On Tuesday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spoke with Ambassador Caroline Wilson and filed a formal complaint with her against a message she published on WeChat, the popular Chinese social media network, last week.
In the piece, Wilson argued that “foreign media in China is misrepresented, obscuring their positive role.”
“Criticism of the Chinese authorities by the foreign media does not mean that they hate China,” she wrote. “On the contrary, I believe they are acting in good faith and playing an active role as watchdogs for government action, ensuring people have access to accurate information and protecting those who do not have a voice.”
Last month, UK regulator Ofcom yanked state broadcaster China Global Television Network, or CGTN, from the UK airwaves, saying the channel’s licensee had no “editorial responsibility” for its output. Officials also said that CGTN could not transfer its license to a new entity as it would ultimately still be under the control of the Chinese Communist Party.
A week later, China’s National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) banned BBC World News, claiming that the network had broadcast reports on China that “violated the principles of truthfulness and impartiality in journalism.”
In her WeChat post, WIlson added that local news organizations in China often face tougher conditions than foreign ones.
“Unlike foreign media, Chinese media can only report critically under the conditions allowed by the government,” she writes.
The article angered Chinese officials, who called Wilson’s post “inappropriate.”
In a statement, the head of the European Affairs Department at China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Wilson “complained.” [on behalf of] individual foreign media outlets for false news and inaccurate reports, deliberately confusing news blasphemy with news monitoring, and being ‘selectively blind’ to the foreign party’s crackdown on the Chinese media. ‘
During their meeting, the Chinese official stressed that “ the Chinese government and the Chinese people never oppose foreign media, but violently attack those who produce fake news and violently attack China, the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese system under the banner of ‘freedom of the press’ and ” freedom of expression, ” said the statement by China’s Foreign Ministry.
The ministry said Wilson’s article had “spread widespread discontent among the Chinese public and was strongly criticized.” It has since been limited to be further shared on WeChat.
Tencent TCEHY, the Chinese tech giant that operates the messaging platform, added a message to the message saying it “violates” the platform’s rules. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Wilson doubled up on her post on Tuesday.
“I support my article,” she said
on Twitter The US social network service has been blocked in China.
“The outgoing Chinese ambassador to the UK is undoubtedly behind the more than 170 pieces he was able to post in mainstream British media,” added Wilson, referring to Liu Xiaoming, China’s longtime envoy to Britain.
“The UK is committed to media freedom and democracy and human rights around the world. We will always defend the media freedom and the right of journalists to do their work,” a spokesman for the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement. statement. The British Embassy in Beijing declined to comment outside of Wilson’s comments.
In another swipe on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian called Wilson’s piece “ an intervention in China’s internal affairs, ” [which] reflects its consistent dual standards and deep-seated ideological bias. “
Simmering tensions
Chinese authorities have often criticized the way the country is portrayed in Western media, but the focus on the BBC has been particularly sharp in recent months. Beijing has repeatedly expressed frustration at the outlet’s coverage of China’s crackdown on Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.
Before CGTN was banned in the UK, Chinese state media carried out numerous attacks on the BBC for what it called “malicious” coverage of the human rights issue in Xinjiang. The BBC has defended its coverage.
A few weeks after the UK revoked CGTN’s broadcasting license, CGTN posted a video entitled, “Why is the BBC making fake news against China?” referring to UK network coverage in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
Ofcom also fined CGTN on Monday at £ 125,000 ($ 173,000) for several programs it aired in 2019 about the Hong Kong protests. The agency had previously ruled that CGTN had repeatedly violated norms of impartiality in its coverage of the demonstrations.
The agency also announced a fine of £ 100,000 ($ 139,000) for broadcasting the confession of a British citizen arrested in China in 2013. The man, Peter Humphrey, said his confession was forced.
