The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China summoned the British ambassador, increasing the dispute between the countries because of the freedom of the press.
The ministry said in a statement that Ambassador Caroline Wilson posted a public article on the popular message service WeChat complaining about sanctions against foreign media, even when these media spread false news. The article “deliberately confused defamation with critical reporting” and was “selectively blind” to Chinese media oppression, the ministry said.
“Critical media play a positive role in watching government action and protecting those who have no voice,” wrote Wilson earlier this month, when she shared the Chinese article on Twitter.
Tensions between countries increased due to China’s early treatment of the pandemic and because the Boris Johnson government offered Hong Kong residents a path to British citizenship after Beijing imposed a national security law last year on the former British colony. . The United Kingdom has also criticized China for its treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority in Xinjiang province.
Read more: The UK offer to Hong Kong activists is great if you can afford it
These frictions spread to access to the media. In February, the British media regulator shut down the Chinese state television channel CGTN, citing a problem with the transfer of his license to an entity controlled by the Communist Party of China. The Chinese government subsequently took the British Broadcasting Corp. world news off air.
The United Kingdom faces China because of Hong Kong
China’s Foreign Ministry said Wilson’s article shows “condescending arrogance”. He said his actions were “inconsistent with the status of diplomats” and cited the public’s anger at the publication.
Wilson countered the ministry’s remarks.
“The United Kingdom is committed to freedom of the media and to the defense of democracy and human rights worldwide,” said a spokesman for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. “We will always defend the freedom of the media and the right of journalists to do their jobs.”
WeChat restricted sharing of the article hours after its original publication in the embassy’s official account.
– With the help of Lucille Liu and Colum Murphy
(Updates with comments from the UK foreign office in the eighth paragraph)