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CNBC Invited Host of the CCP’s Overseas Propaganda Network to Appear on U.S. Television

Liu Xin, the host of a talk show on the China Global Television Network (CGTN) was interviewed on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” The interview was then broadcasted on the U.S. cable network on September 3, to “provide the perspective of the Chinese” on the ongoing Hong Kong protests and the U.S.-China trade war.

The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) mouthpiece China Central Television (CCTV) launched CGTN on December 31, 2016, to promote the CCP’s view overseas.

Liu made her name in the U.S. by attacking Trish Regan, the Fox Business Network host, who criticized China on the U.S.-China trade war. Trish invited her for a live debate on television, which turned out to be a “dialog” between the two hosts.

In CNBC’s interview, Liu called a portion of the Hong Kong protesters “rioters” and “offenders.” “We see the violence they are committing.” “We see the destruction they are inflicting on public property, and the interruption of the daily lives of the Hong Kong people, shutting down the metro and disrupting the airport.”

Liu didn’t mention how the police used brutal treatment against the protesters; nor did she mention allegations that they directly beat the protesters and supported gangsters in beating the protesters. She fell short of mentioning that Beijing has been ignoring the Hong Kong people’s appeals and taking a hard line position against them, which has caused the escalation of the situation.

On the trade war, Liu criticized the U.S. for raising tariffs on Chinese imports, saying that it’s “not the right direction for talks to resume.” “It really depends on whether the United States is able to show sincerity and to show good faith that it really wants to have a trade deal.”

Robert Spalding, a former National Security Council official and senior fellow at the Washington-based think tank Hudson Institute, told The Epoch Times that the CNBC interview was “bizarre.” He added that he has never seen a representative from Chinese state media be interviewed as a commentator on U.S. television.

Spalding said that Liu’s interview indicated that the Chinese regime was hoping [with the help of CNBC] to spread the CCP’s view to the world.

Source: The Epoch Times, September 4, 2019
https://www.theepochtimes.com/host-of-chinas-overseas-propaganda-network-gets-airtime-on-cnbc_3069060.html