US government investigates ownership of American stations running output from state-run China Radio International

The Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department are investigating a California firm whose US radio broadcasts are backed by a subsidiary of the Chinese government, officials said.

The investigations come in response to a report published on Monday that revealed the existence of the covert radio network, which broadcasts in more than a dozen American cities, including Washington, Philadelphia, Boston, Houston and San Francisco.

“Based on reports, the FCC will initiate an inquiry into the facts surrounding the foreign ownership issues raised in the stories, including whether the commission’s statutory foreign ownership rules have been violated,” commission spokesman Neil Grace said.

The California firm is owned by James Su, a naturalised US citizen born in Shanghai. Su’s company, G&E Studio, is 60 per cent owned by a subsidiary of Chinese state-run radio broadcaster China Radio International.

The communication commission doesn’t restrict content on US radio stations, except for rules covering indecency, political advertising and children’s programming.

READ MORE: Online video and TV services in China could face fines if they refuse to employ censors