China has condemned the "Falun Gong" cult for again hijacking the satellite signals of the government-run Sino Satellite.

The TV satellite, belonging to Sino Satellite Communications Co Ltd, was illegally taken over by signals transmitted by cult followers at 9:05 pm on Tuesday and at 8:23 pm on Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Information Industry.

The illegal signals hindered the Chinese audience from watching the regular programmes being aired on China Central Television, the China Education TV Station and 10 provincial stations.

"Flun Gong law-breaking activity is information terrorism and banditry in the high-tech era,'' an unnamed company executive said. "It infringes on the rights and interests of our company, and its reputation as well.''

A senior official at the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television said the hijacking once again shows the cult's goal is to cause damage to the country and its people.

The public, which was not able to receive the country's radio and television programmes, also reacted angrily to the cult's actions.

The hijackings were not the first time "Flun Gong"cult activists had broadcast illegal TV signals, cutting into the transmission of Sino Satellite.

It was taken over on September 21 last year, during the Mid-autumn Festival when people should have been enjoying entertainment programmes with their families.

Attacks in late June last year also disrupted people in many remote villages in China from being able to watch the World Cup finals.

Sino Satellite, launched in 1998, serves dozens of clients including those of prime importance to the daily lives of Chinese, like the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the Chinese Offshore Petrol Corp, the National Meteorological Bureau and China Unicom.

Through the satellite, TV programmes are able to reach rural residents in remote villages in most land-locked areas of the country. The China Education TV Station broadcasts education programmes to students nationwide.

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