CHINA IN TURMOIL : Voice of America Beamed to China

In response to the Chinese crisis, the U.S. government’s Voice of America is beaming television signals to China, the first time it has ever taken such a step, the director said Thursday.

The signal is going directly to about 2,000 satellite dishes operated largely by the People’s Liberation Army, although there is no way to tell whether the transmission is being watched by the military or passed along other channels, said VOA Director Richard Carlson.

The U.S. Embassy is receiving the signal “loud and clear” on a satellite dish in Beijing, he said. The transmission began Tuesday.

The broadcast of news to the military is significant because of reports that units backing the pro-democracy demonstrators may have exchanged fire with units supporting the crackdown.

The VOA, which broadcasts radio programs in many languages around the world, including transmissions targeted at communist nations, has never used a television signal before, said Carlson.

“The Chinese media have been very dishonest about the student demonstrations and the role of the military,” said Carlson.

“Chinese media have said there were 300 dead, and that they were mostly soldiers, which is not true. The Red Cross says 3,000 people died,” he said. Some Western sources in Beijing have estimated the dead at 7,000.