Story number 1 for 4 Apr 2001

(China)–We begin today’s newscast with reports from China and Tibet saying the communist government is stepping up their attempts to jam the increasing number of foreign radio broadcasts into isolated areas of the country. Far East Broadcasting Company’s Jim Bowman says the government is actually trying to stop broadcasts like ‘Free Tibet’, and others that they fear could cause an insurrection. Bowman explains the irony. “We’ve been told this by Chinese officials many times, especially with regard to our office in Hong Kong. As long as we broadcast strictly what they call ‘religious’ material, or the Gospel, they won’t jam, but if we do anything that sounds to them like politics, then they do jam.” Bowman says they want to share this request from their listeners. “Pray for those believers because their faith is very weak and fragile. That’s one of the things that we hear from them when they write to us, ‘please pray for us, that we will remain strong during these times of harassment and persecution.'”