From September 17th to October 2nd this year, NTDTV’s ST-1 satellite signal over Taiwan and southern China was blocked. At first it was blocked for a few hours a day and then on October 1st—on the anniversary of the Chinese communist revolution—the signal was blocked completely for the whole day.

In Taiwan’s southern county of Pingtung, legislators and council members are asking the country’s regulators to fully investigate the problem.

Legislator Wang Jinshi spoke to NTDTV’s viewers. He wants the government to ensure the station’s broadcast.

[Wang Jin Shih, Pingtung County Legislator]:
“An open hearing should be held. We support this. We all know that APTV is a very pure and high quality station. We hope that the government can encourage good television, and protect them from being interfered with.”

Council Member Li Cing-sheng says action should be taken to prevent any blockage from happening again.

[Li Cing-Sheng, Pingtung County Councilor]:
“We can, through a public hearing of the Council, tell the public and the media about this incident. We can also join forces with members of Taiwan’s Parliament to publicize the incident and take effective measures to make sure that this incident with NTDTV would not be allowed to happen again in a democratic country.”

Taiwan’s regulatory National Communications Committee has held two meetings to determine the cause of the blockage. But so far, the owner of the ST-1 Satellite, Chunghwa Telecom Co. has not given any explanation.