Wenzhou broadcaster ‘displays anti-Communist messages’ in apparent hacking attack
Locals witness television station programmes hijacked by signs and images attacking the ruling Communist Party in what appeared to be a computer hacking operation
A cable television service on the mainland broadcast censored Tiananmen crackdown pictures and messages condemning the ruling Communist Party, locals said, in what appeared to be a rare hacking attack.
Viewers in the eastern city of Wenzhou on Friday used social media to post images of television slogans referring to the Communist party as “bandits,” and photographs of the bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing.
Such images are almost never shown by media in China, where the Communist Party censors anti-government messages and references to incidents it deems sensitive such as the Tiananmen crackdown.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the messages, which appeared on several different channels available through a local cable broadcaster, though internet users speculated that the provider had been “hacked”.
A Wenzhou resident surnamed Gu told reporters he had turned on his television on Friday evening to be greeted with a photo of a tank on Tiananmen square.
“This is a significant event for the television industry.”
“I found it irritating ... it doesn’t feel right to vent your opinions by sacrificing others’ interests” he said, adding that similar images and anti-communist slogans were broadcast for about four hours.
