China blames Taiwan for TV hijacking

From CNN Senior Asia Correspondent Mike Chinoy

Chinese authorities have accused Falun Gong members of hacking into Taiwan's satellite TV signals to beam anti-government messages across China

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VIDEO CNN's Mike Chinoy reports that China is accusing Falun Gong members of hijacking TV signals to beam messages to China. PLAY VIDEO RESOURCES Gallery: Falun Gong movement  • Falun Gong: a brief but turbulent history  IN-DEPTH Falun Gong: China's Dilemma

TAIPEI, Taiwan (CNN) -- While practice of Falun Gong meditation in China may be considered an "evil cult" by Beijing, in Taiwan it is both legal and most of the time largely ignored.

In recent days, though, Chinese authorities have accused Falun Gong members in Taiwan of hijacking that country's satellite TV signals to beam their anti-government message across to mainland China.

Beijing claims that throughout September Falun Gong supporters in Taiwan regularly hacked into Sinosat -- a satellite system covering the entire country -- replacing government-run programs with images protesting China's three-year crackdown on the group.

A Falun Gong spokesman in Taiwan, however, denies any knowledge of the hijacking.

"There are a lot of Falun Gong practitioners in Taiwan. We're not really organized. So if individual members did this, they did it on their own," says Falun Gong spokesman, Chang Ching-Hsi.

Skepticism

Taiwan's government has also expressed skepticism.

"As far as the operations of Taiwan's satellite communications are concerned, this accusation is far-fetched," Lin Ching-Chih, of the Taiwan Telecommunications Directorate, says.

But China says its technicians traced the signal to a mountainous area south of Taipei.

When Taiwan telecommunications experts conducted a search, though, they uncovered nothing.

That has done little to settle the issue.

Earlier incidents

This episode is the latest in a series of hijacked mainland broadcasts.

Earlier this year, 15 Falun Gong practitioners were given extended jail terms for breaking into cable television systems in two northeastern Chinese cities.

For the Falun Gong, whose supporters have waged a global campaign against China's ongoing crackdown, the pirated transmissions are a major political triumph.

"The Chinese government uses all the power of the state to control news of what's happening there. So to bring people the truth is good," says Chang.

But for Taiwan, which has long tolerated Falun Gong activities, China's accusations add a new level of tension to an already deeply strained relationship with the government in Beijing.

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