China protests against BBC’s statement on treatment of journalists covering Henan flooding
- BBC’s flooding reports were strongly criticised on Chinese social media, and its crew allegedly received death threats
- Chinese ministry accuses the BBC’s reports on the deadly flooding of ‘distorting the real situation of the Chinese government’s efforts to organise rescues’
The Chinese ministry in a statement accused the BBC’s reports on the deadly flooding of “distorting the real situation of the Chinese government’s efforts to organise rescues and local people’s courage to save themselves, and insinuating attacks on the Chinese government, full of ideological prejudice and double standards”.
The BBC’s flooding reports were strongly criticised on Chinese social media, and its crew allegedly received death threats.
Last Wednesday, the BBC stated: “There must be immediate action by the Chinese government to stop these attacks which continue to endanger foreign journalists.”
02:17
China floods death toll triples after Henan officials revise figures, announce investigation
The foreign ministry said the BBC statement was “inverting black and white”, and foreign journalists in China have “the right to freely report in China, as long as they comply with Chinese laws and report objectively, balancedly and accurately”.
The centre of the controversy was a video of BBC China correspondent Robin Brant describing the flood in the provincial capital Zhengzhou’s subway system as “passengers [were] left to die on the platform”.