The Chinese Embassy continues to fund a program on Obiektivi TV even after the law prohibited broadcasters from receiving funding from a “foreign power.” This fact is confirmed by data published on the informational-analytical portal of the Communications Commission. Specifically, according to these records, in the second quarter of 2025, the TV company Obiektivi received an income of GEL 12,500 from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China and an additional GEL 18,480 as a donation from the channel’s owner, Irakli Tsilikishvili. It is noteworthy that under the category “Funding above GEL 7,000,” Obiektivi lists the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China as the source of funding for a service it provided - placement of a program; while under the category concerning funding sources, the entry is marked as commercial advertisement.

According to the amendments to the Law on Broadcasting, effective from April 1, 2025, broadcasters are prohibited from receiving funding from foreign powers except in cases of commercial advertising, teleshopping, sponsorship, and product placement (goods/services) within a program. Under these amendments, it is forbidden for a foreign power to purchase broadcasting services and/or directly or indirectly finance or co-finance the production or airing of a program.

Georgia’s Law on Broadcasting, Chapter VIII, Article 66¹ – Inadmissibility to finance broadcasters: “Receiving by a broadcaster of direct or indirect funding (a sum of money or another tangible good having a property value) from foreign powers (except for a commercial advertisement, teleshopping, sponsorship and placement of products (goods/services) in a programme) shall be prohibited. In addition, purchasing of a broadcaster’s services (except for a commercial advertisement and placement of products (goods/services) in a programme) and/or direct or indirect funding and/or co-financing of programme preparation and/or its broadcasting on air by foreign powers shall be prohibited.” 

 For the purposes of this article, foreign powers shall be:

a) an entity within the government system of a foreign state;

b) a natural person who is not a citizen of Georgia;

c) a legal person that has not been established under the legislation of Georgia;

d) an organisational entity (including a foundation, an association, a corporation, a union, or another type of organisation) or another form of association of persons, which has been established under the law of a foreign state and/or international law.
 

These amendments came into force immediately after adoption, and the power to review violations of this article and impose sanctions on broadcasters was granted to the regulator starting June 1, 2025.
 

Because the data related to the Chinese Embassy appear on the regulator’s website under two different categories (program placement and commercial advertisement), we contacted Obiektivi TV for clarification about the nature of the service for which the Embassy paid.

According to Obiektivi’s board chairman Irakli Tsilikishvili, several episodes of the program “Chinese Panorama” aired during the second quarter of 2025, funded by the Chinese Embassy.

Recordings of the program series “Chinese Panorama” are available on Obiektivi’s YouTube channel. Between January 1 and September 30, 2025, a total of 21 episodes were produced, including six episodes aired between April 1 and June 30  (1,2,3,4,5,6). Each episode lasts about 50 minutes and is broadcast in a talk-show format featuring a host and a guest, set against a background of the Chinese flag and map.

The program presents China’s economy and politics, as well as its role in global affairs, in a positive light.

According to the Communications Commission’s informational-analytical portal, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China first appeared as a funding source for the Georgian Times media holding in 2023. In the second quarter of 2024, the Embassy placed GEL 15,630 worth of advertisements on Obiektivi, and in the fourth quarter of the same year – GEL 12,000 worth. The Communications Commission’s database does not show the Chinese Embassy as a funding source for Obiektivi in the first quarter of 2025, although programs dated to this period are uploaded to the broadcaster’s YouTube channel.

It is noteworthy that following the adoption of the restrictive “foreign funding” legislation, which targeted NGOs and media and drew strong criticism from the European Union and local civil society organizations, the only instance of funding listed in the Communications Commission’s database for the second quarter of 2025 is the Chinese Embassy’s payment to Obiektivi for program placement.

According to the decisions published on the Communications Commission’s website, since June 1, 2025, the regulator has reviewed two cases concerning Obiektivi’s activities, though neither was related to the placement of a program funded by a foreign source.

Archive: https://archive.ph/DudtJ

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