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| A banner displayed in a residential district in Yangpu District calls on residents to dismantle illicit satellite TV receivers. |
The authorities are putting the lid on unauthorized reception of overseas TV via satellite dishes, which number between 20,000 and 200,000 in Shanghai. Will the move differ from previous campaigns?
"The object of the system is to ensure stable social order and the right direction for cultural and ideological progress; it is also expected to help foster our own radio and TV industry"
HOUSEWIFE Huang Qiuhua, 42, remembers how annoyed she was last month when her family's mailbox was stuffed with flyers promoting satellite dishes.
"Whenever I opened the box, I found a heap of junk mail. It was vexing," she said.
But as a result of a recent crackdown on illegal dishes, residents like Huang have been receiving much less direct mail. Those involved in the production, sale and installation of dishes mainly used to get overseas TV channels have hit a bad patch.
Insiders say that owing to continued demand and certain obstacles facing the government-orchestrated crackdown, it will take time for the illicit trade to be rooted out completely.
Ambitious move
Official statistics reflect encouraging results in the government's campaign to wipe out illegal satellite services, which began in mid- December.
Based on a previous investigation, local authorities detected more than 20,000 illegal satellite dishes citywide, to date some 4,000-plus have been removed, according to Yu Jiangru, an official of the municipal administration of radio, film and television, a local media watchdog agency.
Yu said: "Our target is to rid the city of illegal satellite dishes by June."
His administration has teamed up with other government bodies like the public security bureau as well as the industrial and commercial bureau to enforce the crackdown.
The philosophy
The city's move follows a call made by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) in October for municipal and provincial governments to crack down hard on the increasing use of illegal satellite dishes.
According to present State regulations, there is a permit system in place to control satellite dish services, requiring work units and individuals to first acquire a government licence or permit before they get involved in the manufacturing, import, sale, installation and use of satellite TV receiving facilities.
"The object of the system is to ensure stable social order and the right direction of cultural and ideological progress; it is also expected to help foster our own radio and television industry," said Hu Zhanfan, deputy director of SARFT, in a recent interview with China Central Television.
Despite the existence of such regulations, with China's overall social and economic progress, a growing number of Chinese, especially those in big cities, have demonstrated an increasingly strong desire to gain knowledge of the outside world.
Given some government officials' negligence, more people have in recent years found varied access to affordable satellite TV receiving facilities to get overseas channels like CNN or Phoenix TV without a permit. This has fostered a booming underground business for satellite dish dealers.
While official statistics indicate that more than 20,000 illegal satellite dishes now exist in Shanghai, insiders estimate that the city hosts at least 200,000 private satellite dish users.
Among the 20,000-plus dishes spotted by authorities, 8,512 were found in four local districts, Minhang, Xuhui, Pudong and Changning respectively, and a dominant part of users are local residents, according to Liang Xiaozhuang, vice director of the local administration of radio, film and television.
Local authorities have granted permission to 420 work units and housing complexes in the city to use satellite dishes to receive overseas channels, and about 140 are allowed to get domestic programmes by satellite dishes, said Liang during a recent working conference.
The city government is resolute in its determination to curb rampant illegal use of satellite dishes by not only launching the crackdown, but also rechecking and registering again the authorized licenses issued so far, he said.
Difficulties
However, with illegal users scattered throughout residential districts, the authorities are finding the crackdown difficult.
Insufficient public information regarding satellite use regulations has resulted in a dearth of knowledge among many local residents, according to Lan Yiming, deputy chief of the municipal supervisory squad on cultural affairs, one of the government bodies involved in the crackdown.
"Our major strategy is persuasion as the crackdown after all involves the disposal of private property and, without the aid of the Public Security Bureau, we cannot enter residents' homes," Lan said. "That's why we need more promotional activities to let those users know about our regulations."
In some cases, residents only have to pay monthly or yearly fees to access overseas programmes via satellite TV systems set up by their residential communities for business reasons.
How to refund those residents remains a difficult question for authorities to answer, he added.
What's more troublesome for authorities is that they might find themselves in an embarrassing situation if they fail to deal with the issue properly.
This is especially so given that Shanghai has become an international metropolis and the matter involves to some extent the interests of some local expatriates, insiders say.
