On Wednesday China's global TV news channel, CGTN (DStv 409 / StarSat 266), further damaged what was left of its credibility as a news service by completely ignoring any news regarding the massive public protests in Hong Kong.
CGTN again revealed its shocking and deliberate news bias and active censorship of news the Chinese government doesn't like by giving zero coverage and making no mention of the protests in Hong Kong that got shown everywhere else on Wednesday.
Other global TV news channels from BBC World News, Sky News, Al Jazeera, CNN International and France24 - all available in South Africa and across Africa to viewers through pay-TV services like MultiChoice's DStv, StarTimes and it's StarSat subsidiary in South Africa, as well as others - all covered the protests in Hong Kong.
While CGTN censored the event and did absolutely nothing, they all showed the chaotic scenes, had live visuals, and had various filed stories from reporters in the Hong Kong streets all through Wednesday.
In sharp and highly-embarrassing contrast, CGTN completely blocked out any news and reporting of the protest with no stories on the CGTN website about the protests, not a single mention on the CGTN news broadcasts, and nothing on CGTN social media, pretending as if a big global news event was simply not happening.
CGTN's surreal and shameless censorship and news manipulation continued on Wednesday evening when it's flagship prime time programme, Africa Live, for African audiences and done from Nairobi Kenya with news anchor, Richard Nta.
Africa Live, just like the rest of CGTN, likewise censored the news with no coverage of the protests in Hong Kong and not a single mention during the hour-long Wednesday bulletin.
On Wednesday dramatic scenes unfolded and was broadcast worldwide - except for on CGTN - when violent clashes broke out in the streets after the aggressive Hong Kong police tried to stop protesters storming the city’s parliament and then started firing rubber bullets and teargas on the thousands of protesters.
Hong Kong citizens are against the government's plan to change existing laws to agreed to allow for the extradition of people to China.
Instead of showing African viewers the actual news and what is happening in Hong Kong, CGTN in a surreal display of how far it has become a Chinese government propaganda channel, broadcast insert after insert on Africa Live about how well China's politicians and Chinese business are working with Africa.
Chinese politicians were shown in inserts beaming and shaking hands with Ethiopian counterparts, after which Chinese politicians cozied up to other African leaders in other stories.
Then in a pandering insert, Africans in tribal gear had to dance for Chinese dignitaries in suits on the tarmac in Nairobi, Kenya, in an "infomercial-news" insert celebrating new Chinese flights between Changsha in China and Nairobi in Africa.
That was followed by a story of how wonderful Chinese brands are and how well Chinese brands are doing in Africa and globally.
None of the Africa Live stories regarding China contained any criticism or any actual balance, as the litany of fluff pieces to show how great and wonderful China is, were broadcast as "news" in an unending stream of inserts showing off China as Africa's big benefactor.
ALSO READ: TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. Wednesday night I deleted China's CGTN app from my phone after its shocking censorship and news bias became very clear - here's why you should too.
