WASHINGTON (AFP) ? US lawmakers called on Taiwan to ensure broadcasts of a Falungong-linked television network as the spiritual movement feared that a satellite contract would end due to pressure from China.
New Tang Dynasty television makes its way onto some mainland Chinese televisions through a commercial satellite operated by Chunghwa Telecom, in which Taiwan's government is the largest stakeholder. The contract runs out in August and the company has said it would not renew it.
In letters this week to Taipei authorities, several members of the US House of Representatives known for sympathy to Taiwan voiced concern that political considerations may have been part of the decision.
"As a supporter of a robust bilateral relationship between our two governments, I am concerned that Chunghwa Telecom's decision could reflect poorly on the government of Taiwan," wrote Representative Shelley Berkley, a member of President Barack Obama's Democratic Party from Nevada.
Representative Gerry Connolly, a Democrat from Virginia, urged a "speedy resolution" of the issue and said that due to the government stake in Chunghwa, "any decision made by the satellite company could be perceived as official (Taiwan) policy."
Chunghwa has said that there was insufficient bandwidth on the new satellite it launched with Singapore Telecommunications and that it had offered to help New Tang Dynasty to find a new satellite.
"We've been trying to solve the issue. But apparently our efforts have not been accepted as the matter has been politicized," spokeswoman Chen Hui-yen said earlier in Taipei.
Media rights group Reporters Without Borders has cast doubt on the explanation. New Tang Dynasty focuses on news and cultural programming often unavailable in communist China, which strictly controls the media.
Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou has dramatically improved relations with China, which claims the island. The Taipei government was founded in 1949 by nationalists defeated in the mainland's civil war.
Samuel Zhou, executive vice president of New Tang Dynasty, said that the network wanted to stay with Chunghwa as the Taiwanese government stake ensured more protection than purely commercial satellites, which could face intense pressure.
Zhou, who recently visited Taiwan for talks on the dispute, said that the island had a special role to play as a democracy in the Chinese world.
"It's good to have economic development. There is nothing to blame. But still the Taiwanese government should not yield and take a step back on democracy," Zhou, who is based in New York, told AFP.
Falungong's Buddhist-inspired teachings focus on meditative, martial arts-like exercises. China banned Falungong in 1999 and declared it an "evil cult" after growing alarmed at its organizational clout.
The group says that its practitioners are treated harshly in China and even killed.
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