On July 10, 2008, Reporters Without Borders, an
organization headquartered in Paris, France, released an investigative
phone call recording showing that Eutelsat's turning off the New Tang
Dynasty Television (NTDTV) signal on the grounds of lacking electric power
was in fact a political decision made under pressure from the Chinese
Communist Party (CCP).
A World Organization
to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) investigator with
special status made an inquiry phone call to the Chinese ambassador in
Italy, Sun Yuxi, with regard to this issue. The conversation has confirmed
that the CCP played a major role in this incident. With regard to how they
have worked on Eutelsat, Ambassador Sun's answer
was:>
(Play recording: “I
have negotiated with its president and vice president before, because they
helped Falun Gong to get a channel. They have explained to me again and
again that they didn't do it intentionally. It was someone else who got
Falun Gong in, such and such. Anyway, that's their
explanation.”)
[Download
Recording1]
Eutelsat reported
immediately to Sun Yuxi after shutting down NTDTV’s broadcasting into
China:
(Play recording:
“After turning off the signal, they specifically asked someone to tell my
Science and Technology Attache and pass the message to me, saying that the
Ambassador has mentioned several times to us about this issue, and we have
handled it now. i.e. Well, from their work, they will no longer have Falun
... anything related to Falun Gong.”)
[Download
Recording2]
Ambassador Sun
supported Eutelsat on this move. He said:
(Play recording:
“Since they have got rid of this, we also endorsed them, and told them
never touch this again. They should cooperate with us, should do well in
promoting China positively. They also apologized again and again and
assured us that they would never let such kind of thing happen in the
future.”)
[Download
Recording3]
As for the rewards
Eutelsat expects to receive out of this move, Ambassador Sun
said:
(Play recording:
“They wanted to develop some relationships with the Chinese Central
Television (CCTV). And in addition, first of all, they wanted to do
business with our Aerospace and Aeronautics Industry Group regarding the
European communication satellites, meteorological satellites, and so on.
They need our carrier to launch their
satellites.”)
[Download
Recording4]
Headquartered in New
York City, NTDTV is one of the only few Chinese-language media companies
in the world that is independent of CCP control. With its uncensored
broadcasts, NTDTV is the sole truth-telling TV station to people inside
China. Eutelsat's stopping the NTDTV signal only one month away from the
Beijing Olympics is an act of bowing to the dictatorship of the CCP
regime, depriving Chinese people of their right to know, and also
violating Eutelsat's own principles. It is a disgrace among the
international business community.
Since the beginning
of this year, in the face of serious natural and man-made calamities in
China, one after another, the CCP has intensified brutal crackdowns on the
Falun Gong spiritual group, unofficial religious or spiritual groups,
human rights advocates, civil rights defenders, appealing populace and
citizens forced to relocate without compensation.
On the other hand,
the CCP has tightened media control and increased its Internet blockade so
as to cover up its unprecedented ruling crisis due to the great wave of
Chinese people quitting the CCP and its related organizations. At this
vital historical moment, NTDTV has brought to its viewers in mainland
China a wealth of objective news and true
stories.
WOIPFG believes its
recording of Chinese Ambassador Sun Yuxi in Italy and the recently
published conversation with Chinese Consul General Peng Keyu in New York
have both shown clearly that the CCP diplomats have been engaging in
inappropriate activities. It has become their routine practices to extend
the CCP's human rights violation policy to other countries and interfere
with business operations there. If we just ignore it, the next victim
could be any nation, company, group or
individual.
WOIPFG calls for
immediate action from the international community to uphold freedom of
speech and news reporting. The first step we can take is to help restore
NTDTV’s broadcast into mainland China.
World
Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong
Telephone Number: 347-448-5790; Fax:
347-402-1444
Mailing Address: P.O. Box: 84, New York, NY 10116,
USA
http://upholdjustice.org/, http://zhuichaguoji.org
Download PDF File