BBC World News has been banned from airing in China, claiming the global network “seriously violated” the country’s broadcasting rules, according to a statement from China’s National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) issued on Thursday.
China’s NRTA supported that BBC World News had broadcast reports on China that “infringed the principles of truthfulness and impartiality in journalism.”
“China’s decision to ban BBC World News in mainland China is an unacceptable curtailing of media freedom,” Britain’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement, reacting to the announcement.
“China has some of the most severe restrictions on media and internet freedoms across the globe and this latest step will only damage China’s reputation in the eyes of the world,” he added.
BBC World News was only available in international hotels and some residences, but the ban has also applied to Hong Kong, where Beijing has increasingly been exerting control.
“We are disappointed that the Chinese authorities have decided to take this course of action”. The BBC is the world’s most trusted international news broadcaster and reports on stories from around the world fairly, impartially and without fear or favour,” the BBC News Press Team tweeted shortly afterwards.
BBC statement in response to Chinese ban of BBC World News pic.twitter.com/RpLwvW4OzO
— BBC News Press Team (@BBCNewsPR) February 11, 2021