Photographer: Leon Neal / Getty Images
Photographer: Leon Neal / Getty Images
The UK media regulator has shut down China’s state-owned TV channel CGTN, a decision that should deepen tensions with Beijing.
The license holder of the China Global Television Network, a company called Star China Media Ltd., had no editorial control over broadcasts in the UK, according to a investigation published by watchdog Ofcom on Thursday.
CGTN had requested that its license be transferred to an entity called China Global Television Network Corporation, but “crucial information” was missing from the application, and the new owner would be disqualified from owning a license as it would be controlled by a body ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, said Ofcom.
Although China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately comment on the decision, last year it accused Britain of obstructing Chinese media coverage in the UK. On Thursday, just before Ofcom’s decision, complained about a recent BBC video report on the epidemic and apologized to the broadcaster.
The proposed new license holder CGTNC did not agree that he was disqualified under British law, according to his representations shared by Ofcom. A CGTN representative was not immediately found, outside Beijing business hours.
“We gave CGTN significant time to comply with statutory rules. These efforts have now been exhausted, ”said Ofcom in the statement.
CGTN had targeted more international audiences and hired dozens of employees for a London hub opened in 2018. The channel reached 892,000 people in the last four measured weeks, totaling just 1 average daily viewing time, according to UK Broadcast Audience Research Council data. However, the restrictions will not apply to CGTN’s digital distribution channels, such as its Facebook page, which has 114 million followers.
Tensions between the two countries increased last year, partly as a result of the pandemic. After leaving the European Union, the United Kingdom has sought to intensify its trade ties with China, but in recent months it has increasingly found itself at odds with Beijing.
Last year, Boris Johnson’s government banned China’s Huawei Technologies Co. from its next-generation wireless networks amid security concerns and a political backlash over how China handled the pandemic.
After China imposed a new security law in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom offered residents in the region a way to become British citizens, a move that further ignited relations with Beijing. The UK has also spoken openly about human rights abuses in China and is trying to use its position as host of the Group of Seven summit this year to build an alliance of the top 10 economies to promote democratic values.
Ofcom is required by law to prevent bodies whose objectives are primarily political from becoming or remaining TV license holders. Last year, Ofcom found that CGTN violated the impartiality rules in its coverage of protests in Hong Kong.
Peter Humphrey, a British corporate investigator, and two others filed complaints about CGTN to Ofcom, claiming that the channel had broadcast their forced confessions. In 2020, Ofcom found CGTN’s shares in relation to Humphrey violated justice and privacy rules and was considering sanctions against CGTN that could include a ban. He is close to announcing verdicts for the other two cases.
“China is likely to respond harshly to that,” said Peter Dahlin, co-founder of Safeguard Defenders, an NGO that filed the original complaint with Ofcom. “It can never be overemphasized the importance of the CGTN in the planned expansion of the Communist Party of China to obtain soft power and influence in Europe, which with the deterioration of relations with the USA has become more important.”
– With the help of Lucille Liu and Colum Murphy
(Updates to add context everywhere.)