Voice of America (VOA) reported on China Central Television’s (CCTV) coverage of the historic summit that Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou held on November 7, 2015, in Singapore. The two leader’s handshake lasted for over one minute. This was the first time that the Chinese Communist Party Chairman and the nationalist President of Taiwan met since Mao Zedong founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
Before going into a closed-door meeting, Xi and Ma each gave a brief opening speech, one after the other. In a slightly delayed live broadcast, CCTV transmitted Xi Jinping’s full speech in Mainland China, but abruptly cut off its live broadcast when it was Ma Ying-jeou’s turn to give his speech. Two hours later, CCTV broadcasted a moment of Ma giving a speech without Ma’s voice.
Having witnessed the so-called “live broadcast,” China’s Internet users all condemned CCTV. Some comments were: “Who made such a stupid decision?! (I am) really speechless.” “CCTV’s so-called ‘live coverage’ will create controversy among public opinion. In a disgraceful way, it is recorded into the history of China’s TV news." “I turned off CCTV! A human being cannot be so shameless.” “I began to worry about the freedom of our Taiwanese compatriots."
One Chinese viewer commented that the state TV’s failure to broadcast Ma’s speech live "shows that the [Beijing] government lacks confidence." Some believed Ma’s speech was skipped because propaganda agencies needed time to review the text.
Taiwan-based Liberty Times Net reported that, before the November 7 meeting, CCTV blurred out the suit lapel of President Ma Ying-jeou during a news report because Ma was wearing a suit lapel pin in the form of a Taiwanese flag. Liberty News also noted that CCTV did not blur out the word "President" on the plaque when it reported on the press conference that Ma Ying-jeou held after his closed-door session with Xi Jinping.
Sources: Voice of America, November 8, 2015