Taiwan has cast doubt on China's allegation that members of the spiritual group Falun Gong have hacked into the mainland's satellite television signals from the island.

This type of accusation is a bit far-fetched

Lin Chang-chih, Taiwan communications ministry

A government official, Lin Ching-chih, said the allegation that Falun Gong members were hacking into Chinese state satellite signals from Taiwan was "far-fetched".

Taiwan says it is investigating the allegations. Mr Lin said his office had already checked Yangming Mountain near the capital Taipei, the alleged source of the rogue signals, but found nothing.

He said such broadcasts could have originated from a wide area of the western Pacific.

China said on Tuesday that in the last few weeks Falun Gong members in Taiwan had been hijacking mainland broadcasts via Sino Satellite (Sinosat) and airing propaganda programmes.

The Falun Gong movement has been accused of hijacking Chinese television signals before. Last week, 15 people were sentenced to up to 20 years in prison for allegedly breaking into a cable television system in north-eastern China.

'Damaging to relations'

China has issued an angry statement demanding that the Taiwan government take quick and effective measures to halt the latest broadcasts.

Zhang Mingqing, spokesman for the Chinese cabinet's Taiwan Affairs Office, warned that failing to do so would "further damage already difficult relations".

Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation and Communications' Directorate General of Telecommunications responded that both Taipei and Beijing were "in tandem" in cracking down on illegal broadcasting.

China's official Xinhua news agency said the commandeering of a signal from Sinosat began on 9 September and interrupted transmissions across China.

The BBC's Beijing correspondent, Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, says Taiwan does present an ideal base for hacking into Chinese TV.

The Falun Gong movement is legal in Taiwan, where it has many followers. Taiwan also boasts people with the necessary technical skills and equipment.

Falun Gong, outlawed in China, says its members suffer severe repression under Beijing's regime and alleges that many of its members have been injured or have even died while in custody.

On Tuesday, Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji defended his government's treatment of the spiritual movement.

Speaking at the Asia-Europe summit in Copenhagen, Mr Zhu said China had never persecuted members of Falun Gong.

Instead, he argued, it was Falun Gong which had persecuted the Chinese people, and disrupted social order.

The human rights group Amnesty International said this week that the victimisation of Falun Gong was getting worse.