Honestly, nothing the pilots say at this point could surprise me. I'd expect something like this. But for the airline to back them, that's where I see the huge red flag waving at full mass. If this was a United 777 landing at SFO, and the CA gave this excuse, do you think you'd see United telling the media, "The autothorttles weren't working, so naturally the plane was going to slow to just above a stall. Of course the pilots weren't watching the airspeed, the automation is supposed to work?". Its the same airplane, with a very similar ammount of pax in the back. I'm shocked the airline would seriously suggest this and back the pilots. Shocked. Especially since the airline was quick to tell the world "nothing was wrong with the aircraft", only to retract that statement like this.
But keep in mind, I see the words Chinese and Asia being brought up. That's a bit ignorant in this case. There are sketchy airlines in Asia, but you can't compare this stuff to Asian operations like Cathay Pacific, JAL, and ANA who rival or beat the safety and operational standards of many Western airlines.