New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) is a nonprofit Chinese language television broadcaster based in New York City. Since its launch in 2001, NTDTV has extended its 24/7 programming to cover North America, Asia, Europe and Australia with a wide range of cultural, leisure, political, and news programs in Mandarin Chinese and select programs in Cantonese and English. One of the station's missions, according to the official website, is to foster mutual understanding between Chinese and Western societies and promote multiculturalism, peace and compassion. NTDTV also puts on an annual Chinese New Year Spectacular , which celebrates Chinese culture and includes content on Falun Gong. NTDTV is, along with The Epoch Times and Sound of Hope Radio Station, part of a media empire founded by and affiliated with Falun Gong practitioners. [1] [2] NTDTV is known to sympathize with the plight of Falun Gong, and takes a critical line on the Chinese Communist Party. In January 2005 it aired [3] a video version of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, an editorial condemning the Party. In November 2006, NTDTV reporter Simone Gao of Monterey Park, California was recognized as the winner for New America Media's Best Investigative/In Depth Broadcast Award for broadcasting on “Hi-tech Companies, the Chinese Government and the Internet”. [4]

CHINESE SPECTACULAR TICKETS Trans-Siberian Orchestra The Eagles Tickets Sebastian Maniscalco Tickets Andrea Bocelli Tickets Rod Wave Tickets Jeff Dunham Tickets

The Chinese New Year Spectacular

The Chinese New Year Spectacular is a live show performed in various major cities around the globe annually. It is also aired globally by NTDTV. According to the producers, the Chinese New Year Spectacular celebrates traditional Chinese culture and tradition. There are also definite acts in the performance that support the practice of Falun Gong and critical of the persecution ^[5] carried out by the PRC government. Some of the acts in the show include scenes from the persecution of Falun Gong, a dramatised execution of the Chinese police using violence against a "mother and daughter whose banner carries the Falun Gong message." Some of the song contain lyrics such as "Don't be gullible before the one-voice system," and "Why do we expose the Party for you, then?" ^[6]. The Daily News criticized NTDTV's apparent misleading advertisement of the show. ^[7] The Chinese embassy in the United States accused NTDTV of being used to "spread anti-China propaganda" and "distorting Chinese culture" ^[8]

According to NTDTV, The 2006 production at New York’s Radio City Music Hall was ranked seventh of the top shows internationally on Billboard magazine’s Boxscore in February 2006. ^[9] In 2007, the Chinese New Year Spectacular toured 31 cities and performed 88 shows in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. ^[10]

Chinese government response

Because of NTDTV's association with Falun Gong, as well as its broadcasting of anti-communist, pro-Falun Gong stance, there has been a running battle between NTDTV and the People's Republic of China, with, allegedly, the P. R. Chinese government trying to convince the satellite operators to stop carrying NTDTV broadcasts. ^[11]

In January 2004, pressure was intensified to ensure that NTDTV was completely excluded from NSS-6 Asia satellite transmission. Eutelsat, a French-based satellite provider, announced In March 2005 that it would not renew a contract to carry the channel. The decision was met with a lawsuit and condemnation by free press NGOs such as Reporters Without Borders (RWB). RWB stated that they were aware of a P.R. Chinese government instruction to Eutelsat in May 2004 demanding it to "put an end to this broadcasting immediately." ^[12]

As reported in The Korea Times on January 7, 2007, a Korean theater scheduled to host the Korean NTDTV Chinese new year performance canceled the contract at the last minute. Show organizers reported that initially the National Theater told them it was being forced to cancel because China was threatening the Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism with cancellations of upcoming Korean shows in Mainland China. However, NTDTV says that theater later denied such pressure, saying that the show was canceled of breaching an obscure restriction against foreign performers. ^[13]

In June 2007, Chinese students of New York University's Chinese Culture Club protested and issued a public letter condemning NTDTV holding a dance competition in the university, accusing it of spreading anti-Chinese propaganda ^[14]. NTDTV claimed the protests was instigated by the P.R. Chinese Communist Party's organizations, although it has not yet been proven. ^[15]

Eutelsat-NTDTV censorship controversy

According to the media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders, the French satellite company Eutelsat closed down transmissions of NTDTV to Mainland China in June 2008 to appease the Chinese government. ^[16] Eutelsat claimed that the shutdown was due to a technical failure, but Reporters Without Borders released a transcript of a recorded phone conversation with an unnamed employee in Eutelsat's Beijing office. The caller pretended to be a government official from China's propaganda ministry, which the Eutelsat employee took for granted. The conversation indicated that the decision to shut down NTDTV was made by Eutelsat's CEO Giuliano Berretta, who awaited in return significant business deals with China. The transcript is available on Reporters Without Borders website. ^[17]

References

1. Chen, Kathy Chinese Dissidents Take On Beijing Via Media Empire ''Wall Street Journal'' 11-15-2007
2. http://www.usembassy.it/pdf/other/RL33437.pdf Lum, Thomas CRS Report page CRS-8, list of Falun Gong-
3. http://web.archive.org/web/20060510023534/http://www.ntdtv.com/xtr/eng/aAboutXTR_e.htm
4. Winners of the First National Ethnic Media Awards
5. Call on the Chinese Prime Minister to end persecution of the Falun Gong
6. Susan Walker (Falun) Gong New Year event mere propaganda, The Totonto Star, Jan 20, 2008
7. A Glimpse of Chinese Culture That Some Find Hard to Watch
8. http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/gyzg/t397390.htm
9. World-Class 2007 Chinese New Year Global Spectacular Tour Launches from Vancouver
10. 2007 Spectacular Schedule and Tickets
11. http://www.sunshinepress.org/wiki/Eutelsat_suppresses_independent_Chinese-language_TV_station_NTDTV_
12. Eutelsat is stopping the transmission of the Chinese-language channel NTDTV under pressure from Beijing
13. Beijing Bullies Korean Government into Blocking NTDTV Show; Now Targeting Corporate Sponsors
14. http://www.nyuccc.org/document/support_lett.pdf
15. CCP Allegedly Attacks New York Dance Competition
16. Reporters Without Borders: European satellite operator Eutelsat suppresses independent Chinese-language TV station NTDTV to satisfy Beijing, 10 July 2008
17. http://www.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/Transcript_Eutelsat-2.pdf