An international human rights organization based in Europe, Safeguard Defenders, released a report on September 10, 2026, revealing the internal governance and review mechanisms of China Global Television Network (CGTN) through interviews with several former foreign employees. The report exposed the coercion by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of Zheng Wenjie, a former employee of the British Consulate in Hong Kong, to make a “televised confession”.
The report interviewed eight foreign employees who worked at CGTN’s English channel between 2022 and 2023, including former anchors, editors, and producers from various English-speaking countries. The interviewees, whose names were not disclosed, had family members still in China, while some had moved on to work for other international media outlets.
CGTN, a foreign language television network under the China Central Television (CCTV), officially renamed and broadcast as CGTN on December 31, 2016, was formerly known as a foreign language channel of CCTV.
The report highlighted the strict control over topic selection, scripts, subtitles, and even anchor questioning at CGTN, despite portraying itself as an international news channel. After CCP leader Xi Jinping emphasized the media’s allegiance to the Party, scrutiny tightened significantly, and programs shifted focus away from international news to include government activities and “Xi Jinping Thought”.
One former employee disclosed that news regarding Xi Jinping, the CCP government, and policies had to be “flawless” before airing, sometimes with up to three-quarters of a news segment related to Xi Jinping.
During Xi Jinping’s inspection of CCTV and other official media in February 2016, he emphasized the media’s allegiance to the Party, stating that all work of newspapers, news agencies, radio stations, television stations, and news websites must reflect the Party’s will, uphold the central authority of the Party, and so on.
The report cited a former foreign employee recalling Xi Jinping’s visit, noting the proud expressions of Chinese staff at CCTV, while most foreign employees remained indifferent.
After the inspection, Ren Zhiqiang, the former chairman of the Huayuan Group, questioned the government’s control over the media, leading to his subsequent imprisonment on corruption charges.
In 2019, Simon Cheng, a former employee of the British Consulate in Hong Kong, was detained by CCP authorities in Shenzhen for 15 days and forced to make a televised confession. Cheng later revealed he had been physically assaulted and tortured during his detention, with CGTN airing a confession denying these allegations and accusing him of soliciting prostitution.
The Safeguard Defenders report quoted a former editor recalling the preparation of Cheng’s confession broadcast around half an hour before going live in 2019. The editor mentioned pressure from superiors to air the confession.
Between 2013 and 2019, CGTN and its predecessors reportedly aired at least nine televised confessions involving Chinese and foreign individuals, including British businessman Han Feilong, Swedish bookseller Gui Minhai, and Zheng Wenjie.
The report also covered CGTN’s reporting on Xinjiang, with a former employee mentioning discomfort with the contents related to Xinjiang as a reason for leaving CGTN. Another former editor expressed reluctance to tailor content on Xinjiang to suit foreign audiences.
Following reports on mass detentions in Xinjiang in 2018, CGTN began featuring content on Xinjiang’s development, culture, and nature, labeling the facilities as “vocational training centers.”
The foreign employees stated that they experienced the intensity of CCP’s propaganda machine only after joining CGTN, where distortion of facts was common for the sake of “telling a good Chinese story,” compromising news values and audience interests.
Some admitted that initially, they could tolerate the propaganda, but over time, they felt increasingly uncomfortable and disillusioned, particularly regarding positive reports on Xinjiang. Some eventually refused to manipulate stories or refused to present Xinjiang positively to overseas audiences, with one even resigning in protest.
Several former employees mentioned surveillance of their phones and social activities during their tenure. The arrest of Australian CGTN anchor Cheng Lei by the CCP in 2020 further raised concerns among employees about the risks they faced.
The former foreign employees also revealed two major control mechanisms in CGTN’s newsroom: external news censorship and self-censorship by employees. Anchors were strictly forbidden from ad-libbing, altering interview topics, or omitting content even during live broadcasts.
Additionally, foreign editors responsible for revisions had “Chinese teachers” for final approval, creating a pervasive atmosphere of control in the newsroom.
In such a working environment, employees understood the need for self-censorship. One foreign employee admitted suppressing their desire to cover negative reactions to the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, knowing that negative reporting on the government would not be accepted.
They described the modern facade of CCTV’s building contrasting with its internal atmosphere, lacking the vibrancy and immediacy typical of newsrooms, while facing strict security checks upon entering the building and aged equipment within the offices.
Founded in 2016, Safeguard Defenders has long focused on the issue of coerced televised confessions by the CCP, including the overseas broadcast of these human rights violations by CGTN. Since 2020, the organization has successfully pressured regulators in various European countries to revoke CGTN’s licenses and suspend broadcasts.
In its 2017 annual report, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission urged Congress to strengthen relevant regulations due to the rapid overseas expansion of CCP’s official media, emphasizing their dual role as disseminators of information and intelligence agencies.
To comply with the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), CGTN’s North American branch registered as a “foreign agent” in February 2019, revealing financial transactions between the American subsidiary and its Beijing headquarters.
The documentation showed that from December 2018 to January 2019, CGTN America received approximately $8 million from CCTV, with the US Department of Justice highlighting the biased reporting of Xi Jinping and attempts to influence the American public during trade disputes.
These revelations shed light on the inner workings of CGTN, exposing the challenges faced by employees in navigating the stringent control mechanisms in place, from news censorship to self-censorship, underscoring the broader issue of media manipulation by authoritarian regimes.