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New Tang Dynasty Television

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"NTDTV" redirects here. For a television station in the Northern Territory, Australia, see NTD (television station). For a major television station in India, see NDTV.
New Tang Dynasty Television
HeadquartersManhattan, New York City
U.S.
New Tang Dynasty Television
Traditional Chinese新唐人電視臺
Simplified Chinese新唐人电视台
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXīntángrén Diànshìtái
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingSan1 tong4 jan4 Din6 si6 toi4

New Tang Dynasty Television (NTD, Chinese: 新唐人電視臺) is a U.S. television broadcaster, founded by Falun Gong practitioners, based in New York City with correspondents in over 70 cities worldwide. The station was founded in 2001 as a Chinese-language broadcaster,[1] but has since expanded its language offerings. The company retains a focus on China in its news broadcasts, and frequently covers topics that are censored in mainland China.

History

NTD was founded in 2001 by Falun Gong practitioners, with its mission being to offer "uncensored news" about China that state-controlled media would not cover. The station has a regular focus on the promotion of traditional Chinese culture, and devotes extensive news coverage to alleged Chinese human rights issues. It takes a critical stance on what it considers to be abuses of power by the Chinese Communist Party.[2]

Since its founding, NTD has expanded to include English, Spanish, Japanese, French, Russian, Persian, Hebrew and several other language editions. Its content offerings include news and analysis, arts and culture, travel, entertainment news, health and lifestyle, and children's programming.[3]

The station's critical reporting on the Chinese Communist Party has prompted censorship by the Chinese government. NTD also alleged that the Chinese government interfered with their reporting and business operations.

NTD began broadcasting via satellite in North America in February 2002. At present, the station's satellite coverage reaches Asia, Europe, and Australia in several languages.

NTD, along with The Epoch Times and Sound of Hope, was founded by Falun Gong practitioners who had emigrated to the West. Many of its staff are Falun Gong adherents who volunteer their time and services. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, president Zhong Lee stated that the company's original purpose was to speak out against the Chinese government's persecution of Falun Gong, but that it "can also play a big role pushing democracy in China."[4] The station covers several issues that are taboo in Mainland China, such as official corruption and public health scares, and also provides a platform for Chinese human rights and pro-democracy activists.[4]

The Christian Science Monitor in 2004 called NTDTV "the first independent Chinese-language TV station in the US".[5] The Wall Street Journal said in 2007 that NTD "serves as a platform for China's pro-democracy dissidents, who have been torn by internal squabbling and lack of organization".[6]

The station's broadcasts are capable of reaching 200 million viewers globally, including 50 million in mainland China, according to the Wall Street Journal.[7]

New Tang Dynasty's revenues in 2017 were $18 million, more than double its $7.4 million revenues in 2016, according to reports from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.[8][9]

Programming

Television

NTDTV journalist broadcasting from the Royal Swedish Academy in Stockholm, Sweden, at the announcement of Mo Yan as 2012 Nobel laureate in literature

NTD broadcasts 24/7, and offers a variety of original and syndicated programming, including news, arts and culture shows, travel, entertainment news, health and lifestyle, and children's programing.[10]

The station is best known for its news and analysis segments, which typically contain criticism of the Chinese government, particularly over human rights abuses, including the persecution of Falun Gong.

The Wall Street Journal reported[citation needed] that the station broke news of SARS in 2003, three weeks before the Chinese government admitted publicly that there was an epidemic. (It went on to cause at least 774 deaths.) The station offered extensive coverage of democratic elections in Taiwan, and the death of purged former Chinese General Secretary Zhao Ziyang. The Chinese-language station regularly airs a video version of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, an editorial series offering a strong critique of Chinese Communist Party rule, which is often used against the Chinese Communist Party.[11]

Online

NTD broadcasts programming regularly on its moderated YouTube channels. China Uncensored, originally distributed on the NTDonChina channel,[12] is moderated by Chris Chappell since 21 September 2012 and now has its own channel.[13][14][15] The program's topics include the latest news about China and the Chinese Communist Party, criticism of the Chinese government and analysis of its state media. It is broadcast on the Mandarin-language TV broadcast of New Tang Dynasty Television with Chinese subtitles once a week.[16] Chris Chappell has claimed that China Uncensored does not receive any payment from NTD as part of the show's content distribution agreement.[17]

In 2019, New Tang Dynasty Television released a docudrama produced by Steve Bannon, the former Breitbart News chairman and advisor to Donald Trump. The film, Claws of the Red Dragon, is about the telecom company Huawei and the Chinese government.[18][19][20]

Cultural outreach

As part of its proclaimed mission to promote “appreciation and awareness of traditional Chinese culture,” NTD organizes and produces a variety of cultural outreach programs, including Chinese classical dance, martial arts, and culinary competitions. The station frames these activities within a context of reviving "true Chinese cultural and moral traditions that have been lost under Communist Party rule".

