China shrugs off accusations of jamming BBC broadcasts

Officials dismiss corporation's statement condemning blocking of its English-language World Service radio broadcasts

Internet cafe in Beijing: the BBC’s Chinese-language website is often blocked, as were Bloomberg and New York Times last year. Photograph: How Hwee Young/EPA

China has brushed off accusations of jamming the BBC's English-language World Service radio broadcasts a day after the broadcaster announced the interference.
"I don't understand this situation," foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a daily press briefing on Tuesday, when asked to comment on the allegations. She said reporters should contact "relevant departments" for further information, but did not specify which departments or how to contact them.
The BBC said on Monday its shortwave radio broadcasts have been jammed in China because of "extensive and co-ordinated efforts" that "are indicative of a well-resourced country such as China".
"The BBC strongly condemns this action which is designed to disrupt audiences' free access to news and information," the corporation said in a statement.
This is not the first time the BBC has encountered some form of interference in China. Its television broadcasts frequently go blank in the middle of sensitive reports. The broadcaster's Chinese-language website is often blocked, and its Chinese-language radio broadcasts have been intermittently jammed for years.
Other international broadcasters such as Voice of America and Radio Free Asia are also jammed in China. Websites of the New York Times and Bloomberg were blocked last year after they published exposés on the wealth accumulated by families of the country's leading politicians.
Some analysts were confused by the timing of the BBC's announcement. "This for me is very weird – it's almost like 1990s," said Michael Anti, a prominent media commentator in Beijing.
He said that in China people associate the BBC with its television dramas and Chinese-language news website, which is blocked but can be accessed using software to bypass internet censors.
"I doubt there is anyone listening to the BBC English radio in China," he added.
BBC journalists were briefly detained last week by Chinese military personnel while filming a nondescript 12-story building in Shanghai that American cyber-security experts have pinpointed as ground zero for a slew of hacking attacks against foreign organisations. The journalists were released after they agreed to surrender their footage.

VOA Condemns Jamming in China

February 27, 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Voice of America condemns the recent start of deliberate interference with its English language shortwave broadcasts into China.
Monitors listening to VOA broadcasts say this interference “appears intentional,” and is strongest in regions around Tibet and along the Indian border.
“The Chinese government has for years jammed VOA and Radio Free Asia Chinese and Tibetan language programs and blocked VOA vernacular language websites,” said VOA Director David Ensor, “but English language programs have historically not been blocked.”
“We condemn this interference and are working with worldwide experts to determine the precise origin of the jamming,” Ensor says.  “The free flow of information is a universal right and VOA will continue to provide accurate and balanced information on platforms that can reach audiences in areas subject to censorship.”
Monitors say the interference affects about 75% of the English language transmissions to China and is similar to the type of jamming aimed at VOA Horn of Africa broadcasts, which are targeted by equipment installed by China in Ethiopia.
Reports of jamming on the VOA shortwave frequencies to China began pouring in earlier this week.  On Monday the BBC issued a statement saying that its English language programs to China were also being jammed.  The BBC statement said the source of the interference could not be determined, but the “extensive and coordinated efforts are indicative of a well-resourced country such as China.”
VOA broadcasts to China on radio, direct-to-home satellite Radio and TV, and the Internet.  News and information is also transmitted on a variety of platforms designed to overcome censorship efforts.

VOA, BBC Protest China Broadcast Jamming

VOA News

February 26, 2013

The Voice of America is protesting new jamming of its English broadcasts in China.

VOA Director David Ensor condemned the new interference and said the U.S. government broadcaster is working with experts to determine the precise origin of the jamming. He said "the free flow of information is a universal right and VOA will continue to provide accurate and balanced information on platforms that can reach audiences in areas subject to censorship."

The U.S.-funded VOA is not the only victim of jamming. The British Broadcasting Corporation said this week its shortwave English radio broadcasts also are being jammed in China.

The BBC said that while it is not possible to know who is doing the jamming, "the extensive and co-ordinated efforts are indicative of a well-resourced country such as China."

