Representatives of the Chin Christian Alliance met with Burma’s information minister on Monday to discuss the possibility of bringing an international Christian television channel to the country.
“We requested permission to start broadcasting a Christian TV channel that is already available in more than 200 countries,” said the alliance’s secretary, Dr. Charity Htoo, referring to GOD TV, a UK-based broadcaster that has an audience of 262 million households worldwide.
According to Dr. Charity Htoo, groups interested in bringing the 24-hour-a-day channel to Burma have been seeking government approval for the past three years.
“We need to get permission from the government. In terms of capital and technical capacity, we’re all set. We have been trying to get permission for three years now. The minister for religious affairs told us to wait a while. That was more than a year ago,” she said.
Monday’s meeting came after repeated attempts to find an opportunity to discuss the proposal directly with Union Information Minister Dr. Pe Myint.
“We made three requests to meet with the information minister. Finally, he accepted our request. Before our meeting, we met with his deputy permanent secretary. A total of 12 GOD TV representatives from India, America and Hong Kong went to that meeting, which took place three weeks ago. We discussed everything in great detail at that time. At the meeting with the information minister, we just introduced each other and conveyed our basic message,” Dr. Charity Htoo told Khonumthung News.
In response, the minister explained that the government would only make a decision on the request after a new TV and broadcasting law is introduced and a broadcasting council is formed.
The Chin Christian Alliance was formed on Jan 30, 2019. It consists of 28 Christian churches and other religious organizations.
SEO KEYWORDS: Christian, broadcasting, television, information FACEBOOK: Burma’s information minister says approval of the channel, which currently reaches 262 million households worldwide, will depend on the country’s future broadcast law.
