“China takes its place on a very short list of countries alongside North Korea and Iran that have explicitly and totally blocked BBC News’ coverage,” Jamie Angus, director of BBC World Service Group, said on Sunday on ‘Reliable Sources’ said.
China does not belong on the list, Angus said, adding: “Chinese people are very outward-looking. They want to understand international news from around the world, but of great importance they want to see their own country reported by the BBC. “
Angus told CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter that it was “not acceptable for them to be completely blocked from accessing the BBC news offices.”
In a statement, the NRTA of China claimed that BBC World News had broadcast reports on China that “violated the principles of truth and impartiality in journalism.”
It is unclear how much impact China’s ban on BBC World News will have on mainland China because the BBC has never been allowed to broadcast on mainland China or in Chinese homes. BBC World News has never been available in international hotels.
But some people in China are still trying to find ways to resolve the ban. “Of course, you always have access to BBC digital services with some sort of VPN setup,” Angus told Stelter Sunday. But China is making it harder for people to do and access to BBC digital services in English and Mandarin has been increasingly blocked over the past 18 months.
“It’s so revealing when countries try to block real news coverage, as is the case with the BBC in China,” Stelter said.
CNN’s Philip Wang and Jonny Hallam contributed to this report.