China has prohibited BBC World News from airing in the country. This is one week following their threat of retaliation for the recent termination of the British broadcasting license for China's state-owned CGTN.
According to the National Radio and Television Administration, in a statement on Friday, BBC World News coverage of China had contravened requirements that news reporting be impartial and true. It undermined China's ethnic solidarity and national interests.
China Bans BBC World News
The move comes one week following British media regulator Ofcom's revocation of China Global Television Network's U.K. broadcast license.
The Chinese government has condemned the BBC's reporting on COVID-19 in China and the nation's oppression of ethnic minority Uighurs, reported Yahoo News.
The Radio and Television Administration stated, "The channel fails to meet the requirements to broadcast in China as an overseas channel. It added that it would not accept BBC's broadcast application for 2022, reported ABP Live.
The move on Thursday was reportedly very symbolic because BBC World News was merely shown on cable television systems in hotels and apartment compounds for foreigners and other businesses. However, it draws foreign news outfits deeper into Beijing's rising conflict with Western governments after 2020's suspension of reporters for U.S. newspapers.
NRTA claimed in the statement that BBC World News had reported news on China that "infringed the principles of truthfulness and impartiality in journalism," reported CNN.
On February 4, China's Foreign Ministry denounced the broadcaster for its coverage of China's response to the pandemic and regarded its reports as "fake news."
According to a BBC spokesperson, "We are disappointed that the Chinese authorities have decided to take this course of action. The BBC is the world's most trusted international news broadcaster and reports on stories from around the world fairly, impartially and without fear or favor."
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The decision came days following the United Kingdom's own regulator revoking the license of CGTN for provoking angry accusations of censorship from London and breaking U.K. law on state-backed ownership.
Thursday's move will reportedly do little to mitigate relations between the two countries. Their relationship has been increasingly strained by China's introduction of security law in the U.K.'s former colony, Hong Kong.
Therefore, BBC World News does not meet qualifications for foreign channels broadcasting in China, and its application to air for another year will not ensue.
English-language BBC is not included in most T.V. channel packages in China.
The China government has also criticized the network's reports of allegations of sexual abuse and forced labor in the Xinjiang region, home to the Uighurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called the move an unacceptable suppression of media freedom that would harm China's reputation in the eyes of the world.
According to the BBC World News, Ofcom's decision to withdraw the CGTN's license earlier this month followed the British media regulator discovering that Star China Media Ltd wrongfully held CGTN's license.