From 2004 to 2006, NTD produced and televised an annual Chinese New Year Spectacular, a performance featuring classical Chinese dance and music. The show's performances contained ethnic and folk dances, dances depicting Chinese legends and moral tales, solo musical performances, and messaging and imagery sympathetic to Falun Gong, and included "artistic representations of the persecution of practitioners" in China. These shows have since been continued as traveling stage productions by a dedicated organization, Shen Yun Performing Arts.

In 2008, the station began organizing a series of annual competitions open to ethnic Chinese participants in fields of classical Chinese dance, martial arts, traditional clothing design, painting, music, photography, and Chinese cooking.[21]

Censorship

NTD's anti-Communist Party stance and reportage on human rights issues in China has led to interference and political pressure from the Chinese Communist Party and its overseas embassies.[22][deprecated source] In turn, along with dissuading government officials from attending the New Year's show, the Chinese embassy in the United States accused NTD of being used to "spread anti-China propaganda" and "distorting Chinese culture".[23]

In January 2007, a theater in South Korea scheduled to host the New Year's performance cancelled their booking at the last minute, which NTD alleged was because China threatened actions against upcoming Korean shows in Mainland China.[24][deprecated source] It has also been reported that NASDAQ broke ties with the station around this time after Chinese pressure.[25][deprecated source]

In June 2008, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders ("RSF") accused Eutelsat of closing down transmissions of NTD on June 16 through its W5 satellite to appease the Chinese government,[26] and appealed to Eutelsat CEO Giuliano Berretta to quickly reverse its decision to suspend NTD's use of Eutelsat. According to RSF, the NTD shutdown was a "premeditated, politically motivated decision". RSF stated that they were in possession of a recording of a purported conversation with a Beijing employee of Eutelsat confirming the allegations.[26] Eutelsat claimed that the shutdown was due to a technical failure, denied the validity of the conversation, and pointed out in July 2008 that NTD is still being broadcast from the Hot Bird positions.[27]

On August 20, 2008, the International Federation of Journalists released a statement calling on Eutelsat to restore NTD and three radio stations including Sound of Hope. The statement accused Eutelsat of bowing down to political pressure, and argued how the approaching Beijing Olympics could have resulted in the Chinese government's increasing pressure to censor the broadcasting of NTD.[28]

The European Parliament also called on Eutelsat to reverse their decision to shut down NTD. Following this, Eutelsat issued a press release and written declaration, denying all charges of censorship against NTD. The company insists that NTD's shutdown resulted solely from the technical failure experienced by W5 satellite, and adds that NTD is being broadcast across Europe via Eutelsat's HOT BIRD video neighbourhood (which unlike W5, cannot be received from China).[29]

In June 2010 the Canadian Prime Minister's Office cancelled a press conference that NTD and Epoch Times would have attended, so that Chinese President Hu Jintao would not come into contact with the broadcaster, allegedly following terms from the Chinese consulate. According to the Toronto Star, such press conferences are usually standard procedure for foreign leaders visiting the Parliament, and the cancellation was seen as an extraordinary measure to keep NTD away from the Chinese President.[30]

NTD Canada

New Tang Dynasty Television
CountryCanada
HeadquartersToronto, Ontario
Ownership
OwnerNew Tang Dynasty Television Canada

NTD Television Canada officially launched on Rogers Cable on September 30, 2008,[31] on Bell Fibe TV in 2010, and on Shaw Cable on March 28, 2012. It is also available on Novus Entertainment in Vancouver.[32]

On July 25, 2012, NTD Television officially launched NTD Canada, a local Canadian channel for Chinese viewers in Canada.[33] NTD Canada is a multilingual service airing programming in Cantonese, Mandarin, English and French, with the aim of reaching out to second- and third-generation Chinese-Canadians who may not speak Chinese as well as they do English or French.

China Uncensored

Main article: China Uncensored

Edge of Wonder

A widely viewed YouTube video channel produced by NTD called Edge of Wonder has been criticized for spreading pseudoscience and the right-wing U.S. conspiracy theory QAnon.[34][35] A critical article in The Daily Dot in August 2019 said the Edge of Wonder hosts "embrace QAnon completely" even though "almost nothing QAnon has foretold has actually taken place." The Daily Dot article pointed to incidents of violence by QAnon believers; a host of Edge of Wonder, Ben Chasteen, responded that "true researchers of Q would never take any violent action against the American people or any other kind of race."[34]

See also

  • Falun Gong-related groups:

