AP: China sentences Falun Gong sympathizers to 20 years in prison for hijacking cable-TV signal

The sentences were among the longest yet imposed in the campaign to crush the spiritual movement, which once had millions of followers but was banned in 1999 as a threat to communist rule.

The group was convicted in the northeastern city of Changchun of breaking [slanderous term omitted] laws and damaging broadcasting equipment, a court official said. He would give only his surname, Cao.

The March 5 broadcasts in Changchun and nearby Songyuan marked the start of a campaign by Falun Gong sympathizers who have hijacked television signals in at least four areas to show protest videos.

State media prominently featured news of the sentences. The national evening television news aired a 10-minute report, and a longer program was shown later on state television.

Two defendants described as ringleaders were sentenced to 20 years, while others got lesser terms, Cao said. The shortest was four years.

In other cases, Falun Gong leaders have received 18-year prison terms. [..]

Thousands of Falun Gong followers have been detained. Most are freed after a few months, though a government official told The Associated Press earlier this year that nearly 1,300 had been sentenced to prison.

Falun Gong activists abroad say hundreds of supporters have been killed in detention. […]

The March 5 broadcasts in Changchun and nearby Songyuan criticized the 1999 ban on Falun Gong, according to residents who saw them. They said it showed footage of Falun Gong founder Li Hongzhi, a former Chinese government employee who lives in the United States.

The popular news magazine program "Focus," which is broadcast on state television after the main news, devoted a 20-minute report Friday night to the March case. It said the group got on the air by opening relay boxes attached to light poles and buildings and plugging the cables inside into videodisc players.

Police tracked down the group after finding the relay boxes that had been tampered with, the report said. It didn't give any details.

The evening television news showed the defendants standing in court, the men in green jumpsuits and the women in yellow smocks. A police officer on either side of each defendant, holding their arms and forcing them to bow slightly.

According to the report, 300 spectators attended the sentencing in a huge courtroom that appeared to be a converted auditorium. Some defendants looked straight ahead while others closed their eyes as a judge from the Changchun Intermediate-Level People's Court read the verdict.

The trial began Wednesday, according to court officials. They said the court had appointed defense lawyers but wouldn't identify them.

Cao said several defendants already had filed appeals.
The longest sentences issued Friday went to two defendants identified by Cao as Zhou Runjun and Liu Weimin. […]

A Changchun police spokesman said earlier this week that Liu and another defendant were engineers who had experience with electrical equipment. [..]

The television break-ins have embarrassed the government, which calls the protest videos "reactionary propaganda" and says they threaten social stability.

In June, a state-run satellite system briefly displayed messages of support for Falun Gong in a TV broadcast after its signal was hijacked. The government has responded by tightening control of television and satellite systems.

Falun Gong sympathizers also have used e-mail and the Internet to spread protest messages, as well as clandestinely posting fliers in Chinese cities.