Human rights group claims CGTN and CCTV regularly aired coerced confessions, prompting review by Australian broadcaster.
Australia’s SBS has suspended broadcasts from Chinese state-run media channels CGTN and CCTV following serious human rights concerns. The public broadcaster is reviewing a complaint from the organization Safeguard Defenders, which highlighted that both CGTN and CCTV frequently aired forced confessions on their programs, both from within China and internationally.
The complaint alleges that these broadcasts violated SBS’s code of conduct. However, SBS clarified that it did not claim to have aired any of these confessions directly.
In response to the gravity of the issue, SBS decided to halt the broadcast of CGTN and CCTV news bulletins, pending a thorough review of the content provided by these state-run media outlets. The channels are part of China’s state-owned media apparatus, with CGTN offering international news in English and other languages.
This decision comes amid growing international concern over China’s human rights record, particularly regarding its treatment of detainees and the airing of forced confessions on state-controlled media.
