A spokesperson for the Chinese Mission to the European Union (EU) said Friday that BBC World News has undermined China's national interests and ethnic solidarity, highlighting that "double standards shall not be applied to fighting disinformation."
The Chinese envoy made the remarks in response to an EU statement on the BBC ban in China. Earlier Friday, the European External Action Service (EEAS) issued a statement, saying that the Chinese authorities' decision to ban BBC World News is a move by China restricting so-called "freedom of expression and access to information."
Asked to comment on the EEAS statement, the spokesperson noted investigations show that BBC World News "has seriously violated China's regulations on radio and television services and on overseas satellite TV channel management in its China-related reports which went against the requirements that news reporting must be truthful and impartial, and has undermined China's national interests and ethnic solidarity."
As the channel fails to meet the requirements to broadcast in China as an overseas channel, China's National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) has decided not to allow BBC World News to continue its broadcasting service within Chinese territory, and will not accept the channel's broadcasting application for the new year, said the spokesperson.
Stressing that "truthfulness, objectivity and impartiality are fundamental requirements for news reporting and important prerequisites for media freedom," the envoy said that "double standards shall not be applied to fighting disinformation. The freedom of press under double standards can only be seen as freedom of disinformation."
"I want to point out that RTHK, as a public broadcaster in Hong Kong, has decided to pull the relevant BBC programs off the air in accordance with the NRTA's communication," the envoy said, adding that the EU side "has no right to use it as a pretext to make irresponsible comments on the Hong Kong national security law."
