British Empire Bans China’s TV Network over Hong Kong Coverage

Feb. 4 , 2021 (EIRNS)—The United Kingdom’s regulator Ofcom today revoked the license of China’s CGTN television, removing its ability to broadcast in the Great Britain. Ofcom—whose motto is “making communications work for everyone”—claimed that the network’s owner, Star China Media, “has no editorial control over its programs” as CGTN is “ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.” Ofcom cited, in particular, that CGTN’s coverage of riots (what Ofcom called “protests”) in Hong Kong were a “serious breach” of fairness.

The revocation comes one week after China announced that British National Overseas passports (held by many of Britain’s former colonial subjects in Hong Kong) would no longer be honored as travel or identification documents.

That decision by China itself came just two days before the U.K. was to begin accepting applications from BNO holders for a visa offering a path to residency and citizenship in the U.K.