References

  1. ^ "Falun Gong Fields Media Weapons". Wall Street Journal. April 14, 2004. Archived from the original on January 5, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  2. ^ "NTD". Archived from the original on January 5, 2008. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
  3. ^ "NTD". Archived from the original on January 5, 2008. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
  4. ^ a b Chen, Kathy Chinese Dissidents Take On Beijing Via Media Empire Archived August 9, 2017, at the Wayback Machine Wall Street Journal November 15, 2007
  5. ^ "Network offers free press for Chinese in US". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on April 25, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  6. ^ "Chinese Dissidents Take On Beijing Via Media Empire". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on August 9, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
  7. ^ "Not a Pretty Dish". Wall Street Journal. March 17, 2005. Archived from the original on August 25, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  8. ^ ProPublica, Mike Tigas, Sisi Wei, Ken Schwencke, Brandon Roberts, Alec Glassford. "Universal Communications Network Inc - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. Archived from the original on March 7, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Trump, QAnon and an impending judgment day: Behind the Facebook-fueled rise of The Epoch Times". NBC News. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  10. ^ NTD
  11. ^ "New Tang Dynasty". May 10, 2006. Archived from the original on May 10, 2006.
  12. ^ "NTD China Uncensored - YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; December 26, 2013 suggested (help)
  13. ^ "NTD China Uncensored". YouTube. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved January 29, 2018. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; November 27, 2012 suggested (help)
  14. ^ "NTD China Uncensored". NTD. Archived from the original on April 12, 2020. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  15. ^ "China Uncensored". YouTube. Archived from the original on June 1, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  16. ^ "About-China Uncensored". Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. China Uncensored is distributed by New Tang Dynasty Television, and broadcasts on its Mandarin-language TV broadcast with Chinese subtitles once a week. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; February 22, 2017 suggested (help)
  17. ^ "How is China Uncensored funded?". YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ "Canada Has Starring Role In Steve Bannon's Film About Huawei". HuffPost Canada. August 28, 2019. Archived from the original on February 23, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  19. ^ Television, New Tang Dynasty. "Executive Produced By Steve Bannon, Claws of the Red Dragon, Explosive Film Revealing Ties Between Huawei And Chinese Communist Party, Set To Be Released In September 2019". www.prnewswire.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  20. ^ "Canadian film company alleges interference by Ottawa after CMF pulls funding on Huawei docudrama with ties to Stephen Bannon". Archived from the original on September 16, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  21. ^ NTD, Global Competition Series Archived July 8, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 6, 2011
  22. ^ "Chinese Regime Tries to Crush Cultural Show in Canada". The Epoch Times. January 18, 2007. Archived from the original on May 17, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2007.
  23. ^ "Enjoy the Holidays and Stay away from the so-called "Chinese New Year Gala" of the New Tang Dynasty Television". Chinese Embassy in the United States of America. January 7, 2008. Archived from the original on February 6, 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2009.
  24. ^ "Chinese Regime Pressures Seoul to Cancel Cultural Show". The Epoch Times. January 10, 2007. Archived from the original on January 13, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2007.
  25. ^ "Chinese State Security Demanded NASDAQ Eject Network, Cable Says". The Epoch Times. January 24, 2012. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
  26. ^ a b Reporters Without Borders: European satellite operator Eutelsat suppresses independent Chinese-language TV station NTD to satisfy Beijing Archived July 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, July 10, 2008, retrieved on 2009-01-19
  27. ^ Clover, Julian (July 28, 2008). "Eutelsat defends NTDTV position". Broadband TV News. Archived from the original on September 1, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  28. ^ International Federation of Journalists: IFJ Calls on Eutelsat To End Bar on Chinese NTDTV Broadcasts Archived July 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, August 20, 2008, retrieved on 2009-01-19
  29. ^ Eutelsat reaffirms to European institutions the irreversible and purely technical nature of the incident resulting in the interruption of consumer broadcasting services through its W5 satellite Archived July 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, January 15, 2009, retrieved on 2009-01-19
  30. ^ Susan Delacourt, "Harper helps Hu keep critics away" Archived October 21, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Fri Jun 25, 2010
  31. ^ "NTD Television Canada's official launch on Rogers in September, 2008". October 16, 2008. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  32. ^ "New Tang Dynasty Multi-Language Channel Launched on Shaw Cable systems in Western Canada".[dead link]
  33. ^ "New Tang Dynasty Multi-Language Channel Launched on Shaw Cablesystems in Western Canada". Archived from the original on April 15, 2013.
  34. ^ a b Rothschild, Nike (August 27, 2019). "This massive YouTube channel is normalizing QAnon". Daily Dot. Archived from the original on April 22, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  35. ^ "Trump, QAnon and an impending judgment day: Behind the Facebook-fueled rise of The Epoch Times". NBC News. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
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