China attacks BBC a day after British broadcast regulator Ofcom bans state media channel CGTN

Name: China attacks BBC a day after UK revokes licence of Chinese state broadcaster CGTN
Uploaded: 2021-02-05T07:46:00.000Z
Duration: 2 min 24 s
Description: China attacks BBC a day after UK revokes licence of Chinese state broadcaster CGTN

British broadcaster accused of spreading ‘fake news’ in wake of decision to remove CGTN from airwaves over Communist Party control of output

BBC criticised over coverage of Covid-19 pandemic and reports of mass report in Xinjiang internment camps

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The Chinese foreign ministry criticised the BBC’s reporting. Photo: Shutterstock

Reuters

Published: 3:46pm, 5 Feb 2021Updated: 10:31am, 6 Feb 2021

The BBC came under fire from Chinese officials and social media on Friday, a day after Britain’s media regulator revoked the television licence of Chinese state media outlet CGTN.

Britain and China have been exchanging barbs for months over China’s crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong, concern over the security of Huawei technology and the treatment of Uygurs in China’s Xinjiang region.

On Thursday, Britain’s Ofcom revoked the licence of CGTN, the English-language sister channel of state broadcaster CCTV, after concluding that the Chinese Communist Party had ultimate editorial responsibility for the channel.

Minutes later, China’s foreign ministry issued a statement accusing the BBC of pushing “fake news” in its Covid-19 reporting, demanding an apology and saying that the broadcaster had politicised the pandemic and “rehashed theories about covering up by China”.

02:24

China attacks BBC a day after UK revokes licence of Chinese state broadcaster CGTN

The BBC said its reporting is fair and unbiased.

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