俗话说：贪婪使人愚蠢，短视使人糊涂。如今这话正应验到欧洲卫星公司总裁Giuliano Berretta 和美国广播理事会(BBG)某些负责人身上。
今年6月，Berretta 为取得北京奥运的转播权，故意献媚中共，借口“技术原因”停播了其W5卫星上的《新唐人》信号。停播期间，欧卫的股价蒸发了8亿美元，而此前欧卫从 2005年底上市到停播《新唐人》信号之前，其股价增加了27亿美元。如今奥运马上就要开了，但Berretta连中共有关部门的头头都没见着，更别提向主子讨果子吃了，真是“热脸碰上了冷屁股——自讨没趣”。
这里我们不谈Berretta的贪婪可耻，而要说说美国广播理事会(BBG)的糊涂。近年来在中共的干扰诱惑和瓦解下，BBG计划把美国之音和自由亚洲电台从W5转到由中共操控的亚洲3号卫星上（Asiasat 3S）。而且BBG还决定从7月31日起取消与欧卫的合同，这样欧卫更能肆无忌惮的取消《新唐人》在W5上的播出合同。
据大陆民众反馈，W5卫星上播出用的KU波段，大陆人只需安装45─75cm的接收天线就能良好收听和观看美国之音和《新唐人》，而亚星3号是C波段，需安装直径1.2m的接收锅，这样很容易被中共发现和破坏。
BBG 此举无疑给《新唐人》带来了巨大伤害，同时也极大的伤害了它自己。把美国之音送到亚星3号上，中共可随时利用各种“技术故障”，停播、过滤或干扰美国之音的节目，这不等于把肥肉送到老虎口中吗？BBG这样做，无疑等于是在帮中共吃掉美国之音。因为当BBG失去W5这样的可选途径后，中共会伸出黑手，一步一步的蚕食BBG，逼美国之音播出中共想听的内容，进而把美国之音变成“中共之音”。
美国的立国之本就是信仰自由、民主人权。在大陆人心中，“《新唐》就好比空气一样，让我们在中共窒息的高压下看到希望和光明”。面对中共对《新唐人》的打压，BBG竟然违背美国的立国原则，不敢出面为《新唐人》呼吁，制止欧卫的可耻行为。何况《新唐人》租用W5的巨额经费全是其自筹的，BBG这么做，不也是变相在讨中共高兴吗？
说BBG在帮中共吃掉美国之音，这绝不是天方夜谭。今天BBG怕得罪中共而不敢保护《新唐人》，明天BBG就会为了个人利益而牺牲美国之音。如果BBG连民主自由人权的底线都不要了，何必要办美国之音呢？当初美国政府创办美国之音的初衷，不就是为了给被禁锢的人民带去民主自由人权的曙光吗？没想到，如今光明的使者变成了黑暗的助手，这不太可悲太可耻了吗？
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英文翻译如下：
BBG Helps the Chinese Regime Control Voice of America
As an old saying goes, “Greed makes people stupid, and shortsightedness makes people foolish.” Recent decisions by Eutelsat CEO Giuliano Berretta and some board members of the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) attest to the truth of that saying.
In June, hoping to win a contract to cover the Beijing Olympics and kowtow to the Chinese regime, Eutelsat discontinued NTDTV’s signal on its W5 satellite, saying there had been a “technical anomaly.” However, despite the fact that the Olympics are fast approaching, Berretta hasn’t met with any of China’s competent authorities, let alone being offered any contracts. Undoubtedly, what Eutelsat has gained is simply a cold shoulder from the regime.
Since canceling its broadcast of NTDTV, the value of Eutelsat’s stock has fallen about $800 million. In fact, its share value had increased over $2.7 billion from the time it was first listed, at the end of 2005, until the time it discontinued NTDTV’s signal on June 16, 2008.
In addition to Beretta’s shameful greed, let’s take a look at the foolishness of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG.) (The BBG is an US government agency that overseas broadcasting, including U.S. government transmission, on overseas satellites, among other duties.)
In recent years, due to the Chinese regime’s interference, temptations, and machinations, BBG intended to move the signal of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) from the W5 satellite to the China-controlled satellite, AsiaSat 3S, at the end of 2007, and has chosen to formally end its contract with Eutelsat on July 31, 2008. That being the case, Eutelsat will have a better excuse to stop carrying NTDTV’s signal on Eutelsat’s W5.
According to feedback form viewers in mainland China, Chinese viewers can pick up VOA and NTDTV with a small satellite dish, 45–75-cm (18–30 inches) because the stations broadcast on the Ku band (Kurtz-under band) on W5. To pick up signals from the C-band of AsiaSat 3S, they have to install a 1.2m (4 feet) satellite dish.
Because the Chinese regime would rather its citizens not get uncensored information from NTDTV and VOA, the regime forces all satellite viewers to register; so they viewers can be tracked and their programming monitored. To get uncensored information viewers must use unregistered dishes; and a four-foot diameter dish is much harder to hide than an 18-inch diameter dish.
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Apparently, not only will the BBG’s move cause tremendous damage to NTDTV, but the BBG itself may suffer a huge loss. Once VOA starts transmitting its signal through AsiaSat 3S, it would be easy for the Chinese authorities to terminate, filter, and interfere with VOA’s programs, with all kinds of reasons similar to the “technical anomaly.” This destroys the effectiveness of VOA’s broadcasts, which are created specifically to being uncensored news of the world into Asia.
The BBG’s decision is undoubtedly helping the Chinese regime to control VOA, and in turn, the regime will manipulate the BBG, and step by step force it to broadcast only programming acceptable to the communist regime, eventually turning the Voice of America VOA into the “Voice of the Chinese Communist Party” (CCP).
The United States was founded on freedom of belief, democracy, and human rights. To TV viewers in mainland China, NTDTV is like fresh air, their only hope and light under the Chinese regime’s overwhelmingly autocratic control.
As NTDTV is confronted with a relentless crackdown by the Chinese regime, it is a pity that the BBG goes against its nation’s founding principles, and fails to support NTDTV in stopping Eutelsat’s shameful deeds.
NTDTV is a self-financed company, with all the expenses for using W5 covered by the company itself. What the BBG has done is tantamount to aiding and abetting the Chinese regime.
It is not groundless to say that the BBG is helping the Chinese regime to control VOA. If the BBG fails to support NTDTV for fear that it may offend the CCP today, it may sacrifice VOA for its board members’ interests tomorrow.
If the BBG doesn’t want to insist on a bottom line of democracy, freedom, and human rights, it totally subverts the reasons why the U.S. government established VOA. The original objective of establishing VOA was to usher in the hopes of democracy, freedom, and human rights to people who are under autocratic rule. It is indeed lamentable and shameful that the beacon of hope has turned into a minion of the dark forces.
