Brit regulator hits China network with hefty fines

British regulators have imposed fines of 225,000 (HK$2.42 million) on China network China Global Television Network, having already revoked its license and upheld a further two complaints made by Hong Kong dissidents.

The Office of Communications fined the network 100,000 over a complaint by British national Peter Humphrey, who said he was forced to make a criminal confession aired by CGTN in 2013.

The regulator ruled that CGTN - CCTV News before 2016 - "ought to have been aware . . . there were reasons to doubt Mr Humphrey's consent was genuine and informed."

Humphrey was jailed for more than two years by a court in Shanghai in 2014 in connection with a case involving pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline.

The broadcaster, whose license was held by Star China Media, justified the report on public-interest grounds, arguing it had Humphrey's consent and was not aware of mistreatment.

CGTN must also pay 125,000 after Ofcom ruled that five programs aired in 2019 covering the Hong Kong protests "failed to maintain due impartiality."

The English-language satellite broadcaster has long faced criticism for parroting Chinese Communist Party lines.

Ofcom revoked its license last month after finding the state-backed ownership structure broke British law.

It could face further fines after Ofcom upheld complaints by dissidents Simon Cheng Man-kit and Gui Minhai.

Gui, known for publishing gossipy books about Beijing leaders, disappeared while on holiday in Thailand in 2015 and resurfaced in China, where he served two years in prison.

A few months after his October 2017 release he was again arrested, this time while on a train to Beijing with Swedish diplomats. He was hit with a 10-year jail term this year on charges of providing intelligence abroad.

CCTV News aired footage of Gui appearing to express regret over drink-driving charges for which he was initially imprisoned. He complained he was "forced into taking part in the interviews [when] being held incommunicado."

The regulator also upheld a complaint by Cheng, a former British consulate staffer in Hong Kong granted asylum in Britain.

Hong Kong citizen Cheng disappeared while on a 2019 business trip to Shenzhen.

He said he was tortured and interrogated by secret police while he was detained there for 15 days. Chinese police said Cheng had been detained for "soliciting prostitutes," and CGTN published a video purporting to show him confessing.

Ofcom ruled that CTGN had not respected Cheng's privacy nor done enough to uncover and report on circumstances of the confession.

China's broadcasting regulator last month banned BBC World News, accusing it of flouting guidelines over a report about Beijing's treatment of the Uygurs.

That was seen as retaliation for Ofcom's ban on CGTN.