.png)
An Ariane 5 rocket blasts off, on April 18 in Kourou, French Guiana. Satellite company Eutelsat chose a Chinese competitor over Europe's Arianespace. The choice would leave precious Western satellite technology in the possession of communist China. (AFP/Getty Images)
The Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported last week that European aerospace giant Arianespace expressed “shock” that a Chinese competitor was chosen by European satellite company Eutelsat to launch its latest satellite into space. The unusual deal not only leaves Arianespace without a customer but also leaves precious satellite technology held by the West in the hands of communist China.
Eutelsat’s deal with China is another instance of the company putting business before principle in its dealings with the Chinese communist regime. In June, the company cut the signal of New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV), an independent network that reports on human rights in China.
“We need to remain vigilant that our advanced technology doesn’t end up in the hands of nations who proliferate weapons of mass destruction… chief among them is the Peoples Republic of China,” said United States Congressman Dana Rohrabacher of California, according to a recent Asia Times report.
Eutelsat maintains that its choice of a Chinese rocket for its satellite was based on the cheaper cost—about 40 percent less—and the quicker timeframe. However, an investigative report by Reporters Without Borders has found that the deal was actually meant by Eutelsat to curry favor with the Chinese regime.
In a recorded conversation with an interlocutor that the Eutelsat representative thought was a Chinese Propaganda Department official, the Eutelsat representative in Beijing admitted: “Indeed this matter was intended to show a good gesture to the Chinese government … because CEO Ma [CEO of China Aerospace] said he wanted to introduce China Aerospace to the international market.”
The Eutelsat employee, whose identity has been kept anonymous, also admitted that the company spent an extra 20 million Euro to make sure there were no parts made in the United States in the satellite—thus, avoiding direct conflict with the United States.
“And in order to use China’s rocket, we spent 20 million more Euro for a custom-made satellite,” the representative said.
The heavy expense undermines Eutelsat’s position that it wanted to save money with a Chinese contractor.
Eutelsat’s deal with China comes as a double insult to lawmakers like Rep. Rohrabacher because Eutelsat is a contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense.
In a letter to his colleagues, Rep. Rohrabacher called on the Obama administration to immediately cease doing business with companies like Eutelsat until they stop aiding the Chinese regime to advance their own business interests.
A Pentagon report released on March 25 found that China’s increasing military build up has uncertain intentions, stretching beyond defense of its borders and potentially challenging strategic U.S. positions throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
“Much uncertainty surrounds China’s future course, particularly regarding how its expanding military power might be used,” reads the report, which came out only a few weeks after tensions were raised when an unarmed U.S. Navy vessel was bullied by five Chinese ships in the South China Sea.
Eutelsat’s Questionable Past
For powerful international companies like Eutelsat, dealing with China has meant taking principles off the bargaining table on a regular basis. In his letter, Rep. Rohrabacher addresses Eutelsat’s questionable past dealings with the communist state.
“One of these European companies [Eutelsat] also helps to muzzle Freedom of Conscience in the People’s Republic of China by denying satellite telecommunications services to dissidents within China,” reads the letter, referencing the termination of NTDTV’s signal.
Eutelsat terminated broadcast of NTDTV into China in June, 2008, citing technical reasons. A July 10 investigative report by Reporters Without Borders revealed, however, that the broadcast cut was a premeditated act, owing to influence from the Chinese regime ahead of the Beijing Olympics.
In January, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on Eutelsat to resume broadcast of NTDTV into China.
The resolution urges the European Union’s 27 member states “to take necessary action to help restore NTDTV’s broadcasts to China and to support access to uncensored information for millions of Chinese citizens.”
The resolution also “urges Eutelsat to resume NTDTV transmission to China without delay and to provide reasons for this suspension.”
Despite accusations that they caved to pressure from the Chinese communist regime, Eutelsat turned down at least two invitations to discuss the matter with the European Parliament.
“It’s obvious that [the CEO of Eutelsat is] afraid to come. He’s afraid to come and face the Members of Parliament because there is no explanation for closing the signal [into China] and that is obvious,” said Hanna Foltyn-Kubicka, a Member of European Parliament through a translator, in an interview with The Epoch Times in January.
