China Global Television Network

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"CGTN" redirects here. For the television news channel in English, part of China Global Television Network, see CGTN (TV channel).
China Global Television Network (CGTN)
TypeTelevision network
BrandingCGTN
AvailabilityGlobal
SloganSee the difference.
HeadquartersCMG Guanghua Road Office Area, Beijing
OwnerChina Central Television
Launch date
31 December 2016, 04:00 London Time/12:00 Beijing Time
Official website
cgtn.com

China Global Television Network (CGTN; Chinese: 中国国际电视台; pinyin: Zhōngguó guójì diànshìtái or Chinese: 中国环球电视网; pinyin: Zhōngguó Huánqiú Diànshì Wǎng[1]), formerly CCTV International, is a group of six international multi-language television channels owned and operated by China Central Television (CCTV), a state-owned media organization in China.[2]

A state media outlet, CGTN is registered under the State Council of the People's Republic of China and thus affiliated with the Communist Party of China, and its content is shaped to suit the Party's political agenda.[3][4]

Critics accuse CGTN of representing China's government.[3] The network is being investigated by Ofcom for allegations of biased coverage, torture and airing forced concessions, and is characterized as a vehicle for the government's position by several sources.[5][3][4][6] In 2018, the United States Department of Justice ordered CGTN America to register as a "foreign agent" under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.[7]

History[edit]

All six non-Chinese language television channels under CCTV International were simultaneously relaunched at 04:00 London Time/12:00 Beijing Time, on 31 December 2016 to bear the CGTN name.[8] CCTV-4, the international channel in Mandarin Chinese, was not a part of this rebranding.[citation needed]

Channels[edit]

Name Language Launch date Previous name
CGTN English 20 September 1997
  • CCTV-9
  • CCTV News
CGTN Español Spanish 1 October 2007[9]
  • CCTV-E
  • CCTV Español
CGTN Français French 1 October 2007[9]
  • CCTV-F
  • CCTV Français
CGTN العربية Arabic 25 July 2009 CCTV العربية
CGTN Русский Russian 10 September 2009 CCTV Русский
CGTN Documentary English 1 January 2011 CCTV-9 Documentary
CGTN Africa English 11 January 2012
CGTN America English 6 February 2012
CGTN Europe English 8 October 2019

Controversies outside China[edit]

On November 23, 2018, former journalist Peter Humphrey filed a complaint to Ofcom against CCTV, alleging violations of UK broadcasting law. Humphrey's complaint cited violations of the Broadcasting Code's Fairness and Privacy provisions. It cited two films of Humphrey produced by CCTV and additionally aired in the UK by CGTN, stating that both were scripted and directed by the Chinese police, the public security bureau, while he was a prisoner, in conditions of duress amounting to torture.[10]

One such confession, staged in August 2013, was filmed by a CCTV crew with Humphrey locked in an iron chair inside a steel cage, wearing handcuffs and an orange prison vest. This was before he had been indicted, tried or convicted of a crime. The second, in July 2014, was once again filmed by CCTV, not in a cage this time, but still in a prison vest and handcuffs, before he had been tried or convicted on the charge of illegal information gathering.[11]

In the United States, the U.S. division of CGTN (known as CGTN America) was obligated to register as a "foreign agent" under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.[7] CGTN America said in its filings stamped Feb. 1 2019 that it disagreed with the Justice Department's decision, but registered nonetheless.[12]

On 18 September 2019, Nick Pollard, a veteran British TV executive, resigned from his post as consultant and advisor to CGTN, giving his reason for leaving as being CGTN's failure to comply with Ofcom's rules on impartiality in connection to its coverage of the Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests.[13] He had joined CGTN in December 2018.[14] In November 2019, CGTN aired a video of a UK consular employee, Simon Cheng, in captivity "confessing" to consorting with prostitutes. Within a week, Cheng had filed a new complaint to Ofcom.[15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ 习近平致信祝贺中国国际电视台（中国环球电视网）开播. Xinhua. 2016-12-31.
  2. ^ "CGTN-About Us". CGTN homepage. Archived from the original on 2019-03-31. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  3. ^ a b c Cook, Sarah (September 25, 2019). "China Central Television: A Long-standing Weapon in Beijing's Arsenal of Repression". The Diplomat. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  4. ^ a b Lim, Louisa; Bergin, Julia (2018-12-07). "Inside China's audacious global propaganda campaign". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  5. ^ Humphrey, Peter (20 January 2020). "China's media is complicit in torture".
  6. ^ Handley, Erin (2020-01-17). "Print Email Facebook Twitter More Safe and sound? China launches propaganda blitz to discredit Uyghur #StillNoInfo campaign". ABC News. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  7. ^ a b O’Keeffe, Kate; Viswanatha, Aruna (2018-09-18). "Justice Department Has Ordered Key Chinese State Media Firms to Register as Foreign Agents". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
  8. ^ "CCTV to launch CGTN". CCTV America. 2016-12-30. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  9. ^ a b Split from CCTV-E&F.
  10. ^ "'I was locked inside a steel cage': Peter Humphrey on his life inside a Chinese prison". 2019-11-30. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  11. ^ "China state TV 'confession': Peter Humphrey & Yu Yingzeng". 2016-02-07. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  12. ^ "Chinese State Media Giant CGTN Registers as Foreign Agent in U.S." 2019-02-05. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  13. ^ Nilsson, Patricia (18 September 2019). "Former Ofcom director quits Chinese state broadcaster". The Financial Times. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  14. ^ Yan, Sophia (11 July 2019). "Chinese state broadcaster hires former Ofcom director amid investigation". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  15. ^ "Hong Kong 'torture' victim files Ofcom complaint against CGTN". 2019-11-28. Retrieved 2020-04-04.

External links[edit]

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