Beijing complains about BBC ‘fake news’: UK regulator revokes Chinese TV licence

LONDON/BEIJING: Britain's media regulator on Thursday revoked a Chinese TV licence after it concluded that the Chinese Communist Party had ultimate editorial responsibility for the channel while Beijing lodged an official complaint over the BBC's COVID-19 coverage.

Britain and China have been exchanging barbs for months over Beijing's crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong, concerns over the security of Huawei technology and the treatment of Uighur Muslims in China's remote Xinjiang region.

After an investigation, the British regulator Ofcom concluded that China Global Television Network's (CGTN), an English language international Chinese channel, was ultimately controlled by the Communist Party.

"Our investigation showed that the licence for China Global Television Network is held by an entity which has no editorial control over its programmes," Ofcom said.