Citizens' Radio interfering with aircraft, watchdog says

The telecommunications watchdog has warned outlawed Citizens' Radio to cease using its transmitter following a complaint from the Civil Aviation Department about interference to air-ground communication channels last month.

But the founder of the rebel broadcaster, Tsang Kin-shing, last night said they had been broadcasting with the same equipment since May and condemned the warning as political suppression ahead of the Legislative Council election. Mr Tsang is a candidate on Hong Kong Island constituency.

The Office of the Telecommunications Authority (Ofta) said it received a complaint on Wednesday last week about interference to civil aviation services from a signal.

A sound recording was provided by the Civil Aviation Department on Tuesday, which found that the source of interference originated from Citizens' Radio, Ofta said.

'As the interference may pose a potential hazard to aircraft operation, the authority therefore issued a notice to Citizens' Radio to direct it to immediately cease its use of the radio transmitter,' a spokesman said. 'Ofta will take enforcement action as appropriate if Citizens' Radio fails to comply with the notice.'

Love Ark, a one-hour programme hosted by several gay youngsters, was broadcast at 7pm last Wednesday. But Mr Tsang said one-hour broadcasts had been resumed five days a week on FM102.8 since May.