UK Revoking Licence for Chinese-State Media ‘A Moment of Triumph’: Forced Confession Victims

Activists gather outside the British Consulate-General building in Hong Kong on Aug. 21, 2019, following reports that Simon Cheng, a Hong Kong consulate employee had been detained by mainland Chinese authorities on his way back to the city. Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images

The revocation of a broadcasting licence for the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) English-language news channel in the UK has been described as a “moment of triumph” and “historically significant,” by victims of the regime’s human rights abuses.

The UK’s broadcasting regulator Ofcom on Thursday revoked a licence it had granted to the CCP’s global TV mouthpiece China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the grounds that the station is “controlled by a body which is ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.” UK broadcasting laws do not allow licences for media controlled by political bodies.

According to human rights NGO Safeguard Defenders, CGTN and its Chinese-language counterpart CCTV have, on numerous occasions, aired recordings of “forced confessions” from individuals held by the state under duress. The NGO said that broadcasting of these materials amounts to “known and intentional distortion of facts and clear lies,” in violation of Ofcom’s rules on impartiality and accuracy.

Ex-Journalist

British ex-journalist Peter Humphrey, one of the four forced confessions victims the NGO represents, said Ofcom’s “unprecedented” move was a “moment of triumph.”

Humphrey, who ran a corporate due diligence firm in China, was held by the CCP for allegedly buying and selling personal data, allegations he denies. He said Chinese state police drugged him, tied him to a metal chair in a small cage, and forced him to read from a pre-written statement to “confess.”

“Seeing the licence revoked today is a moment of triumph, not only for me, but also for all the other victims of this type of abuse,” Humphrey told The Epoch Times. “It’s a slap on the face for the dictatorship in Beijing.”

He said that Ofcom has more actions against CGTN in the pipeline.

“There are still penalties expected in relation to my personal complaint against CGTN, and the complaints of Simon Cheng and Angela Gui, which will very, very soon see the final ruling,” he said.

“I would expect those complaints to receive a final ruling, very similar to mine. ... Mine was ruled upon in July last year.”

Humphrey said Ofcom had told him on Thursday that it was proceeding with outstanding business on the other complaints, and that penalties over his treatment would be “decided very shortly.”

Peter Humphrey, former journalist and consultant imprisoned in China for two years, speaks to NTD in England. NTD/Screenshot