A New York-based satellite tv station has filed a RM100 million suit against the Chinese embassy in Malaysia and a local Chinese language daily for libel.

The New Tang Dynasty Television Station (NTDTV) has named Chinese embassy media officer Sun Xiang Yang and Sin Chew Jit Poh as defendants in a suit filed in the Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday.

According to NTDTV, Sun had issued a media statement and later published by Sin Chew on Feb 18 alleging that the tv station was aligned with international qigong movement Falun Gong . He also described the movement as a cult.

Falun Gong or Falun Dafa reportedly has 100 million followers all over the world. The movement has been branded by the Chinese government as an 'evil cult' and a threat to its national security.

As such, NTDTV claims that Sin Chew had acted mala fide (bad faith) by publishing the statement without contacting NTDTV for clarification.

"The article has portrayed the plaintiff....as working with cults and terrorists, supporting cult and extremist teachings, involvement in the propagation of cult teachings, involved in misleading the public, being hypocritical, on a whole lying and betraying the Chinese community and opposing the Chinese government," the affidavit read.

Stop further publication

NTDTV's affidavit also asks for an injunction from Haidar to stop the two defendants from publishing similar or any further statements of such nature. Sin Chew had earlier published a report on NTDTV introducing the station.

The tv station has some 40 over offices worldwide and targets people of Chinese descent outside of mainland China, transmitting their broadcasts throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. They are also augmented by a website .

According to its website, NTDTV is a non-profit outfit staffed by professional reporters and volunteers.

The affidavit adds that the media statement by the Chinese embassy also presented the TV station as a profit-orientated company when it isn't.

NTDTV reporter Wong Mei Yee and counsel Keppy Wong filed the suit at 11am yesterday.