VOA broadcast engineers say Radio Australia also is being jammed.

At VOA headquarters in Washington, engineers say that while the agency's Chinese-language broadcasts are routinely jammed in China, its English broadcasts usually are not. They noticed the jamming of the English programs about a month ago and say it appears to use a new technology.

Many countries have used various methods to jam VOA broadcasts for decades, especially during the Cold War when VOA broadcast heavily into the former Soviet Union and other countries under Communist control. Now, its Persian satellite television broadcasts into Iran are frequently jammed, as are VOA Horn of Africa broadcasts to Ethiopia.

BBC says radio broadcasts being jammed in China

LONDON | Mon Feb 25, 2013 10:09am EST

(Reuters) - Radio broadcasts in English from the BBC World Service are being jammed in China, the British broadcaster said on Monday, suggesting the Chinese authorities were behind the disruption.
"The BBC strongly condemns this action which is designed to disrupt audiences' free access to news and information," the BBC said in a statement.
China, which enforces strict restrictions on its domestic media, has been accused by several prominent foreign media of seeking to stop their news reports reaching Chinese audiences.
"The BBC has received reports that World Service English shortwave frequencies are being jammed in China," said the London-based public service broadcaster.
"Though it is not possible at this stage to attribute the source of the jamming definitively, the extensive and coordinated efforts are indicative of a well-resourced country such as China."
A duty officer at China's foreign ministry had no immediate comment.
It was not the first time the BBC had complained of disruption to its services in China, where its website has been consistently blocked.
Last year, it accused the Chinese authorities of jamming its BBC World News TV channel when it broadcast stories regarded as sensitive, such as reports on dissident Chen Guangcheng, who escaped from house arrest and sought refuge in the U.S. embassy.
Other foreign broadcasters including U.S. state-funded radio stations Voice of America and Radio Free Asia have also complained of Beijing blocking access to their programs.
The New York Times reported on January 30 that Chinese hackers had been attacking its computer systems while it was working on an investigative report in October last year on the fortune accumulated by relatives of outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao.
The BBC said in its statement on Monday that it had experienced jamming of satellite broadcasts over the past two years, and that while shortwave jamming was generally less frequent, it did also affect Persian-language transmissions in Iran.
"The jamming of shortwave transmissions is being timed to cause maximum disruption to BBC World Service English broadcasts in China," said Peter Horrocks, director of BBC Global News.
"The deliberate and coordinated efforts by authorities in countries such as China and Iran illustrate the significance and importance of the role the BBC undertakes to provide impartial and accurate information to audiences around the world."
China is listed at number 173 out of 179 countries on the World Press Freedom Index compiled by campaign group Reporters Without Borders.
(Reporting By Estelle Shirbon; Additional reporting by Lucy Hornby; Editing by Tom Pfeiffer)

