Although most residential buildings in the city have been banned from installing satellite dishes since 1993, the dishes continue to pop up all over the city, with some delivering 24-hour porn, as well as mainstream Western TV shows and movies.

Local residents often receive flyers in their mailboxes, advertising installation of the dishes with prices ranging from 3,000 yuan (US$361) to 20,000 yuan (US$2,419.26).

The fliers guarantee users will have access to more than 100 overseas TV channels.

"Want to enjoy the fascinating show, the newest movie and the latest news? Satellite television from Thailand, Japan, the Phillipines and the United States, to name just a few. What's more, the hottest adult films! Call us anytime! We assure you that you will feel on top of the world with our 24-hour program service," said one leaflet found by a Shanghai Daily reporter recently.

Mr Yang, an agent working with a satellite dish installation company, said that his company has enjoyed good business in the city for more than 10 years.

"And it still seems to rise," he boasted.

Yang said the company used to sell most of its dishes to residents of Puxi, but as more people move across the river to Pudong, business there is thriving, too. Foreigners, he said, make up a growing section of his client base.

Yang said his business is strictly legal, but the State Council issued a decree in 1993 saying only hotels, media outlets, and apartment buildings housing foreigners are allowed to use satellite dishes.

Producing, selling or installing satellite television-receiving equipment without a permit is banned, and violators will face a fine of up to 5,000 yuan (US$604.81).

One of Yang's clients admitted her dish is illegal, but said no one has bothered her about it and notes it is so small that authorities would have trouble detecting it.

"Yes, it is safe. We had the satellite dishes installed in the corner of the balcony. It is quite small, only about 0.5 meter in diameter. Hard to detect, isn't it," said the woman, surnamed Wang.

Wang also revealed that she has recommended Yang's company to some friends and neighbors, for which she waived the annual charge for a so-called "decoding card."

Normally, users have to pay 2,000 yuan (US$241.93) annually for the card, which decodes satellite signals.

"It has been four years and 5,000 yuan (US$604.81) is all that we have paid for the first time installation. No extra fee has been charged since then," Wang said.

"Obviously, the residential community is aware of the situation, but they just give tacit consent," Wang said. "More than 12 families are equipped with such facilities in the 30-story highrise where I live now."

The Youth Daily yesterday quoted an official from the local Administration of Radio, Film and Television saying: "We should tell the residents who use the dishes that such behavior is illegal.

But it is the local Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau that has the right to remove the dishes and crack down on those illicit companies."

(eastday.com January 6, 2004)