China Followed by Hong Kong Halts BBC Broadcasts in Retaliation Against UK

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] Following China's ban on the mainland broadcast of the UK's BBC World News, Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK (Radio Television Hong Kong) has also decided to suspend the relay of BBC programs.

According to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 12th (local time), RTHK announced that it would stop relaying BBC World News and BBC News Weekly from 11 p.m. local time on the same day.

Earlier, the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA), a broadcasting regulatory agency directly under the State Council of China, announced a ban on the broadcast of the UK's BBC World News within China.

Shen Yi, a professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University, criticized BBC for promoting separatism in China over a considerable period, endangering China's national security.

Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, predicted that China might take additional retaliatory measures. He said that if BBC does not correct its mistakes and stop distorting issues related to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Xinjiang, China might expel BBC journalists. He added, "If journalists cannot report the true China, it is right to expel them."

Professor Li pointed out that BBC's coverage related to China has caused significant damage to China-UK relations, especially its reporting on COVID-19.

The suspension of RTHK's relay came just one week after the UK broadcasting regulator revoked the broadcasting license of China Global Television Network (CGTN), the English-language channel of China's state-run CCTV. CGTN, perceived as a Chinese Shenzhen media outlet, has been based in London and operated its European business.

In a statement, Chinese authorities said, "BBC World's coverage related to China seriously violated overseas satellite television broadcasting regulations." They added, "(BBC World) violated regulations requiring truthfulness and fairness, harmed China's national interests, and damaged the unity of the Chinese nation," and "did not meet the requirements for broadcasting within Chinese territory. Applications for broadcasting will not be accepted for one year." They did not specify the exact cases of regulatory violations.

According to the Associated Press, the Chinese government has criticized BBC's reports on the COVID-19 pandemic in China and forced labor of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.

BBC has reported that women in detention centers in the Xinjiang region were systematically subjected to sexual assault, sexual abuse, and torture. The U.S. Department of State estimates that up to two million people have been detained in these facilities. China maintains that these facilities are vocational education centers, not detention centers.

It remains uncertain whether this measure will have a substantial impact within mainland China.

According to CNN, BBC viewing has never been permitted in mainland China or ordinary households. Until now, BBC could only be watched in hotels, corporations, and foreign resident facilities in China.

Western media are closely watching whether BBC correspondents in China will be forced to leave. Last year, amid heightened tensions with the Trump administration, China expelled foreign journalists from the Washington Post (WP), Wall Street Journal (WSJ), and New York Times (NYT).

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab stated, "China's reduction of press freedom is unacceptable," and added, "China imposes the most severe restrictions on media and internet freedom worldwide, and the recent measures only damage China's global reputation." In response, the Chinese Embassy in the UK defended the decision as "legal and reasonable." It also claimed that BBC had made "malicious attacks" against the Chinese Communist Party. The embassy urged BBC to "abandon Cold War thinking and stop spreading false information."

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