“Rumor broadcasting company,” said the Chinese Foreign Ministry in slamming the BBC and its China correspondent Robin Brant for faking news on a slew of matters, including the recent flood disaster in Central China’s Henan Province, after the media outlet accused China of endangering foreign journalists on Tuesday.
The BBC posted a statement on Twitter on Tuesday that read, “There must be immediate action by the Chinese government to stop these attacks which continue to endanger foreign journalists.”
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) claimed there was “growing hostility to foreign media” from the Chinese public on Tuesday, saying that journalists from several media outlets covering recent floods in China had been harassed online and by local residents, with staff from the BBC and the Los Angeles Times receiving death threats, Reuters reported.
Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said that the BBC has long held ideological prejudices against China, and it has repeatedly produced fake news and rumors on issues related to China’s Hong Kong, Xinjiang and the COVID-19 epidemic.
With its jaundiced view all the time, the BBC has seriously drifted away from journalism’s code of ethics and degraded the company’s image in China, Zhao said.
Zhao brought up the BBC’s China correspondent, Robin Brant, who covered stories on the flood disaster in Zhengzhou.
“He chose to ignore the Chinese government’s unsparing rescue efforts and the courageous local people who saved themselves, but continued to put ideology above the truth,” he said.
Reports with such obvious preconceived notions will only accelerate the bankruptcy of the BBC’s credibility, and the network naturally won’t be welcomed by the Chinese people, Zhao noted.
Regarding the FCCC, Zhao said that China has never acknowledged such an organization, which is run by a few media outlets with a prejudiced view of China. It cannot represent the true voices of more than 400 foreign reporters in China.
“Objectivity is the lifeline of any news agency. When some fabricated news reports trigger the Chinese public’s dissatisfaction and fury, should the media themselves reflect on it?” Zhao said.
Zhao reiterated that China is a society ruled by law and one of the safest countries in the world. China always welcomes foreign media and journalists, and is willing to provide help and support for them, as long as they abide by the nation’s laws and regulations, he said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian
