Swedish Minister of Culture Condemns Eutelsat's Shutting Down NTDTV's Broadcasts

(Clearwisdom.net) Under pressure from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Eutelsat has shut down NTDTV's satellite signal to China for over a month. This has not only aroused strong responses from the people of Sweden, it has also triggered great interest in NTDTV.

On August 1, 2008, Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, the Swedish Minister of Culture, published a reply on the website of the Swedish Parliament to a written question submitted by MP Birgitta Ohlsson two weeks ago regarding Eutelsat's shutting down NTDTV's signals.

Ms. Liljeroth said in her reply, "Birgitta Ohlsson asked whether a Swedish public company (the Swedish national TV station) should cooperate with a company who intentionally stopped Chinese free media broadcasts into China. Her questions are based on the report from Reporters Without Borders that Eutelsat bowed to the Chinese government's pressure and terminated the broadcasts of an independent Chinese language television station, NTDTV. This is very worrying.

"A European communications provider bowed to pressure simply because the contents of the broadcast do not accord with the political requirements, then it interrupted those broadcasts. The cornerstone of the EU is respect for human rights, including freedom of speech and freedom of independent media operation. All of these issues are part of the dialog between the EU, the Swedish government and the Chinese government. Moreover, the EU has a dialogue with China on human rights, including freedom of speech and media. If the free media has been shut down because of the reason you told me, then I think both parties, the party who exerts the pressure (the CCP) and the party who submits to the pressure, i.e., Eutelsat, should be condemned."

During an interview by the Swedish state TV station and NTDTV, MP Birgitta Ohlsson stated that she hopes all European countries can put pressure on Eutelsat to resume NTDTV's broadcast to China as soon as possible. She also said, "Talking about basic human rights, such as the freedom of speech and information, China is one of the worst countries in the world. The Eutelsat incident is a typical example of this. It is also a typical example of how many Western companies dare not criticize the Chinese Government. I hope that the EU and governments of European countries, as well as politicians in other countries all over the world, can take a strong attitude on this matter. We need China's independent media, so the resumption of NTDTV's broadcasts is very important."

With the Beijing Olympics approaching, the mainstream media and politicians in Sweden are more and more concerned about the persecution of civil rights by the Beijing government, using the Olympics as an excuse. On evening prime time August 1st, the Swedish state TV station broadcast news about the Beijing government's breach of its own promises, its blockade of the Falun Gong and Tibet websites, and interference with NTDTV's broadcasts into China.

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