HONG KONG, July 10 (AFP) - Hong Kong police have joined a probe into the [overriding] of satellite signals of Chinese government-run television stations by the Falungong spiritual group, it was reported Wednesday.

Falungong, which is [persecuted] on the mainland but legal in Hong Kong, is accused of [overriding] into Chinese programmes to broadcast [...] propaganda on several occasions. [...]

A Chinese information ministry spokesman told the independent Ming Pao daily here that last month's satellite [overriding] was done from overseas, not from the mainland.

Several places including Hong Kong could have been the source of the [overriding], the spokesman said. [...]
Sophie Xiao, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman for Falungong, said "this is another of the excuses by Chinese authorities to extend their persecution of Falungong outside China".

"They have been doing that for quite some time through their embassies and consulates overseas by collecting information on the group," she told AFP.

"They also use diplomatic channels to stop Falungong activities abroad."

The [overriding] involved two Sinosat satellites belonging to Sino-Satellite Communications. [The codes were broken] to uplink with the satellite and then [...] Falungong [truth clarifying programs were transmitted] on the same frequency as the television stations.

China [persecuted] Falungong in July 1999 [...] but the group has remained legal in autonomous Hong Kong.