(Clearwisdom.net) Voice of America (VOA) reported on July 29, 2008, that in front of VOA headquarters in Washington DC, more than a dozen Falun Gong practitioners held banners requesting that the US Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) pay attention to press freedom and not cause the NTDTV contract with Eutelsat to end.

A group of Falun Gong practitioners who support NTDTV called on BBG to extend its contract with Eutelsat to ensure the normal beaming of NTDTV, VOA, and RFA into China.

One practitioner said that Eutelsat had served NTDTV, VOA and RFA for three years. On June 17, Eutelsat stopped NTDTV's signals, but VOA and RFA continued their normal broadcasting.

The practitioner said that NTDTV learned that BBG and Eutelsat reached an agreement to cancel its six-year contract on July 31, and BBG would transfer all its programming to the Asia3 satellite. But the Asia3 satellite refuses to carry NTDTV signals.

He said that recently BBG informed NTDTV about the contract cancellation. Eutelsat also informed NTDTV about canceling its broadcasts. A practitioner with last name Tao said that economic interests shouldn't be a pretext to sacrificing the Chinese peoples' right to know the truth.

He said, "We don't have any right to interfere with any commercial business or politics. But we hope that kind-hearted people and all US righteous groups will not dilute their righteous beliefs and freedom for economic interests."