No further Chinese complaints about signal hijacks: DGT

Telecommunication authorities yesterday said they have received no further complaints from China about hijacking of satellite television signals after an alleged hijacker was nabbed here three months ago.

But officials declined to say whether the man was connected with the Falun Gong movement, which China has held responsible for the interruption of television broadcasts.

The suspect was caught in Taipei carrying illegal radio equip-ment on a motorbike by telecom police on Nov. 8, telecommunication official Wu Jih-tien said.

Unlicensed radio transmissions had been detected in the area where the suspect was caught, said Wu, deputy director of the Radio Wave Regulatory Department at the Directorate General of Telecommunications.

"The [equipment] can be used to interrupt satellite transmission, but he was not in the action of transmitting signals when caught," Wu said.

The equipment was confiscated but the suspect was released after questioning for lack of evidence, Wu said.

China announced last July that hijackers had broken codes to access its SINOSAT system and spread Falun Gong propaganda during World Cup soccer broadcasts the month before.

In September, Chinese officials said regular interruptions had been traced back to Taipei and demanded immediate action from Taipei. In October, Beijing accused Taiwan-based followers of the Falun Gong movement of repeatedly hijacking satellite TV signals.

A Chinese-language newspaper reported yesterday that the suspect had been hired by a Falun Gong follower to interrupt signals.

The local Falun Gong association has categorically denied involvement in the hijacking, but said it had no control over the individual actions of its members.