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Falungong sabotages Chinese
satellite TV
By Florence Chan
HONG KONG - Falungong, which Beijing
outlawed as an "evil cult" in 1999, disrupted
television broadcast signals in most parts of
China last week for about five minutes by jamming
signal transmission via the satellite of Asia
Satellite Telecommunications Co Ltd (AsiaSat). One
communications-technology expert, however, told
Asia Times Online that such attacks could be
thwarted by using appropriate security measures.
"The attack started at 9:34pm on March 14
and disrupted six C-band transponders of an
AsiaSat 3S satellite with Falungong propaganda,
causing a break in regular programming of many
provincial TV channels in the mainland that hire
the attacked transponders for transmission,"
AsiaSat chief executive officer Peter Jackson told
a press conference on March 15.
China
considers the well-organized Falungong, which can
mobilize thousands of supporters, a threat to
Communist Party rule.
This is the second
assault after November 20, when an unidentified
hacker intruded into the transmission of a
transponder on the 3S satellite. But "the
interruption proves much more vicious this time,
affecting six transponders", said AsiaSat
marketing manager Sabrina Cubbon. Under strong
interference from offensive signals, the satellite
transmission will dangerously outstrip the
saturation point, so the affected transponders
must be turned off, she added. So far, the company
has not yet detected the source of the attack
because of technical impediments.
As a
result of the intrusion, regular programs were
replaced by Falungong propaganda on several
provincial-level TV channels that broadcast to all
cable TV subscribers in the country via the
AsiaSat 3C satellite. TV stations in northeastern
China's Heilongjiang province, Jiangsu province in
the east, Hunan province in central China and
Sichuan province were among those disrupted, to
name a few. "We were informed by the clients when
the Falungong stuff had gone to air. But our
service was back to normal a few minutes later,"
Liu said.
Dajiyuan or Epoch Times, an
overseas Chinese-language news website, said the
disruptions were not Falungong images but slogans
urging people to leave the Chinese Communist Party
(CCP); it included a harangue against the party's
flaws and alleged indifference and injustice
toward the Chinese people.
"The source of
jamming signals must have been close enough to the
AsiaSat ground transmitter station to disrupt the
frequency," said Dr Li Chi-kwong of the
Electronics and Information Engineering
Department, Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
"Besides, it takes time to target jamming signals
at the satellite in outer space. Therefore, a
tighter security of the ground transmitter will
help prevent further interruption. Alternatively,
encryption will make TV signals more difficult to
tamper with."
The latest disruption came
at a highly sensitive time, as the National
People's Congress had just passed the
Anti-Secession Law on March 14. But how much the
sabotage had to do with the legislation is not
known. The Ministry of Information Industry is
working with the ministries of National Security
and Public Security in an intensive inquiry, and
their findings will be released after they are
completed and evaluated.
The incident is
anything but a hoax. "Whoever successfully jammed
the satellite must command a good knowledge of
satellite transmission and possess some essential
equipment to emit interruptive signals of great
strength. Hereby, we presume that the attack was
done by wealthy foreigners," said Sabrina Cubbon.
Professor Li Chi-kwong of Hong Kong Polytechnic
University also agreed that the incident was
designed and planned well in advance.
By
employing security staff to patrol regularly
around the transmitter stations, such attacks can
be avoided, said Professor Li.
Hong Kong
Falungong spokesman Kan Hung-cheung told Asia
Times Online that he had not heard about Falungong
disciples plotting the incident on March 14. Yet,
he added, "I know some fellows have in the past
interfered with TV broadcasts to make known how
Falungong members were persecuted by the Chinese
Communist Party. And what they did deserves
positive recognition ... There's no speech freedom
in China, which is why the Falungong members had
to jam TV satellites," Kan added.
However,
Cubbon said, "The interference disabled our
service and negatively affected our reputation. We
strongly condemn such outlawed behaviors."
So far, AsiaSat has informed the Office of
the Telecommunications Authority under the Hong
Kong government, but has not reported the signal
disruption to the police. "There're only two
places where the Falungong signals could be
sourced, so it's very unlikely that the source was
in Hong Kong. Since the satellite transmission is
worldwide, we can't call the police all over the
world," Cubbon explained. Said Dr Li Chi-kwong:
"If the source couldn't be spotted when the
signals were still on the air, there will be fat
chance to locate the source after that. As the
latest interruptive signals only lasted for five
minutes or so, it's too difficult to find out the
source."
In a press release, AsiaSat CEO
Jackson said the latest interference and the
previous incident in November "seriously violated
international telecommunications treaties" and
"contravened international regulations". The
company said it reserved the right to take
appropriate legal actions.
Falungong is a
religion blending Buddhist and Taoist credos with
breathing (or Qigong, a traditional Chinese
martial art) and meditation exercises. On April
24, 1999, a huge legion of Falungong members
rallied around Zhongnanhai - the power enclave of
the China's central government. After Falungong
was banned as an "evil cult", thousands of
adherents were detained or jailed for
rehabilitation.
Some members of Falungong
had jammed other satellites to disrupt broadcasts
into China, including the coverage in 2003 of
China's first manned space flight. Those convicted
were punished with long jail sentences.
(Copyright 2005 Asia Times Online Ltd. All
rights reserved. Please contact us for information
on sales, syndication and republishing.) |
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