The source of the illegal TV signals broadcast by the Falun Gong cult has been traced to Taipei City area in Taiwan Province, said a senior official with the state radio monitoring center on Thursday.

The source is located near the position of east longitude 121 degrees 30'33'' and north latitude 24 degree 51'04'', the official said.

The source was pinpointed as a result of repeated testing and verification by dozens of experts, said the official.

Experts confirmed that the 2A, 3A, and 6A transmitters of the Sino Satellite (SINOSAT) were disturbed by illegal signals sent out by the Falun Gong cult. These signals cut into transmissions using the SINOSAT system, which covers the entire territory of China.

The TV hijacking has severely affected the "TV signals to every village" program of CCTV, the leading national television station in China, the transmission of signals from China Education TV Station (CETV) and also those of some provincial TV stations. It made it impossible for some people in remote rural and mountainous areas view regularly-scheduled programs.

Satellites and radio frequencies are valuable resources for all human beings, and should be carefully protected by all. The Falun Gong cult's actions seriously affected the normal operations of TV and radio transmissions, and are therefore a crime in serious violation of the basic regulations for civil communications, the official said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 26, 2002)