A live broadcast of a speech by Chinese President Jiang Zemin at Hong Kong's handover anniversary celebration was scrapped due to fears of sabotage by the Falungong sect.
State-run China Central Television and Hong Kong-based Phoenix Chinese TV cancelled the broadcast of Jiang's speech here as well as the swearing-in ceremony for Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa and his new cabinet on Monday, the South China Morning Post said.
It quoted industry sources as saying that Beijing feared that Falungong members would cut into the transmission and broadcast pro-sect messages.
The group, which is banned in mainland China, has already intercepted Chinese TV broadcasts on several occasions, most recently hijacking a broadcast satellite last week to transmit Falungong messages and images.
Sophie Zhao, a Falungong spokeswoman in Hong Kong, where the sect is still legal, told AFP "I'm not surprised" as she said sect members included people with the necessary technical expertise.
The Post said Chinese security officials were "baffled" about how the sect managed to intercept the satellite broadcast last week, suspecting it was done from a foreign country or from hi-tech equipment on a moving vehicle in China to avoid detection.
The Chinese-language Oriental Daily News meanwhile reported that Phoenix Satellite TV's news director, Pong Chung, had been transferred from Hong Kong to Beijing after he was found to be a Falungong member.
It said the move was a safety measure to ensure the smooth transmission of any live broadcasts of the celebrations on Monday marking the fifth anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from Britain.
But in the event, the broadcasts were pulled to prevent any embarrassment to Jiang as he visited the territory for the events.
Phoenix is partly owned by the Chinese government.
Since Falungong was banned by Beijing as "an evil cult" in July 1999, tens of thousands of adherents have been jailed or sent to labor camp, activists say.
The group's New York headquarters has alleged that up to 200 followers have died in police custody, mostly from police beatings and maltreatment.