Chinese Claim a Moral Victory, Describing a Bigger Battle. Fascinating. The letter of ‘apology’ was negotiated in English only, allowing for different nuances of Chnese translation in describing it to the Chinese public. Depending on how you translate “very sorry”, it either implies culpability or not. In case there was any doubt, Li’l George issued a statement as soon as the plane’s crew were safely out of Chinese clutches making clear we had done nothing wrong. Sino-American relations just got a whole lot more interesting. New York Times