Following last month’s accusation from the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) suggesting that China was blocking English-language shortwave broadcasts of the organization’s World Service radio programs, the Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) has also accused China of deliberately interfering with other English-language radio programs, including Radio Australia and Voice of America.
According to AIB, research conducted by the affected broadcasters and independent groups suggested that the jamming is originating from mainland China. Though some Mandarin-language broadcasts of similar programs have been blocked for years, “this is the first time that English-language services have seen such concerted interference,” the AIB said in a statement.
“AIB condemns this latest interference to the broadcasts of the BBC, ABC Radio Australia and Voice of America,” Simon Spanswick, CEO of AIB, said. “Free access to information is a universal human right, and this interference is preventing audiences based within China [from hearing] news from outside the country.”
He added that “China’s own international broadcasters . . . do not suffer from attempts by other nations to silence them.”
The AIB is planning to file official protests with the Chinese Foreign Ministry and its Missions in Canberra, London and Washington D.C. in the near future.
For more information, visit The Association for International Broadcasting.
View related article here: BBC Accuses China of Jamming English-Language Shortwave Broadcasts