US, European Broadcasters Condemn Jamming From Syria

October 19, 2012

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Washington, D.C. — Major US and European broadcasters are charging that deliberate electronic interference, known as jamming, that has intermittently disrupted satellite signals across Europe and the Middle East since the start of this week is emanating from Syria.
The jamming has hit satellites operated by Eutelsat, a European satellite operator, affecting TV and radio programs reaching millions of households. The Paris-based Eutelsat confirmed that the disruptive signals originate from Syria.
The Directors General of five major public-service international broadcasters in Europe and the United States, known as the DG5, expressed strong criticism of the jamming, which has disrupted broadcasts in an arc from Russia through Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and other U.S.-funded international broadcasters, said signals to a number of countries, ranging from Iran to Iraq to Ukraine, lost audio and video. Other members of the DG5 – Audiovisuel Extérieur de la France – France 24, British Broadcasting Corporation, Germany’s Deutsche Welle (DW), Radio Netherlands Worldwide – also suffered from interference, and joined in protesting.
“We strongly condemn this deliberate interference with news and information programs,” said Richard M. Lobo, Director of the BBG’s International Broadcasting Bureau. “While it may be targeted to prevent the free flow of information in countries with restrictive media environments, the widespread and indiscriminate nature of this jamming denies millions of people access to information. The outrageous jamming of our satellite signals and those of other broadcasters is a violation of international agreements,”  Lobo noted.
“Deliberate interference such as the jamming of transmissions is a blatant violation of international regulations concerning the use of satellites and we strongly condemn any practice designed to disrupt audiences’ free access to news and information,” the BBC said in a statement issued Oct. 18.
Deutsche Welle Director General Erik Bettermann accused Iran of repeated efforts to jam satellite broadcasts from reaching an Iranian audience.
A previous episode of jamming, on October 3-4, was traced to Iran. That coincided with reports of street demonstrations and mass arrests of Iranians protesting falling currency exchange rates.
The latest round of jamming began on October 15; it has escalated steadily since then, according to the broadcasters. That’s the day Eutelsat announced it was terminating transmission of 19 channels belonging to Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
Jamming is prohibited under the rules of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).  Iran is an ITU member and a participant at the organization’s meetings.  It has interfered with U.S.-sponsored civilian broadcasting overseas in the past, including an incident in early 2010.
At its February 2012 meeting, the ITU called upon the world’s nations to take “necessary actions” to stop intentional interference with satellite transmissions. Earlier, the DG5 members called for action against jamming.
The BBG oversees all US non-military international broadcasts. BBG services affected by the latest round of jamming include: VOA, RFE/RL and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.

BBC condemns China's 'deliberate' jamming of World Service broadcasts

Statement by global news head Peter Horrocks cites 'deliberate and co-ordinated' blocking of shortwave frequencies in region

• guardian.co.uk, Monday 25 February 2013 12.57 GMT

BBC global news director Peter Horrocks blames 'deliberate and co-ordinated' jamming of BBC World Service broadcasts in China, designed to 'disrupt audiendes' free access to news and information. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

The BBC has "strongly condemned" the "deliberate and co-ordinated" jamming of the BBC World Service by authorities in China.
On Monday the corporation issued a statement after receiving reports that its shortwave frequencies were being blocked in China.
It follows jamming of the BBC's Persian service in Iran, and comes days after a BBC news crew was detained and their video footage confiscated while they investigated a cyber-espionage group in China.
The BBC's director of global news Peter Horrocks said: "The jamming of shortwave transmissions is being timed to cause maximum disruption to BBC World Service English broadcasts in China.
"The deliberate and co-ordinated efforts by authorities in countries such as China and Iran illustrate the significance and importance of the role the BBC undertakes to provide impartial and accurate information to audiences around the world."
The BBC added in a statement: "Though it is not possible at this stage to attribute the source of the jamming definitively, the extensive and co-ordinated efforts are indicative of a well-resourced country such as China.
"The BBC strongly condemns this action which is designed to disrupt audiences' free access to news and information.
"In the past couple of years the BBC has experienced jamming of satellite services. Whilst shortwave jamming is generally less frequent, it does affect BBC Persian transmissions in Iran and was historically used to block BBC broadcasts during the cold war."
The BBC World Service, which has a worldwide weekly audience of 239 million listeners, broadcasts on shortwave, AM, FM and on digital satellite and cable.
• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email media@guardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".

Statement regarding interference to BBC World Service transmissions

Date: 25.02.2013Last updated: 25.02.2013 at 11.15

Category: World Service

The BBC has received reports that World Service English shortwave frequencies are being jammed in China. Though it is not possible at this stage to attribute the source of the jamming definitively, the extensive and co-ordinated efforts are indicative of a well-resourced country such as China.

