UK: China’s ban on BBC ‘unacceptable’

ANKARA

China’s decision to ban the BBC World News channel “is an unacceptable curtailing of media freedom,” UK’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Thursday.

“China has some of the most severe restrictions on media & internet freedoms across the globe, & this latest step will only damage China’s reputation in the eyes of the world,” Raab said on Twitter.

Earlier, China’s broadcasting regulator announced a ban on the BBC World News over alleged bias.

Some of the BBC's reports on China infringed on the "principles of truthfulness and impartiality in journalism," said the state-run China Global Television Network (CGTN).

This appeared to be a tit-for-tat move, as the UK's broadcast regulator revoked the license of CGTN earlier this month.

A statement from Ofcom said it had withdrawn the license for CGTN to broadcast in the UK after its investigation concluded that the license is "wrongfully held by Star China Media Limited."