Nah, I do agree it's a much more common take than people realize. Another POV I've seen was on the other end of this spectrum, when Malaysians actually offered to open up their borders to refugees years ago and the refugees....refused lol. Apparently they prefer to get into South Korea instead. I've never seen a faster 180° change in opinions regarding refugees like that time.
The fact that they went forward with this decision means they're not so wise at lying. It sounds more like last-minute damage control, but I doubt this will stop their greed. What I'm wondering now is how will the Chinese game companies react? Everybody get your popcorns ready.