China protests 'Xinjiang critical reports' to UK BBC... UK cancels license of Chinese broadcaster's bureau

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] Tensions between China and the UK are escalating over a report by the British BBC broadcasting station claiming that women in re-education camps in China's Xinjiang (新疆) region were systematically sexually assaulted.

According to Xinhua News Agency on the 5th, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged a protest with the BBC's Beijing bureau chief regarding the BBC's critical coverage of China. The ministry stated that the BBC linked the issue to politics and reported it with ideological bias in its COVID-19 related broadcasts.

The UK government responded by revoking the broadcasting license of China Global Television Network (CGTN), which opened its European headquarters in London in 2019. The reason cited was that CGTN operates under the control of the Chinese Communist Party.

Wang Wenbin (汪文斌), spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular briefing that "China has already explained its position multiple times regarding the unfair, non-objective, and irresponsible reports by the BBC," and emphasized that "China will clearly distinguish right from wrong on the related issues and should not be deceived by fake news."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Spokesperson Wang also stated, "We must respond objectively and rationally to the biased reports that deceive and mislead us."

When asked whether the BBC's report aligns with the facts, he replied, "We already responded yesterday that it does not correspond to the truth," and stressed, "China has already made announcements regarding the falsehoods and facts related to the Xinjiang issue."

He continued, "Various countries are criticizing China based on the BBC's report," and raised his voice, calling it "an unacceptable act."

He added, "Some people treat the BBC's report as if it were true and believe that bad things are happening in Xinjiang," calling this "a completely false prejudice."

Major Chinese media also joined the criticism of the BBC. The state-run Global Times claimed, "The BBC report alleging organized rape, sexual abuse, and torture of women in Xinjiang re-education training centers lacks sufficient evidence," and asserted, "The woman who gave the testimony has never been to any training center in Xinjiang nor undergone any surgery."

They further stated, "A close look at this sensational report reveals that it is based solely on the testimony of the woman and her claim of being raped," and "The BBC did not present any evidence to prove its report."

As tensions between Chinese and British media outlets worsen, the possibility of expelling correspondents stationed in each other's countries cannot be ruled out. China had a similar conflict with the United States in March last year.

At that time, the US imposed sanctions designating five Chinese state-run media outlets?including Xinhua News Agency, CGTN, China Radio International, and China Daily?as foreign missions.

In response, China ordered journalists from The New York Times (NYT), The Washington Post (WP), and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) whose press credentials expire this year to return their press cards within 10 days.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.