Ofcom's CGTN fine a 'political manipulation'

China has urged British communications regulator Ofcom and certain individuals to immediately cease engaging in political manipulation and correct their mistakes, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian was responding to reports that Ofcom had fined China Global Television Network British pounds 225,000 (US$313,000) for “breaching rules on fairness, privacy and due impartiality,” just weeks after it stripped the network of its right to air in Britain. “We are concerned about the decision made by Ofcom and firmly oppose its repeated efforts to create obstacles for Chinese media to carry out normal news reporting in Britain. We once again urge Ofcom to revoke its wrong decision,” Zhao said.

CGTN always follows the principles of objectivity and impartiality in its reporting. China has repeatedly expressed its firm opposition to Ofcom’s decision to arbitrarily revoke the broadcasting rights of the English-language satellite news channel in Britain, Zhao said.

By once again making the wrong judgment, Ofcom is revealing its strong ideological bias against China. The ridiculous move is blatant political oppression. Zhao said what Ofcom should do is to investigate and deal with some British media outlets’ long-standing false reports on China. He added that China reserves the right to make further legitimate and necessary responses.