Facing Legal Scrutiny, China’s State TV Recalls Its U.S. Head

Zhan Jiang, a retired professor of journalism at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said Ms. Ma’s argument to the American authorities that CGTN did not take orders from Beijing might not have gone over well back home.

“If CGTN is claiming to have editorial independence, it’s deviating from the requirements of the system,” Mr. Zhan said. “It’s very politically incorrect.”

He added that the recall could also be linked to the publicity that the foreign agent registration issue has brought on sensitive topics like the Chinese Communist Party’s networks of control across the media, corporations and other groups.

When pressed to describe their connections to China’s government and the Chinese Communist Party, groups like CGTN America can find themselves in a bind. United States disclosure laws could require breaking the party’s rules on secrecy. At the same time, denying links to the party could be perceived as an affront in Beijing.

The leadership overhaul also followed closely an article by The New York Times detailing how the broadcaster has served as an arm of China’s propaganda machine despite its claims of editorial independence. The article noted, however, that in some cases Ms. Ma offered flexibility that allowed local American journalists to contextualize propaganda videos sent from headquarters in Beijing.

Moving Ms. Ma and others could serve to get them out of the way of any possible legal action, said Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University. That could also prevent the issue from escalating into a potential distraction from more important issues in China’s relationship with the United States, such as trade talks, Mr. Turley said.

“Removing such officials can reduce the pressure for immediate action,” he wrote in an email. “Ma Jing was a glaring contradiction that had to be removed if the two countries are to avoid a confrontation.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/08/business/china-state-tv-us.html?partner=rss&emc=rss