John Corn
10-24-02, 12:52 PM
BEIJING (AP) China plans to launch a television satellite that can block attempts by Falun Gong protesters to hijack its signals, the state satellite-launching company said Thursday.
The announcement comes a month after Beijing accused Falun Gong supporters abroad of committing a "TV hijacking" by breaking into signals on a satellite that transmits state television to areas throughout China.
The new French-made Apstar VI satellite is to be launched in 2004, said Geng Kun, a spokeswoman for the China Great Wall Industry Corp.
The launch has been planned for some time, but Great Wall added antijamming technology after the Falun Gong incident to prevent further "malicious interruptions," Geng said.
The Sept. 9 break-in on the government's Sino Satellite, or Sinosat, was especially embarrassing for communist authorities because the system was created to increase their control over what Chinese television viewers see.
Full Story (http://tv.yahoo.com/news/ap/20021024/103545582000.html)
The announcement comes a month after Beijing accused Falun Gong supporters abroad of committing a "TV hijacking" by breaking into signals on a satellite that transmits state television to areas throughout China.
The new French-made Apstar VI satellite is to be launched in 2004, said Geng Kun, a spokeswoman for the China Great Wall Industry Corp.
The launch has been planned for some time, but Great Wall added antijamming technology after the Falun Gong incident to prevent further "malicious interruptions," Geng said.
The Sept. 9 break-in on the government's Sino Satellite, or Sinosat, was especially embarrassing for communist authorities because the system was created to increase their control over what Chinese television viewers see.
Full Story (http://tv.yahoo.com/news/ap/20021024/103545582000.html)