Safeguard’s letter also noted that when the CRTC granted CCTV a broadcast license in 2006, it did so with the proviso that it would remove its license if it found that the station had broadcast insulting content. Pictured is the CCTV building in Beijing.
Canada’s federal Conservative MPs are proposing changes to Canada’s Broadcasting Act that, if passed, could see two state-owned Chinese Communist TV stations taken off the air in Canada.
The proposed changes would target any foreign media outlet that is “subject to the control of a foreign government that is undemocratic or has committed genocide or crimes against humanity, and that disseminates, produces or participates in the production of forced confession programs.
Garnett Genuis, the Conservative human rights critic, and Alain Rayes, the party’s cultural heritage critic, said the proposal is aimed at stopping dictatorships or genocidal countries from propagandizing Canadians over the airwaves.
“Canada will not allow state-controlled foreign media to promote and glorify human rights abuses.” In a statement released April 13, the two MPs said, “Allowing foreign governments that violate human rights to promote these abuses or combat legitimate criticism on Canadian television channels runs counter to our Canadian values and the principles of free and open dialogue.”
Civil Society Calls to Stop Airing CCP Lies
The two MPs’ statements came on the same day that the NGO Safeguard Defenders released a bulletin calling on global television providers, including Rogers Canada, to stop airing official Chinese Communist Party media, China Global Television Network (CGTN) and China Central Television (CCTV-4), with content such as “Confessions ” and other insulting content.
The announcement included an open letter to TV providers, signed by some of the victims of the “forced confessions.
The open letter reads, “The majority of the victims are human rights lawyers, NGO employees and journalists who defend the rule of law and human rights. We were held in solitary confinement, isolated from the outside world, and subjected to physical and psychological torture.”
“All of this is to ensure that, when the cameras are pointed at us, we have no choice but to repeat the lines given to us by the Chinese (Communist) police. Our footage, often without our knowledge, is used to spread fake news and fear in the human rights communities to which we belong.”
“When torture doesn’t work, they will get a video confession by threatening your loved ones.”
“Every word of the confession is written & led by the Chinese police who also decide what clothes you wear. The Chinese media colluded with the police in the production process.”
“The vast majority of the victims were never told that the videos were for public broadcast and were going to be on television. Instead, we were told that the footage was for internal use by the police or the courts.” The open letter reads.
The letter urges television providers in democratic societies to consider whether they should “continue to be morally complicit in broadcasting this intentionally distorted information obtained through torture and threats.
Signatories to the letter include British citizen Peter Humphrey, who was arrested in China after being hired to investigate allegations of bribery and whose guilty plea was broadcast by China’s Universal Television Network, as well as Simon Cheng, a former employee of the British Consulate in Hong Kong, Swedish citizen Angela Gui (on behalf of her father, Gui Minhai), and The letter was also broadcast on Global TV, along with Simon Cheng, a former employee of the British Consulate in Hong Kong; Angela Gui, a Swedish citizen representing her father, Gui Minhai; and Peter Dahlin, a director of Safeguard Defender, who also authored the letter.
Safeguard Defender filed a complaint with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in December 2019 against China Universal Television Network and China Central Television, and provided a total of 36 records of forced confessions involving 70 victims broadcast by the two stations in Canada between 2013 and 2019.Safeguard said that The CRTC has not yet taken any action.
In a Feb. 18 letter, Safeguard told CRTC Director Peter Foster: “After more than 14 months, the CRTC has not responded directly to Safeguard Defenders or any of the Canadian media outlets that have raised questions about the status of the complaint and whether there is any investigation into the allegations. of the Canadian media.”
Safeguard’s letter also noted that when the CRTC granted CCTV a broadcast license in 2006, it did so with the proviso that it would remove its license if it found that the station had broadcast abusive content.
The U.K., U.S. and other countries have acted
On February 4, British broadcasting regulator Ofcom revoked the license of China Universal Television Network because it was owned by Star China Media Limited (SCML), but SCML had no editorial control over its programming. on March 8, Ofcom issued a sanctions order against SCML and fined it 100, 000 pounds fine.
On March 5, Australian public broadcaster SBS suspended China Universal Television Network and CCTV after receiving a complaint from Safeguard that the two stations had broadcast at least 56 forced confession videos over a seven-year period.
In the same month, French audiovisual regulator CSA said it would “closely monitor” the content of China Universal Television after receiving a complaint from Peter Darling.
On March 22, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said it would investigate whether the two state-owned Chinese Communist Party television stations violated FCC rules regarding the broadcast of forced confession videos.
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