New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) is proud to announce the launch of the Freedom Satellite for China (FSC) plan. The goal is to raise funds to rent or purchase satellite capacities to secure the transmission of independent television and radio services to China without political interference.
NTDTV and Sound of Hope (SOH) radio have been broadcasting independent programs to China since 2004, through Eutelsat's W5 satellite. These broadcasters represent the only independent Chinese language media receivable by audiences in China that are not controlled by the Chinese communist regime.
Unfortunately, Eutelsat shut down these broadcasts on June 16th, 2008, claiming technical problems to the satellite. On July 10th, 2008 Reporters Without Boarders (RSF) published evidence showing that Eutelsat's CEO Giuliano Berretta shut down NTDTV as an exchange for future lucrative business deals with Beijing.
Before NTDTV's unprecedented broadcast to China, the Chinese communist regime had maintained total control of all media in China for over 5 decades. The "window of information freedom" achieved by NTDTV and SOH was cherished by the Chinese people, but feared by the regime. According to RSF, the Chinese communist regime had repeatedly demanded Eutelsat to shut down NTDTV. When the Chinese viewers lost access to NTDTV on June 16th, 2008, one viewer wrote "NTDTV is like fresh air, without it one feels suffocated".
Censorship is the lifeline of the Chinese Communist Party. Because of the regimes media control, vital information could not reach the people who need it the most. The cover up of the SARS epidemic in 2003, and the complete media silence on the prediction of the Sichuan earthquake in May 2008 are examples of how information censorship could magnify the level of damage from natural disasters into man-made catastrophes, killing far greater numbers of innocent people. NTDTVs coverage on news censored by the communist regime, and its persistent editorial focus on Chinas censorship practice is literally a life saver for residents of China.
With China becoming a world power, it is vital for humanity that the Chinese people have access to free information. We ask all freedom-loving people around the world to join us to secure a window of information freedom in China.
A dedicated bank account has been created for FSC. The funds raised will be used exclusively toward this project. The expenditures will be fully transparent for the public to examine.
For more information about FSC, please call 800-558-9045 or e-mail funding@ntdtv.com.
