Radio Free Asia, 9 Jan 2013: "Chinese authorities have launched a seize-and-destroy operation against foreign broadcasting satellite equipment in a Tibetan area. Chinese authorities in a Tibetan-populated prefecture have launched a crackdown on satellite equipment used by Tibetans to tune in to foreign radio and TV programs, according to residents and other sources. The move is part of a government clampdown on communications to stifle information on self-immolations protesting Chinese rule. Hundreds of satellite dishes and receivers have been seized from homes in Malho (in Chinese, Huangnan) prefecture in Qinghai province and destroyed or burned as part of a 'cleansing' operation launched on the orders of the ruling Chinese Communist Party following a surge in Tibetan self-immolation protests. ... Those found with the satellite equipment, which Tibetans have also used to listen to Radio Free Asia and Voice of America programs, are given stiff fines, residents said. Chinese authorities are giving rewards to those who can pinpoint homes using the equipment. ... [A] Tibetan resident said the authorities are encouraging Tibetans to buy smaller satellite dishes and new receivers to replace the usually large dishes that had been confiscated. Some suspect the new equipment, which can be used to receive only state controlled programs, are doubling up as surveillance devices."

AP, 27 Dec 2012: "Huangnan prefecture in western China's Qinghai province is beefing up security and taking steps to shield the area from outside influence to deter self-immolations, the state-run, web-based Qinghai News reported. ... Authorities will confiscate illegal satellite dishes that allow local residents to receive anti-China programs from abroad, register every business that sells satellite signal receiving devices, and replace 3,000 television sets in monastery dormitories."