A British corporate investigator on Friday filed a complaint to UK regulators about China’s state TV channel, saying its British license should be revoked because it aired his forced confession when he was imprisoned in China.
Peter Humphrey submitted the complaint against China Central Television (CCTV) and its international division, China Global Television (CGTN), for contravening British broadcasting rules.
Humphrey and his wife, Yu Yingzeng (虞英曾), a Chinese-born US citizen, spent two years in prison after being convicted of illegally acquiring personal information of Chinese citizens.
The couple, who ran a corporate investigation firm, had been hired on contract by pharmaceuticals company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to look into a security breach, but became collateral damage when the Chinese government began investigating GSK’s alleged bribery practices.
The pair was shown separately on Chinese television purportedly confessing their crimes, but Humphrey said it was done under duress and that he was sedated.
CGTN is available on free and pay television channels in Britain. The broadcaster is reportedly expanding its presence in Europe.
Humphrey said he was forced to confess twice.
“It always happened after or amid a massive wave of international press coverage of our case, so it was part of a propaganda war,” he said.
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