Censorship
NTD's anti-Communist Party stance and reportage on human rights issues in China has led to interference and political pressure from the Chinese Communist Party and its overseas embassies. In turn, along with dissuading government officials from attending the New Year's show, the Chinese embassy in the United States accused NTD of being used to "spread anti-China propaganda" and "distorting Chinese culture".
In January 2007, a theater in South Korea scheduled to host the New Year's performance cancelled their booking at the last minute, which NTD alleged was because China threatened actions against upcoming Korean shows in Mainland China. It has also been reported that NASDAQ broke ties with the station around this time after Chinese pressure.
In June 2008, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders ("RSF") accused Eutelsat of closing down transmissions of NTD through its W5 satellite to appease the Chinese government, and appealed to Eutelsat CEO Giuliano Berretta to quickly reverse its decision to suspend NTD’s use of Eutelsat. According to RSF, the NTD shutdown was a "premeditated, politically-motivated decision". RSF stated that they were in possession of a recording of a purported conversation with a Beijing employee of Eutelsat confirming the allegations. Eutelsat claimed that the shutdown was due to a technical failure, and denied the validity of the conversation.
On August 20, 2008, the International Federation of Journalists released a statement calling on Eutelsat restore NTD and three radio stations including Sound of Hope. The statement accused Eutelsat of bowing down to political pressure, and argued how the approaching Beijing Olympics could have resulted in the Chinese government's increasing pressure to censor the broadcasting of NTD.
The European Parliament also called on Eutelsat to reverse their decision to shut down NTD. Following this, Eutelsat issued a press release and written declaration, denying all charges of censorship against NTD. The company insists that NTD's shutdown resulted solely from the technical failure experienced by W5 satellite, and adds that NTD is being broadcast across Europe via Eutelsat's HOT BIRD video neighbourhood.
In June 2010 the Canadian Prime Minister's Office cancelled a press conference that NTD and Epoch Times would have attended, so that Chinese President Hu Jintao would not come into contact with the broadcaster, allegedly following terms from the Chinese consulate. According to the Toronto Star, such press conferences are usually standard procedure for foreign leaders visiting the Parliament, and the cancellation was seen as an extraordinary measure to keep NTD away from the Chinese President.
Read more about this topic: New Tang Dynasty Television
Famous quotes containing the word censorship:
“The censorship method ... is that of handing the job over to some frail and erring mortal man, and making him omnipotent on the assumption that his official status will make him infallible and omniscient.”
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