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China ‘firmly opposes’ UK’s decision, urges Ofcom to 'revoke' fines on CGTN

Tuesday, 09 March 2021 4:41 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 09 March 2021 4:53 PM ]

The UK appears to be determined to crack down hard on the Chinese state broadcaster

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged the UK Office of Communications (Ofcom) to immediately cease engaging in political manipulation and revoke its "wrong decision" of fining the Chinese broadcaster CGTN.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, expressed concern about the "decision" made by Ofcom before adding that China is "opposed" to repeated efforts by the British regulator to "create obstacles" for Chinese media to carry out normal news reporting in the UK.

Lijian urged Ofcom to revoke its "wrong[ful] decision”.

Lijian's protest note comes on the heels of Ofcom’s decision to impose a￡225,000 fine on China Global Television Network (CGTN) for "breaching rules on fairness, privacy and due impartiality" after CGTN aired confessions made by British citizen, Peter Humphrey, which he later claimed was made under duress.

OfCom revokes licence of Chinese networks CGTN

Noting that Humphrey had confessed to illegally obtaining citizens' personal information, Lijian asserted that “Humphrey should repent and make a fresh start instead of making unfounded claims. By doing this, not only will his wrongdoings not be erased, he will also be subject to moral judgment”.

Meanwhile, Lijian strongly backed the Chinese broadcaster by claiming it has always adhered to an objective and impartial attitude in its reporting.

Furthermore, Lijian claimed that by contrast the UK's overall attitude to China is marred by “ideological bias”.

On the issue of “rightful and necessary countermeasures”, Lijian noted that Ofcom’s move constitutes a blatant political oppression and that the UK regulator should investigate certain British media outlets' biased and falsified reports on China-related issues.

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