Britain’s media regulator on Thursday revoked China Global Television Network’s (CGTN) licence to broadcast after it concluded that the Chinese Communist Party had ultimate editorial responsibility for the channel.
“Our investigation showed that the licence for China Global Television Network is held by an entity which has no editorial control over its programmes,” Ofcom said.
Regulators started looking into the channel after several people had filed complaints, saying it aired their forced confessions and violated rules on fairness and accuracy. One was from a former British Consulate employee in Hong Kong who says he was detained and tortured by Chinese police for information on protesters. Another was by a British corporate investigator who said he was forced to confess while imprisoned in China. CGTN did not respond to requests for comment on those claims at the time.
The watchdog said it found that the entity that held the channel’s license, Star China Media Limited, didn’t have editorial responsibility for CGTN’s output, which is a licensing requirement.
An application to transfer the license to China Global Television Network Corporation was rejected because crucial information was missing, Ofcom said. But it also failed because we consider that CGTNC would be disqualified from holding a licence, as it is controlled by a body which is ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, it said.
The watchdog said it gave CGTN significant time to comply but those efforts have now been exhausted.
Following careful consideration, taking account of all the facts and the broadcasters and audiences rights to freedom of expression, we have decided it is appropriate to revoke the licence for CGTN to broadcast in the UK, Ofcom said.
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