State-run China Central Television responded sharply to the call for a boycott of its programing, telling the Associated Press that its coverage is “timely and sufficient.” As slogans go, it’s not quite “all the news that’s fit to print” or even “fair and balanced.” The AP notes that CCTV’s faxed response, from Wang Jianhong, deputy director of the broadcaster’s general editing department, smacks of the sort of propaganda it claims to avoid:
Unintentionally proving the point, Wang referred to the Tibetan protests that broke out last March as the “Lhasa beating, smashing and looting incident” and called Tibetan activists who disrupted the Olympic torch relay … “Tibetan splittists.”
But Wang said other countries around the world, including the U.S., are not immune to propaganda.
“Speaking of propaganda, I’m afraid no country can avoid it. Even the U.S used propaganda about the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and invaded the country. And what’s the truth? For now, it already is very clear,” he wrote.