporters Without Borders press release. Reporters Without Borders defends imprisoned journalists and press freedom throughout the world, as well as the right to inform the public and to be informed, in accordance with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.