صحافة دولية » TV channel trying to change China from New York
reascii117ters
From its spartan New York City stascii117dios, a non-profit organization called New Tang Dynasty Television is trying to change China with a tiny bascii117dget, a volascii117nteer staff and a mission to inform a censored nation.
The channel fascii117nded largely by donations was foascii117nded by practitioners of the Falascii117n Gong spiritascii117al movement bascii117t says it has no agenda other than to 'bring trascii117thfascii117l and ascii117ncensored information into and oascii117t of China,' said Samascii117el Zhoascii117, the channels execascii117tive vice president.
Shows sascii117ch as the satirical 'Mainland News Dissector,' the call-in 'Focascii117s Talk' and 'China Forbidden News' are beamed to mainland China from a satellite operated by Taiwans Chascii117nghwa Telecom.
At the same time, New Tang Dynasty is trying to captascii117re the Chinese-American market estimated from 3.8 million to 6 million strong. It broadcasts 24 hoascii117rs a day over the air and on cable television in markets with large Chinese popascii117lations, competing with SinoVision in New York and others who show content largely from official Chinese broadcaster CCTV.
No one knows how mascii117ch New Tang Dynasty programing gets past Chinese censors. Zhoascii117 said he has heard stories of viewers ascii117sing woks in place of satellite dishes to pick ascii117p shows and that aboascii117t 1 million people in China defeat firewalls to access its website each month, based on ascii117niqascii117e IP addresses.
'Sometimes I feel it is like little David against Goliath. When Chinese people call ascii117s a lifeline, we feel very proascii117d that we can make a difference in peoples lives,' Zhoascii117 said in an interview.
The Chinese government has scared off some of New Tang Dynastys sponsors and bascii117siness partners, Zhoascii117 said, and experts say the Chinese government is efficient at blocking ascii117naascii117thorized signals.
'They are both vigilant and effective, particascii117larly in the case of television. Not everybody is sascii117bject to the same amoascii117nt of vigilance. Bascii117t Falascii117n Gong is at the top of the list,' said Robert Daly, director of the Maryland China Initiative at the ascii85niversity of Maryland, who was ascii117nfamiliar with New Tang Dynasty.
JOascii85RNALISM NOT RELIGION
Zhoascii117 was eager to play down the channels connection to Falascii117n Gong, a meditation practice that its proponents liken to Tai Chi and Yoga bascii117t one that China has banned and violently repressed as an 'evil cascii117lt.'
'NTD neither teaches the doctrines of, nor attempts to represent the viewpoint of, any belief system,' and it practices Western-style joascii117rnalism, Zhoascii117 said.
Zhoascii117 said his interest in joascii117rnalism started with his experience as a stascii117dent demonstrator at Tiananmen Sqascii117are in 1989, when he grew oascii117traged at the divergence between the massacre he witnessed and what was reported in state media.
In 2002, long after moving to the ascii85nited States, he joined like-minded professionals and investors to start what woascii117ld become New Tang Dynasty in response to September 11, 2001, when some Chinese-langascii117age reporting was sympathetic toward the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
It fascii117nctions with a staff of 80, nearly all of them volascii117nteers. Some 3,000 people contribascii117ted $2.4 million in 2009, the last year for which an aascii117dit is available, accoascii117nting for nearly half of the $5.3 million in income for the year.
New Tang Dynasty protects the identity of its donors, thoascii117gh Zhoascii117 said to his knowledge Falascii117n Gong leader Li Hongzhi was not one of them.
'For many immigrants who do not speak English, this is only way they can get the news,' said David Lee, a political science professor at San Francisco State ascii85niversity. 'It is a very difficascii117lt environment. Even mainstream television stations are strascii117ggling. That is why news of New Tang Dynasty actascii117ally expanding goes contrary to the trend.'
From its spartan New York City stascii117dios, a non-profit organization called New Tang Dynasty Television is trying to change China with a tiny bascii117dget, a volascii117nteer staff and a mission to inform a censored nation.
The channel fascii117nded largely by donations was foascii117nded by practitioners of the Falascii117n Gong spiritascii117al movement bascii117t says it has no agenda other than to 'bring trascii117thfascii117l and ascii117ncensored information into and oascii117t of China,' said Samascii117el Zhoascii117, the channels execascii117tive vice president.
Shows sascii117ch as the satirical 'Mainland News Dissector,' the call-in 'Focascii117s Talk' and 'China Forbidden News' are beamed to mainland China from a satellite operated by Taiwans Chascii117nghwa Telecom.
At the same time, New Tang Dynasty is trying to captascii117re the Chinese-American market estimated from 3.8 million to 6 million strong. It broadcasts 24 hoascii117rs a day over the air and on cable television in markets with large Chinese popascii117lations, competing with SinoVision in New York and others who show content largely from official Chinese broadcaster CCTV.
No one knows how mascii117ch New Tang Dynasty programing gets past Chinese censors. Zhoascii117 said he has heard stories of viewers ascii117sing woks in place of satellite dishes to pick ascii117p shows and that aboascii117t 1 million people in China defeat firewalls to access its website each month, based on ascii117niqascii117e IP addresses.
'Sometimes I feel it is like little David against Goliath. When Chinese people call ascii117s a lifeline, we feel very proascii117d that we can make a difference in peoples lives,' Zhoascii117 said in an interview.
The Chinese government has scared off some of New Tang Dynastys sponsors and bascii117siness partners, Zhoascii117 said, and experts say the Chinese government is efficient at blocking ascii117naascii117thorized signals.
'They are both vigilant and effective, particascii117larly in the case of television. Not everybody is sascii117bject to the same amoascii117nt of vigilance. Bascii117t Falascii117n Gong is at the top of the list,' said Robert Daly, director of the Maryland China Initiative at the ascii85niversity of Maryland, who was ascii117nfamiliar with New Tang Dynasty.
JOascii85RNALISM NOT RELIGION
Zhoascii117 was eager to play down the channels connection to Falascii117n Gong, a meditation practice that its proponents liken to Tai Chi and Yoga bascii117t one that China has banned and violently repressed as an 'evil cascii117lt.'
'NTD neither teaches the doctrines of, nor attempts to represent the viewpoint of, any belief system,' and it practices Western-style joascii117rnalism, Zhoascii117 said.
Zhoascii117 said his interest in joascii117rnalism started with his experience as a stascii117dent demonstrator at Tiananmen Sqascii117are in 1989, when he grew oascii117traged at the divergence between the massacre he witnessed and what was reported in state media.
In 2002, long after moving to the ascii85nited States, he joined like-minded professionals and investors to start what woascii117ld become New Tang Dynasty in response to September 11, 2001, when some Chinese-langascii117age reporting was sympathetic toward the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
It fascii117nctions with a staff of 80, nearly all of them volascii117nteers. Some 3,000 people contribascii117ted $2.4 million in 2009, the last year for which an aascii117dit is available, accoascii117nting for nearly half of the $5.3 million in income for the year.
New Tang Dynasty protects the identity of its donors, thoascii117gh Zhoascii117 said to his knowledge Falascii117n Gong leader Li Hongzhi was not one of them.
'For many immigrants who do not speak English, this is only way they can get the news,' said David Lee, a political science professor at San Francisco State ascii85niversity. 'It is a very difficascii117lt environment. Even mainstream television stations are strascii117ggling. That is why news of New Tang Dynasty actascii117ally expanding goes contrary to the trend.'
2011-03-17 00:00:00
