China's Foreign Ministry Demands Apology From BBC Over COVID-19 Fake News

BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th February, 2021) The Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of Information said on Thursday it had demanded a public apology from the BBC over publications containing what Beijing considers fake news about COVID-19.

The department said in a press release that it made a representation to BBC China branch over its controversial publications on January 29.

"A Department of Information official stressed that China urged the BBC and its branch in Beijing to take China's stance seriously; take measures for eliminating the negative impressions caused by these publications; offer public apologies to China for the Chinese-related fake news; stop purposefully denigrating China; observe professional ethics; and cover the Chinese-related news in an objective and balanced manner," the press release read.

Among BBC publications that the Chinese authority slammed as "typical fake news built on ideological bias" were "the theory of concealment," "the theory of origin," and "the theory of responsibility," all of which allegedly linked the coronavirus pandemic to politics. The authority did not mention any specific publications.

According to the press release, China reserves the right to take further measures.