China’s CGTN loses licence, found flouting British law

The United Kingdom’s broadcast regulator, on Thursday, said the license of Chinese news network CGTN’s license has been revoked after it was found flouting British Law, news agency AFP reported. 

UK’s broadcast regulator, Ofcom, said the current license holder, Star China Media Ltd, had failed to show that it had editorial oversight over CGTN. And it was ruled that a proposed alternative was ultimately tied to the Chinese Communist Party, the report further stated.

There was no immediate comment from CGTN, which opened a state-of-the-art European headquarters in London in 2019, or from the Chinese government to the ruling by Britain’s Ofcom regulator, AFP reported.

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But in a parallel development, China’s foreign ministry said it had lodged “stern representations” to the BBC, accusing the UK broadcaster of “fake news” in its coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

In Britain, the BBC has been airing a hard-hitting documentary that accuses China of covering up the origins of the pandemic around the city of Wuhan in late 2019.

“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 responded in a statement.

“We have given CGTN significant time to come into compliance with the statutory rules. Those efforts have now been exhausted,” Ofcom said in a statement.

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“Following careful consideration, taking account of all the facts and the broadcaster’s and audience’s rights to freedom of expression, we have decided it is appropriate to revoke the licence for CGTN to broadcast in the UK.”

Ofcom added that it would conclude an ongoing investigation into alleged breaches by CGTN of impartiality, fairness and privacy requirements “shortly”.