International Paralympic Committee Apologizes to Xi Jinping as China Censors IPC President’s Anti-War Speech

Who owes who an apology?

This week, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) issued a formal apology to Chinese President Xi Jinping. Their crime?

At last week’s opening ceremony for the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, IPC president Andrew Parsons referred to Xi as president of “the Republic of China” rather than “the People’s Republic of China.” The former usually refers to Taiwan.

During a press conference on Saturday, IPC chief brand and communications officer Craig Spence “insisted that Parsons was apologetic:”

"As you will have noticed, during his speech, there was a slip of the tongue," Spence said.

"You all saw the speech, which was available on OIS [Olympic Information Service].

"He meant to say 'the People's Republic of China'.

"He was very emotional last night.

"[It was] a slip of the tongue and he mispronounced the opening line of the speech.

"He acknowledged his mistake as soon as he came off the stage and he'd like to express his apologies to all our tremendous hosts who have made us feel so welcome here.

"He apologises for the mistake."

There is no indication this groveling apology was demanded by Xi or the CCP directly, which doesn’t necessarily make it any better. Part of China’s cultural power is that organizations who do work there already know what is expected of them. But what was Parsons so “emotional” about that made him make this egregious error?

Well, during his speech, Parsons was commenting on the Russian invasion of Ukraine:

Tonight, I want to begin with a message of peace.

As the leader of an organisation with inclusion at its core, where diversity is celebrated and differences embraced, I am horrified at what is taking place in the world right now.

The 21st Century is a time for dialogue and diplomacy, not war and hate.

The Olympic Truce for peace during the Olympic and Paralympic Games is a UN Resolution adopted by consensus by 193 Member States at the 76th UN General Assembly. It must be respected and observed not violated.

According to Bloomberg, the China’s state broadcaster CCTV apparently decided this part of Parsons’ speech was too controversial:

The part where Parsons condemned the war was not translated into Chinese in a live broadcast by CCTV. Instead, a Chinese announcer talked over Parsons and read a later part of his translated statement. When it came to the part about the truce, CCTV appeared to have lowered the volume so that Parsons’ remarks became inaudible. 

The IPC has asked CCTV for an explanation. In a sane world, the IPC should be the one demanding an apology from the CCP for outright censorship of a simple plea for peace.