10 Years After Gui Minhai’s Abduction, China State Broadcaster CGTN Faces Renewed Scrutiny Over Unpaid Fines
A pedestrian walks past an office block that houses the offices of China's CGTN Europe (China Global Television Network), in Chiswick Park, west London, on Feb. 4, 2021. The UK's broadcast regulator on Thursday revoked the licence of Chinese news network CGTN after finding its state-backed ownership structure flouted British law, and warned of punishment ahead after it aired an alleged forced confession. Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images
A decade after Hong Kong-Swedish publisher Gui Minhai was forcibly taken from his Thai holiday home by Chinese agents—a case that has become emblematic of Beijing’s transnational repression—China Global Television Network (CGTN) remains embroiled in legal battles over its conduct in the UK, even as it continues to broadcast across the European Union.
Peter Dahlin
Author
Peter Dahlin is the founder of the NGO Safeguard Defenders and the co-founder of the Beijing-based Chinese NGO China Action (2007–2016). He is the author of “Trial by Media” and a contributor to “The People’s Republic of the Disappeared.” He lived in Beijing from 2007 until he was detained and placed in a secret jail in 2016, and subsequently deported and banned. Prior to living in China, he worked for the Swedish government on gender-equality issues. He now lives in Madrid.
