“China wants to send a message about itself in this opening ceremony,” Guthrie said early in Friday’s broadcast, and by the time the ceremony was over, it was clear that that message was largely a taunt. At every Olympics, the opening ceremony concludes with a succession of torchbearers jogging into the stadium to light a flame that will burn for the duration of the Games. “The identity of the final torchbearer is kept secret until the last moment. It is often a personality from the sports world or a young person symbolising hope for the future,” as a publication from the Olympic Museum put it. China chose two final torchbearers: Nordic combined skier Zhao Jiawen, and Dinigeer Yilamujiang, a Uyghur who is competing for China this year in cross-country skiing.

It was a jaw-dropping moment, as if Germany had chosen a Dachau prisoner to light the cauldron at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and Tirico and Guthrie were clearly taken aback by China’s choice of final torchbearer…

It is NBC’s job to lead this discussion. The Olympics cannot and will not end repression in China, but they can serve as a sort of temporary wedge. The next two weeks will mark perhaps the first time in Xi’s chairmanship that he will not be able to entirely constrain the independent press within China. Over the next two weeks, NBC will have an opportunity to call out what it sees for what it is; to gamble that Xi will not want to invite an international incident by expelling its broadcasters or restricting its access in retaliation for honest reporting; to rise to Xi’s challenge and stand up for its values as a news organization in the face of a crystal-clear provocation. It’s a risk, for sure, but it’s one that’s well worth taking.