China Global Television Network

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-controlled media organization in China.[2]

"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
Country
China
AvailabilityGlobal
SloganSee the difference.
HeadquartersCCTV Headquarters, Beijing
OwnerChina Central Television
Established2016
Launch date
31 December 2016, 04:00 London Time/12:00 Beijing Time
Official website
cgtn.com

A state media outlet, CGTN is registered under the State Council of the People's Republic of China and affiliated with the Communist Party of China.[3][4]

Critics have accused CGTN of broadcasting misinformation and making false allegations against opponents of the Chinese government.[3] The network has been investigated and censured by Ofcom for allegations of biased coverage of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests and the airing of forced confessions.[5][6][7][8] CGTN has been characterized as a vehicle for government propaganda and disinformation campaigns by Reporters Without Borders and other sources.[3][4][9][10] In 2018, CGTN was ordered by the U.S. Justice Department to register as a foreign agent.[11] In 2020, the United States Department of State designated CGTN and its parent company, CCTV, as "foreign missions."[12][13]

History

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.[14][4] CCTV-4, the international channel in Mandarin Chinese, was not a part of this rebranding.

Channels
Name Language Launch date Previous name
CGTN English 20 September 1997
  • CCTV-9
  • CCTV News
CGTN Español Spanish 1 October 2007[15]
  • CCTV-E
  • CCTV Español
CGTN Français French 1 October 2007[15]
  • 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

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.[16]

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.[17]

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.[18] CGTN America said in its filings stamped Feb. 1 2019 that it disagreed with the Justice Department's decision, but registered nonetheless.[19]

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.[20] He had joined CGTN in December 2018.[21] Ofcom had several inquiries into CGTN going on in September 2019.[22] 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.[23]

On 17 March 2020, CGTN aired a video in Arabic that Reporters Without Borders classified as disinformation related to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.[24][25][26]

References
  1. 习近平致信祝贺中国国际电视台（中国环球电视网）开播 Archived 2016-12-31 at the Wayback Machine. Xinhua. 2016-12-31.
  2. "CGTN-About Us". CGTN homepage. Archived from the original on 2019-03-31. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  3. Cook, Sarah (September 25, 2019). "China Central Television: A Long-standing Weapon in Beijing's Arsenal of Repression". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 5 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  4. Lim, Louisa; Bergin, Julia (2018-12-07). "Inside China's audacious global propaganda campaign". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2020-03-10. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  5. McCarthy, Simone (2019-09-24). "Chinese broadcaster CGTN's Hong Kong protests coverage probed by UK watchdog". Archived from the original on 2020-01-27. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  6. Waterson, Jim (2020-05-26). "Chinese state TV broke Ofcom rules with biased Hong Kong coverage". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  7. "State-run CGTN faces sanctions from UK media regulator over coverage of Hong Kong protests". Hong Kong Free Press. May 27, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  8. Nuttall, Jeremy (June 10, 2020). "China broadcast my forced confession in Canada — and CRTC does nothing: ex-prisoner". Toronto Star. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  9. Handley, Erin (2020-01-17). "Print Email Facebook Twitter More Safe and sound? China launches propaganda blitz to discredit Uyghur #StillNoInfo campaign". ABC News. Archived from the original on 27 January 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  10. Varrall, Merridan (January 16, 2020). "Behind the News: Inside China Global Television Network". Lowy Institute. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  11. "Justice Department Has Ordered Key Chinese State Media Firms to Register as Foreign Agents". The Wall Street Journal. 2018-09-18. Archived from the original on 2019-04-18. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  12. Jakes, Lara; Myers, Steven Lee (2020-02-18). "U.S. Designates China's Official Media as Operatives of the Communist State". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  13. Wong, Edward (2020-06-22). "U.S. Designates Four More Chinese News Organizations as Foreign Missions". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  14. "CCTV to launch CGTN". CCTV America. 2016-12-30. Archived from the original on 2016-12-31. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  15. Split from CCTV-E&F.
  16. "'I was locked inside a steel cage': Peter Humphrey on his life inside a Chinese prison". 2019-11-30. Archived from the original on 2020-03-08. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  17. "China state TV 'confession': Peter Humphrey & Yu Yingzeng". 2016-02-07. Archived from the original on 2019-06-04. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  18. 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. Archived from the original on 2019-04-18. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
  19. "Chinese State Media Giant CGTN Registers as Foreign Agent in U.S." 2019-02-05. Archived from the original on 2020-04-04. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  20. Nilsson, Patricia (18 September 2019). "Former Ofcom director quits Chinese state broadcaster". The Financial Times. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  21. Yan, Sophia (11 July 2019). "Chinese state broadcaster hires former Ofcom director amid investigation". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 4 May 2020. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  22. Waterson, Jim (2019-09-23). "Ofcom investigates CGTN over coverage of Hong Kong protests". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2020-04-11. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  23. "Hong Kong 'torture' victim files Ofcom complaint against CGTN". 2019-11-28. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  24. Wong, Edward; Rosenberg, Matthew; Barnes, Julian E. (2020-04-22). "Chinese Agents Helped Spread Messages That Sowed Virus Panic in U.S., Officials Say". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  25. Lipin, Michael; Lu, Liyuan; Samadbeygi, Behrooz; Jedinia, Mehdi (March 24, 2020). "Iran, China Amplify Each Other's Allegations of US Coronavirus Culpability". Voice of America. Archived from the original on April 11, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  26. Mudie, Luisetta, ed. (April 21, 2020). "Press Group Warns of China's Coronavirus Misinformation War". Radio Free Asia. Archived from the original on April 21, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
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