BEIJING: China has banned the BBC World News television channel in a diplomatic fight with Britain after British regulators revoked the license of state-owned Chinese broadcaster CGTN.

Stating the reason behind the ban, the National Radio and Television Administration in China on Thursday said reports by BBC World News had “violated requirements that news should be truthful and fair”, harming China’s interests and undermining the unity of the nation. 

The Chinese government has criticized BBC reports about the corona pandemic in China and about allegations of forced labour and sexual abuse in the Xinjiang region, home to the Uighurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups. In a statement, the National Radio and Television Administration said that the BBC fails to meet the requirements to broadcast in China as an overseas channel.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called the move “an unacceptable curtailing of media freedom” that would “only damage China’s reputation in the eyes of the world.”

Earlier, Britain’s communications watchdog, Ofcom, revoked the license for China’s English-language satellite news channel,  CGTN on Feb. 4. It cited links to China’s ruling Communist Party among the reasons.

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