The BBC strongly condemns this action, which is designed to disrupt audiences’ free access to news and information.
In the past couple of years the BBC has experienced jamming of satellite services. While shortwave jamming is generally less frequent, it does affect BBC Persian transmissions in Iran and was historically used to block BBC broadcasts during the Cold War.
Director of BBC Global News, Peter Horrocks says: “The jamming of shortwave transmissions is being timed to cause maximum disruption to BBC World Service English broadcasts in China. The deliberate and co-ordinated efforts by authorities in countries such as China and Iran illustrate the significance and importance of the role the BBC undertakes to provide impartial and accurate information to audiences around the world.”
BBC Press Office

Study: Outside media changing N. Korean worldview

• AP foreign, Friday May 11 2012

MATTHEW PENNINGTON
Associated Press= WASHINGTON (AP) — The growing availability of news media and cellphones in reclusive North Korea likely forced it to admit within hours that its long-range rocket launch last month was a failure, the U.S. human rights envoy to the country said Thursday.
The envoy, Robert King, was speaking at the launch of a U.S. government-funded study that says North Koreans now have unprecedented exposure to foreign media, giving them a more positive impression of the outside world.
North Korea allowed foreign journalists extensive access to the country to report on the centennial of the nation's founder in mid-April, which included the launch of a satellite into space that violated U.N. sanctions. The rocket, which uses the same technology to ballistic missiles, disintegrated within a minute or two of takeoff.
"The media environment in North Korea has changed and is changing, and with the availability of cellphones for internal communication, and greater availability of information internally, you can't just say, 'Let's play patriotic songs' so all can tune in," King said.
The study, commissioned by the State Department and conducted by a consulting group, InterMedia, said North Korea still has the world's most closed media environment — there's still no public access to the Internet — but the government's ability to control the flow information is receding.
Restrictions that threaten years in prison and hard labor for activities like watching a South Korean soap opera or listening to foreign news broadcasts have been tightened since the mid-2000s but are enforced less than in the past, the study said. People remain wary of government inspection teams, but fewer citizens appear to be reporting on each other.
"The state can't count on their citizenry to turn each other in," the main author, Nathaniel Kretchun, said.
The study, titled, "A Quiet Opening: North Koreans in a Changing Media Environment," is based on research involving several hundred North Korean defectors and refugees during 2010-11.
It found that nearly half had watched a foreign DVD, the most commonly used type of outside media. About a quarter of people had listened to a foreign radio news broadcast while in North Korea or had watched a foreign news station.
Nearly one-third of television watchers whose sets were fixed to state-run programing had modified them in order to capture a signal from outside stations detectable along the Chinese and South Korean borders.
North Korea is separated from the more prosperous South Korea by a heavily militarized frontier, and access to the country remains strictly controlled. The communist government's monopoly on information began to erode in the late 1990s, when famine led to less reliance on and trust in the state, Kretchun said.
Nowadays, North Koreans with exposure to outside news or entertainment media are more likely to be favorably disposed toward South Korea and the United States — the North's traditional enemies — although they would be extremely limited in their ability to express such views or act on them, the study said.
"Ultimately, North Korea is losing control of what its people are seeing and listening to and how people are thinking about their socio-economic conditions and the outside world," said Abraham Kim of the Korea Economic Institute.
However, the study said those changing perceptions are unlikely to translate into significant pressure on the North Korean government in the short term. Also, Kretchun cautioned that the research, based on accounts from refugees and defectors, is not necessarily representative of those still living in the country.
Access to technology has picked up rapidly in recent years, fueled by cheap imports from China. Some 74 percent of those interviewed had access to a TV when they lived in North Korea, and 46 percent had access to a DVD player. Computers, portable USB drives and illegal Chinese mobile phones that can make international calls — unlike local cellphones — also have begun entering the country in substantial numbers, especially among the elite.
Martyn Williams, who writes the blog NorthKoreaTech.org, said that the government's intense use of its scant resources and electricity to jam foreign news broadcasts reflected its concern about the impact of outside media.
North Korea targets between 10 and 15 frequencies used by international short-wave broadcasters, such as U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia and stations operated by South Korea's government, for up to 18 hours a day, and on major occasions like the April centennial, it jams radio signals around the clock, Williams said.
The North appears to have recently installed more sophisticated transmitters acquired from a Chinese company, although jamming operations have been up and down this year, likely because of technical problems or power shortages, he said.