China urges British communications regulator to cease political manipulation: spokesperson

BEIJING -- China urges British communications regulator Ofcom and certain individuals to immediately cease engaging in political manipulation and correct their mistakes, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press briefing in response to reports that Ofcom has fined China Global Television Network 225,000 British pounds for "breaching rules on fairness, privacy and due impartiality" just weeks after it stripped the network of its right to air in Britain.

"We are concerned about the decision made by Ofcom and firmly oppose its repeated efforts to create obstacles for Chinese media to carry out normal news reporting in Britain. We once again urge Ofcom to revoke its wrong decision," Zhao said.

CGTN always follows the principles of objectivity and impartiality in its reporting. China has repeatedly expressed its firm opposition to Ofcom's decision to arbitrarily revoke the broadcasting rights of CGTN's English-language satellite news channel in Britain, the spokesperson said.

By once again making the wrong judgment, Ofcom is revealing its strong ideological bias against China. The ridiculous move is blatant political oppression, Zhao added.

What Ofcom should do is to investigate and deal with some British media outlets' long-standing false reports concerning China, he said, adding that China reserves the right to make further legitimate and necessary responses.