China has strongly criticised the revocation of the broadcasting licence of its state broadcaster, China Global Television Network (CGTN) in Britain.
“We urge the UK to immediately stop political manoeuvres and correct its mistakes.
China reserves the right to take necessary action to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese media,’’ Foreign Ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, said in Beijing on Friday.
Earlier on Thursday, the British media regulator, Ofcom, had announced that the English-language state broadcaster, CGTN, had lost its broadcasting licence in Britain because of a lack of independence.
The company, Star China Media Limited, which holds the CGTN licence, does not bear editorial responsibility for the content the channel puts out.
Relations between London and Beijing have recently become increasingly strained because Britain has repeatedly criticised China’s handling of the democracy movement in Hong Kong.
London had also criticised Beijing’s crackdown on the Uighur Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region.
CGTN on Friday also condemned the actions of the British authorities, for which, according to a statement by the broadcaster, “extreme right-wing organisations and anti-China forces’’ were responsible.
“Ofcom had ignored the fact that CGTN is an international media organisation with an excellent reputation worldwide for professionalism,’’ it said.
It added that CGTN’s broadcasting was in the public interest of Britain.
Immediately after the licence withdrawal was announced, China targeted the British broadcaster, BBC, on Thursday.
The Beijing Foreign Ministry accused the BBC of spreading fake news about China.
It said it reserved the right to take further steps. (dpa/NAN)