Chinese TV News Team Blocked From Reporting On Giant Panda Event in Scotland on Sunday

A TV station known for exposing human rights abuses in China has been refused entry to a press event marking the arrival of two giant pandas in Edinburgh Zoo. 

The gift of the pandas from China to Scotland is the latest instance of China’s “Panda diplomacy,” with the handing over of the animals touted by the communist regime as being symbolic of closer ties and co-operation with western nations.

A press conference for Sunday Dec. 4 had been arranged to mark the arrival of the pandas, with New Tang Dynasty (NTD) television station on the guest list. However, NTD had its accreditation revoked after the press list was sent to the organizers by the PR company handling the event. NTD believes they were turned away at the behest of the Chinese delegation because of their record of challenging the human rights abuses of the regime in China. 

Initially, Weber Shandwick, the PR company coordinating the event, confirmed NTD had been granted accreditation for the press conference. Later, however NTD was told they were no longer welcome and a mistake had been made in sending out the invitation.

Weber Shandwick said that after the list of press had been given to the Giant Panda Partnership, NTD’s approval was revoked. 

According to Weber Shandwick, the Giant Panda Partnership is a consortium including the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), which owns Edinburgh Zoo, the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA), the UK government, and Chinese regime officials. A spokesperson for Weber Shandwick, Jennifer Butler, said she wasn’t given a reason for the refusal.

“There’s nothing we can do to get them [NTD] back on the list,” she said. “I think it’s very unlikely I could find out the reason.”

Butler said there were plenty of parties involved in the Giant Panda Partnership, but she didn’t know who made the decision and that it “wasn’t possible to get a list of who’s in the partnership.”

There’s nothing we can do to get them [NTD] back on the list. I think it’s very unlikely I could find out the reason. 

Jennifer Butler, spokesperson for Weber Shandwick, the PR company coordinating the event

Rachel Goddard, press officer at the RZSS, Edinburgh said that Edinburgh Zoo could not comment and referred any queries back to Weber Shandwick.

Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have already expressed concerns that human rights are not swept under the red carpet with the arrival of the pandas. 

Free Tibet Director Stephanie Brigden said in a statement: “The British public loves animals, but these pandas, gorgeous as they are, must not distract us from taking the strongest possible line with China over human rights and speaking up for Tibet. “

According to their website NTDTV’s mission is to “bring truthful and uncensored information into and out of China, promote traditional Chinese culture and facilitate mutual understanding between the East and West.”

Roger Luo, director of NTD UK said he believed that the Chinese delegates or the Embassy would be behind the incident—fitting a pattern of attempts to gag the satellite station over the years. 

NTD has been refused entry to many events that Chinese Communist Party (CCP) delegates have attended in the past. 

One of the most high profile incidents was the cancellation of the press conference customarily held at the end of the EU-China Summit meeting in Brussels on Oct. 8, 2010. The EU refused to ban journalists not to the liking of the Chinese delegation, who then chose to cancel the press conference.

The hostility of the Chinese regime to NTD has taken forms other than attempting to ban the station from press conferences.

On June 16 2008 the Chinese regime instigated the shutdown of NTD’s satellite signal into China. Reporters without Borders characterized the incident with the headline: “European satellite operator Eutelsat suppresses independent Chinese-language TV station NTDTV to satisfy Beijing”.