The Chinese foreign ministry said it ‘reserves the right to take further measures’ against the BBC
The BBC and the Chinese state broadcaster are at the center of the most recent political clash between the U.K. and China, with Beijing floating “further measures” against the British Broadcasting Corporation and accusing it of being “fake news.”
The push back against the BBC comes a day after Ofcom, the U.K. media regulator, stripped China’s state broadcaster of its right to air in the U.K., after an investigation found that the channel was controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.
Ofcom said that Star China Media Limited, which held the license to broadcast China Global Television Network, or CGTN, in the U.K., didn’t have editorial responsibility over the outlet’s content. This is in contravention of U.K. law requiring broadcast licensees to have editorial autonomy over what they air.
The regulator said that it also had to deny an application to transfer the license from Star China Media to another entity, called CGTN Corporation, for the same reason.
“We are unable to approve the application to transfer the license to China Global Television Network Corporation because it is ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, which isn’t permitted under U.K. broadcasting law,” Ofcom said.
