(Clearwisdom.net) Prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the European Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Eutelsat) shut down New Tang Dynasty Television's (NTDTV) signal to mainland China. In response, NTDTV filed a lawsuit against Eutelsat at the end of July 2009. There will be a court hearing on this case on October 13, 2009. A number of prominent members of the Hong Kong community have expressed their support for NTDTV.

Under pressure from the CCP, Eutelsat has turned off NTDTV's broadcasts to China with the excuse of a "technical problem" since June 2008. Over the past year, NTDTV has called upon Eutelsat to restore NTDTV's signal no avail. As a last resort, NTDTV decided to resolve the problem through legal channels. A court hearing is scheduled to be held on October 13, 2009.

Chairman of the Democratic Party and member of Hong Kong's Legislative Council Albert Ho has been concerned about the Eutelsat incident. He said, "Raising people's awareness through legal action and forming a public opinion campaign are valuable. I think it should take advantage of the opportunity to strive for a forum to place the emphasis on freedom of expression."

Mr. Wong Sing-chi, member of Hong Kong's Legislative Council, also expressed his support. He said, "I fully agree with it. We should believe in the importance of the rule of law. Taking legal action, I feel, is a reasonable approach."

Urging the West to be on Guard against the CCP

Hong Kong Alliance Chairman Szeto Wah pointed out that the Eutelsat incident shows that some companies are bowing to the CCP under political and economic pressure, "The CCP is using its economic power to tightly control all kinds of things in areas outside China. Such an act of violating freedom of the press and expression should be condemned."

Mr. Wong also stressed that the incident should be exposed. He said, "For many countries that call themselves democracies or defenders of human rights, if they forget the principles of their society because they want to establish some economic relations with China, we must make it known to the public. Otherwise, there would be no principles and practice of defending human rights and the rule of law."

Legislator Mr. Leung Yiu-chung, from the Neighborhood & Workers' Service Center, said that besides seeking justice through legal means, "The most important thing is to let citizens, especially local people, know what a government is actually like. The citizens in non-governmental organizations can support the righteous side, and urge the unjust side to give in."

Freedom of Expression Should be Respected

Veteran lawyer and legislator Tong Ka-wah emphasized that any civilized society should respect the freedom of the press and expression in the mass media, "No matter what kind of political system a society is under, I think freedom of expression and the press is an excellent tool for oversight, especially overseeing the conduct of the government and upholding citizens' complaints or dissatisfaction."

Review of the Eutelsat Incident

In March 2005, Eutelsat refused to renew its contract with NTDTV, citing financial reasons. Facing condemnation from people from all walks of life, the company has been denying that its cancellation of NTDTV's transmission was due to pressure from CCP authorities.

According to a report by Wall Street Journal on April 13, 2005, Eutelsat abruptly announced that it sought to terminate its contract with NTDTV in an effort to earn more business from the Chinese communist regime. Eutelsat's cancellation was aimed at obtaining Olympics broadcasting rights. Eutelsat knew that its contract with NTDTV would upset the CCP, but if it shut down NTDTV's signal, it would be seen favorably by Beijing.

On June 16, 2008, Eutelsat used the excuse of "technical problems" on one of the W5 Satellites' transponders and turned off NTDTV's broadcast to China. On July 10, 2008, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released a telephone recording, which disclosed that the President of Eutelsat Giuliano Berretta had decided to turn off NTDTV's signal to please Beijing, making it a condition for the company to do business with China. It has become an accomplice of the CCP dictatorship to suppress freedom of the press. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released another announcement on August 18, 2008, showing that Eutelsat was technically able to restore NTDTV's signal, but has been using technical problems as an excuse to cover up its real reason for discriminating against NTDTV.