CCTV FOLLIES 4.26 Xi deigns to phone Mr. Z

It wasn't exactly a breaking news flash, but the hastily prepared readout on Xi's phone call with Zelensky appears to have rattled the normally imperturbable CCTV anchor Pan Tao.

The on-air script about Xi’s belated phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart seems to have reached the anchor’s desk at the last minute. Seasoned anchor Pan Tao struggles with the news, face cast down to read the message, only glancing at the camera now and then when he had a chance to come up for air. CCTV anchors can handle the most unwieldy gobbledygook with aplomb, and get nary a syllable wrong in an entire broadcast, so the discomfort was difficult to watch. There was apparently no time to rehearse, nor was the official readout available on teleprompter.

Typically the epitome of unruffled professionalism and crisp script delivery, here Pan Tao can be seen shuffling papers and struggling to get the words right

The surprise announcement was part of the regularly nightly news on April 26 but was not treated as a top story. It was aired around the 20 minute mark, usually a minor story slot, but clocked a few minutes for a partial readout on the call as vetted by the Foreign Minist…