Taiwan's Ambassador to France Urges Eutelsat to Restore Satellite Signal (Photo)

(Clearwisdom.net) Around 6 p.m. eastern standard time on the 16th of June 2008, Eutelsat's W5 satellite that carries New Tang Dynasty TV (NTDTV) broadcast to Asia suddenly stopped broadcasting signals. According to Eutelsat, it was a "technical failure", which is being dealt with. However, Eutelsat did not give a time line for fixing the problem. Taiwan's Ambassador to France, Mr. Lu Qinglong, called upon Eutelsat to resolve the technical issue as soon as possible so that all media could broadcast as normal.

According to NTDTV, for four years the TV station has been broadcasting round the clock news and entertainment programs to the entire Asia region via Eutelsat's W5, which also carries signals for other clients such as Sound of America. On the 17th of June, Eutelsat notified NTDTV that four out of five of W5's frequency converters experienced problems with their power supply. Furthermore, Eutelsat could not make a commitment as to when recovery would be possible.

Other than NTDTV, Sound of Hope and Minghui Radio Station also cover Asia via the W5 satellite.

Calling up Eutelsat to restore the satellite signal as soon as possible

During an earlier interview, Ambassador Lu Qinglong said, "NTDTV and Sound of Hope provide services that advocate positive universal values, such as democracy, media freedom, etc. If more people could understand democracy and human rights better, it would benefit the whole world. Therefore we hope more people can receive the broadcasts without a hitch. The services these two media provide are a significant contribution. We hope more people could benefit from this good information."

When told that the signal failure has impacted hundreds of millions of viewers and listeners in mainland China, Lu said, "Hundreds of millions of viewers and listeners mean that the broadcast service must have a value that cannot be overlooked." "Today we all face globalization. The information that we obtain is as important as the air that we breathe. Therefore, as a receiver of information, I hope the issue can be resolved promptly."

Through the media, Lu urged Eutelsat, "The international community exchanges many common topics globally. Regardless of domain, nation or region, we must all pay attention and make efforts together. Therefore when I heard the news, I felt on one hand that this is a very bad thing to happen. Meanwhile, I sincerely hope Eutelsat can overcome the technical difficulty as soon as possible so that all media can use the satellite to send and receive information as normal."

Watching true news is a breath of fresh air

One viewer commented on NTDTV's website, "Without watching NTDTV, it's like having no fresh air to breathe. Other TV stations' fake news and reports leave people gasping for air." A viewer from Shanghai said, "We mainland people long to watch the truthful news reported by NTDTV, as in mainland there is no real news. Therefore we support NTDTV."

Another viewer said, "I hope it is broadcasted not only in China but also all over the world, to all Chinese people who have TVs. We know NTDTV quite well. They tell the truth and say the things that ordinary Chinese people need to hear. Sound of Hope is not bad either. Anyhow, Chinese people like these very much. In other words, given the choice, nobody would watch CCTV's programs."

Public condemns the CCP for stamping down on truth-telling media

According to Sound of Hope, a Mr. Lai from Guangdong said, the three media, NTDTV, Sound of Hope and Minghui Radio Station, truthfully report what is happening in mainland China, which caused the CCP to panic. People in mainland suspected that Eutelsat was bought over by the CCP to cut off the satellite signal.

Mr. Lai said, "For money, Eutelsat aided this corrupt tyranny to suppress Chinese people's freedom. By doing so, Eutelsat devalued itself. Only by telling them the truth can ordinary Chinese citizens become less numb. We need the media that dare speak the truth. Please restore the broadcast as soon as possible so that the truth can be spread across China."

Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200807/45078.html