(Clearwisdom.net) An interview with Mr. Li Hongzhi, founder of Falun Gong, will air January 20 exclusively on New Tang Dynasty TV. This is the first time that the founder of Falun Gong has accepted a media interview in the four plus years since the end of 1999.

According to NTDTV reports, Falun Gong founder Mr. Li Hongzhi has not accepted any interviews from the media since the end of 1999. NTDTV recently secured an exclusive interview, and it will air at 9:00 PM EST on January 20 on New Tang Dynasty TV's satellite broadcast and select cable outlets. The interview will be re-broadcasted at 12:30 AM EST on January 21.

New Tang Dynasty Television is a non-profit Chinese language television station, headquartered in New York, which began broadcasts in North America in February 2002. NTDTV began to broadcast through satellite in July 2003, providing Chinese language programming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to all over the world, free of charge. In the Columbus International Film Festival, NTDTV won two awards for its films, "False Fire" and "The Legend of Ye Lili."

NTDTV recently sponsored two days of the Inaugural Global Chinese New Year's Gala in Manhattan, New York, drawing the attention of the overseas Chinese community. Attendees at these two events included New York area community leaders, well-known figures in the business and scientific fields, and U.S. government officials. The video of the gala will be broadcasted globally on Chinese New Year's Eve, and can also be downloaded for free on the Internet. NTDTV has already held similar galas in Taipei, Toronto, and there will be another performance in Paris, France.

Mr. Li Hongzhi first introduced Falun Gong to the public in May 1992. Guided by the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance", Falun Gong was being practiced by 100 million people just seven years after its introduction. Starting in July 1999, Jiang Zemin's regime began the persecution of Falun Gong. Jiang has repeatedly touted "eliminating Falun Gong" in a certain period of time. As a result, tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners were subjected to brutal persecution. Many were imprisoned or sent to forced labor camp, and as of the end of 2003, at least 856 practitioners were confirmed to have died as a result of the brutal persecution. However, Falun Gong did not disappear as Jiang hoped. As of the end of 2003, Falun Gong has been spread to more than 50 countries, and Zhuan Falun, the main text of Falun Gong authored by Mr. Li Hongzhi, has been translated into more than 20 languages. The Falun Gong practitioners' persistent, peaceful call for the freedom of belief and to practice their exercises has been acknowledged as one of the world's biggest human rights campaigns.

Note regarding NTDTV: To receive satellite broadcasts, tune into

North America: Telstar-5

Europe: Telstar-12

Asia Australia: NSS-6

In order to find out more about NTDTV's cable television coverage and schedules in major cities, please visit NTDTV's website, http://ntdtv.com