Rome, Sep 19 — China Global Television Network (CGTN), the international division of China Central Television (CCTV), projects a facade of diversity and impartiality, but behind that image lies a system where ideology governs its functioning and editorial decisions, a report has detailed.
Citing a study titled 'See the Difference', released earlier this month by international human rights organisation Safeguard Defenders, it said the discussions among Chinese netizens, despite censorship, offered a detailed reconstruction of how CGTN operates within the architecture of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The findings depicted a broadcaster that presents itself as international and professional while functioning within a structure designed to transmit CCP-approved narratives, according to a report in Italy-based online magazine ‘Bitter Winter’.
“The transformation from CCTV-9 to CGTN, housed in the skyscraper known as ‘the big pants’, created an image of modernity that impressed visitors and employees. Behind this image, however, the newsroom resembled a controlled chamber rather than a space for discussion. Former staff members recalled that ‘this was the most impressive-looking place I’d ever been allowed to work in, and yet on the inside it was soporific,’ and another added that ‘that newsroom in China was like a library’,” the report detailed.
Highlighting that the study explained how anchors and reporters follow rigid scripts with no room for deviation, it said, “Copy editors work under the supervision of Chinese ‘teachers’ who examine every line for political correctness. Captions and tickers are approved in advance and cannot be changed once the broadcast begins. The newsroom becomes a place where compliance replaces inquiry, and where the appearance of professionalism masks a system of ideological control.”
The report quoted former employees describing the pervasive role of propaganda in their daily work, with one recalling that its sheer volume caught many by surprise.
“Propaganda always trumped news value; the audience was always secondary.` Sensitive topics were avoided, and some staff members left the channel because they could not reconcile their work with the demands imposed on them. Stories that might have carried credibility were altered or censored. Anchors read from the autocue without the option to adjust a sentence, and those who questioned the process risked reprimand,’ it added.
The report highlighted the case of Australian journalist and former CGTN anchor Cheng Lei as a stark example of the consequences of such a repressive environment.
She vanished from public view in 2020 after being secretly detained for six months in China, while CGTN made no mention of her arrest and removed her profile from its website. After her release and return to Australia in 2023, Cheng spoke in interviews about the risks journalists face when they assume their professional status offers them protection, Bitter Winter mentioned.