FCC orders Mexican radio station to stop broadcasting Chinese programs in the US

(Reuters) – The Federal Communications Commission said on Monday it had rejected a request from a Mexican radio station to continue broadcasting programs in Mandarin Chinese in southern California and ordered it to cease operations within 48 hours.

The FCC found that the broadcast studio was used by Phoenix Radio, a wholly owned subsidiary of Phoenix TV, but was not named as the applicant. The FCC rejected the application as “insufficient” but stated that applicants – and Phoenix Radio – may reapply.

In July 2018, to ensure continuity of service for XEWW-AM listeners, the FCC issued a temporary authorization allowing broadcasting pending an FCC review. The following month, a group that runs a local radio station in Southern California asked the FCC to deny the application, saying it would allow the government of the People’s Republic of China to “broadcast its own propaganda program.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, praised the FCC’s decision to reject the offer.

“Phoenix TV is a puppet of the Chinese Communist Party that broadcasts propaganda throughout the United States,” Cruz said in a statement. “Today’s decision sends an important signal to the world that the United States will not allow China to exploit FCC loopholes and spread propaganda over our airwaves.”

A lawyer for plaintiffs GLR Southern California and H&H Group USA did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Chinese embassy in Washington also did not immediately comment.

Phoenix TV bills itself as the largest Chinese-language television provider in the United States and Canada, broadcasting to more than 200,000 subscribers on cable and satellite systems.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Dan Grebler)