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Cold war rhetoric and the politics of empty gestures
We need dialogue with China – Britain’s shutting down of China Global Television Network is an attack on free speech, argues FIONA EDWARDS
DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR: Aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth scheduled to be deployed to the South China Sea

ON  February 4 Britain withdrew the broadcasting licence of China Global Television Network (CGTN) — China’s English-language TV channel — in an outrageous act of censorship which reveals that the West’s claim to be the global champion of “free of speech” is utterly hypocritical.

It should be understood that in shutting down CGTN’s operation, which employs hundreds of journalists and support staff in its London office, Britain is attempting to silence a real debate on China and deny the British people an opportunity to hear from a Chinese perspective.   

This attempt to exclude voices from China within Britain’s public discussion should be vigorously opposed by all for those who value freedom of expression, regardless of their position on China itself. 

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