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BEIJING: China criticized a BBC report, days after summoning the British ambassador to Beijing to record her disgust at a recent article she wrote defending press freedom.
The Chinese embassy in London posted a statement on its website on Thursday (March 11) saying that it had written to the BBC expressing “strong dissatisfaction” and urging the broadcaster to “drop prejudice, correct its error and inform China in an objective, fair and balanced manner. “
On Tuesday, China’s Foreign Ministry summoned Ambassador Caroline Wilson for her article posted on the Chinese embassy’s microblog in which she said critical reports about China do not imply hatred or disrespect for the country itself. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Wednesday that Wilson’s article reflected his “deep-seated ideological biases.”
The criticism reflects deep Chinese anger both over the BBC’s reporting on sensitive issues such as the coronavirus outbreak and abuses against Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, and over the British government’s decision to clear a path for residency and eventual citizenship. for millions of Hong Kong residents.
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China last month banned the BBC from the small number of hotels, residential complexes and offices where it had been shown, in apparent retaliation for its reports on the revocation of the license of the Chinese state broadcaster CGTN by China and Gran Brittany.
Britain has condemned the Chinese crackdown on civil liberties in the former British colony of Hong Kong, which has been accelerated last year by the imposition of a comprehensive national security law and steps by the Chinese parliament to eliminate even the possibility of civil liberties. Critics of the government are running for public office in the UK. semi-autonomous city.
Dozens of activists have been arrested and charged with breaking the law, while freedom of expression and assembly have been severely restricted, apparently betraying China’s commitment to allow Hong Kong to maintain its own social, political and legal system. for 50 years after the handover to 1997. Chinese dominance.
In its letter, the Chinese Embassy highlighted a BBC Radio 4 report titled The Disinformation Dragon that aired on Tuesday. The report made “unfounded accusations against China on issues related, among others, to information, COVID-19 and diplomacy.”
“China has always been a country of decorum and deeply values harmony. We have never been the ones to initiate provocations and we have no intention of intervening in the internal affairs of other countries. It is the others who continue to meddle in our internal affairs and smear China, “the letter said.
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In his criticism of Wilson’s article, Zhao said that China had told him its “solemn position on the relevant issue.”
“Ambassador Wilson’s article, with fuzzy logic, avoids all facts, including misinformation and false reports from the British media about China,” Zhao said.
He accused Wilson of ignoring the alleged crackdown on Chinese media in the West and praising “the so-called Western experience in an arrogant tone” and making “irresponsible remarks about China’s system and media.”
Wilson responded on Twitter, writing: “I agree with my article. Without a doubt, the outgoing Chinese ambassador to the UK stands behind the more than 170 pieces that he was free to put in the mainstream British media.
