London: China’s English-language satellite news channel has been thrown off-air in Britain after its media regulator ruled it was controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.
And CGTN will also face sanctions over its reporting on the Hong Kong protests, including for broadcasting forced confessions. The regulator said it had three other investigations ongoing into CGTN’s coverage.
The title screen of a programme called “How Xi Jinping Led China’s COVID-19 Battle”, from the CGTN archive is seen as it plays on a computer monitor in London.Credit:Getty
Ofcom, the regulator, said its decision was the result of an investigation into who owned CGTN. It found the channel was controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.
Under British law, political bodies cannot hold broadcast licences.
Ofcom concluded that Star China Media Limited, which held CGTN’s licence to broadcast, did not have editorial responsibility for the channel’s output and was a distributor of the Chinese-propaganda channel rather than the provider.
Further, it refused to transfer the licence to an entity called China Global Television Network Corporation because it was ultimately controlled by the CCP.
President Xi Jinping of China on a programme from the CGTN archive.Credit:Getty
“We are unable to approve the application to transfer the licence to China Global Television Network Corporation because it is ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, which is not permitted under UK broadcasting law,” a spokesperson for Ofcom said.
“We’ve provided CGTN with numerous opportunities to come into compliance, but it has not done so.
“We now consider it appropriate to withdraw the licence for CGTN to broadcast in the UK,” the spokesperson said.
CGTN said in a statement that the ruling was the result of “extreme right-wing organisations and anti-China forces.”
The landmark decision had not been reported on CGTN’s website more than 12 hours after the decision, according to its search function. Staff were told that the ruling would not affect the station’s UK operations and that production would continue on content that would be broadcast in other markets.
In a possible indication of the Chinese network’s response to Britain’s action, on Twitter CGTN said that China had lodged “solemn representations” to the BBC’s Beijing branch over what it claimed were its “false reports” about the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BBC rejected the claims.
“We stand by our accurate and fair reporting of events in China and totally reject these unfounded accusations of fake news or ideological bias,” the BBC said.
Simon Cheng, a former British consulate worker in Hong Kong, who was detained and tortured before fleeing to the UK where he has sought asylum, welcomed the ruling.
“CGTN caused me a great distress when I had seen my enforced confession on air after a day when I spoke out the truth,” he said.
“As choosing London to be CCTV’s regional headquarters in Europe, Ofcom’s decision on revoking the licence of CGTN is historically significant, it is clear that the mouthpiece of CCP totalitarian regime will no longer have a foothold in the UK, and it is closer to the goal of fighting back the justice and my reputation.
“After being tortured and [forced] to confess, our insistence and bravery to stand up to the abusive power is rewarded, justice is finally served after a long journey,” Cheng said.
The decision was widely welcomed across Westminster.
Nick Timothy, who served as chief of staff to former prime minister Theresa May and advises IPAC – the global coalition of MPs on China – said CGTN should never have been allowed to air in Britain in the first place.
“It is ridiculous that mouthpieces of a genocidal communist regime should ever have been allowed to broadcast in Britain,” he said.
“So this is a very welcome decision to prevent Chinese propaganda and misinformation being aired,” Timothy told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Julian Knight, the Tory MP who chairs the Commons’ Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said the ruling confirmed that the CCP was the ultimate controller of CGTN’s broadcasts.
“CGTN had already breached broadcasting codes with a forced confession, and failure on impartiality over coverage of the Hong Kong protests.
“It should be seen as a strong warning that the power to broadcast carries with it responsibility and accountability. Failing this bar will not be tolerated,” Knight said.
Kevin Brennan, a senior Labour MP who also sits on the committee also endorsed the decision.
“The UK’s media landscape is admired internationally for its quality and high standards overseen by Ofcom – so it’s right that this action was taken,” Brennan told this masthead.
CGTN is China’s English-language satellite news channel launched at the end of 2016 and broadcasts into more than 160 countries. It is headquartered in Beijing with “production centres” in London, Washington and Nairobi.
Its purpose-built London offices, in Chiswick west London, is also its hub serving Europe.
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