Olympics & Paralympics

Chinese TV leaves out interpretation on part of IPC head’s speech

The Yomiuri Shimbun
International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons addresses the opening ceremony at the National Stadium in Beijing on Friday.

By Rie Tagawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

16:05 JST, March 5, 2022

BEIJING — A portion of International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons’ speech at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Paralympics Friday night was not part of the Chinese in simultaneous interpretation service during the live broadcast on China Central Television.

It is possible the TV station intentionally avoided interpreting that part of the speech — which called for peace in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — to prevent criticism of Russia from going out nationwide on its airwaves.

The speech, which was in English, was unusual in that Parsons opened by saying, “I am horrified at what is taking place in the world right now.” He condemned Russia’s violation of the Olympic Truce resolution while avoiding direct name-calling.

The TV broadcast dropped the audio portion of the speech, and the simultaneous interpreter was silent for more than 10 seconds.

The closing word “Peace” was also left out of the interpreted service.