Falun Gong cult followers stopped Chinese viewers from watching broadcasts of China's first manned space mission when they blocked Sino Satellite, a Chinese TV satellite.

The cult members illegally transmitted signals from 6 p.m. to 745 p.m. Wednesday, while many people were trying to watch the space flight programs, the Ministry of Information Industry said Thursday.

The blocking signals sent by cult activists interfered with the broadcasting of the Shenzhou V flight and other routine programs of China Central Television (CCTV) and some local TV stations, the state monitoring center of wireless communications under the ministry said.

The authorities took decisive measures to foil the cult's plot to prevent the Chinese people from watching the space flight program, said the Ministry of Information Industry.

The illegal signals originated in the Taiwan region, said the ministry.

The banned cult also attacked the satellite in June, September and November 2002, as well as Oct. 7, 2003. The illegal signals were all from the Taiwan region.

(Xinhua News Agency October 16, 2003)