Chinese regulators banned BBC World News on Thursday, saying the global network was “seriously violating” the country’s broadcasting rules.
The National Radio and Television Administration cited “the requirement that the news be truthful and fair” and not “harm China’s national interests.”
Therefore, the channel does not meet the requirements for foreign channels broadcasting in China and their application to broadcast one more year will not be accepted, he added.
Chinese regulators have eliminated BBC World
BBC World News in English is not included in most TV channel packages in China, but is available in some hotels and residences.
“We are disappointed that the Chinese authorities have decided to take this line of action,” the BBC said in a statement.
“The BBC is the world’s most trusted international news station and reports on stories from around the world in a fair, impartial and fearless and unfavorable manner.”
British regulators ban Chinese state television
China’s move comes a week after British regulator Ofcom revoked the UK’s license for the China Global Television Network (CGTN)
An investigation showed that an entity dubbed Star China Media Limited mistakenly owned the network license.
Ofcom said it had no “editorial responsibility” for channel production and therefore “does not meet the legal requirement to have control over the licensed service.”
He added that Star acted as a distributor and not as a news channel provider.
British regulators also rejected a CGTN proposal to transfer the license to a new entity.
They found that he would eventually still be controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and would therefore be disqualified under UK law.
UK: “This will damage China’s reputation”
On Thursday, the UK government described China’s decision to ban the BBC as “unacceptable”.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Twitter: “China’s decision to ban BBC World News in mainland China is an unacceptable restriction on media freedom.”
“China has some of the most severe restrictions on media and internet freedoms around the world, and this latest step will only hurt China’s reputation in the eyes of the world.”
jf / dj (AFP, Reuters)