Spiritual Saboteurs

Followers of the Chinese spiritual practice Falun Gong often use high-tech tools to spread their message in China, where the sect is banned. But the group's latest tactic--overriding Chinese satellite Sinosat 1 and replacing its regular programming for 10 minutes last week with fuzzy text reading "Falun Dafa Is Good"--stunned government officials with its sophistication. (Falun Dafa is the name given to the group's beliefs.) To pull off the feat, the activists needed a nearly 30-ft. satellite dish plus about $1 million worth of equipment that would fire a perfectly tuned beam at Sinosat 1. Since two beams on the same...

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