We all know the Chinese are putting forth a huge effort to look good on the world stage during this Olympics … but is it possible they’re trying too hard?
First of all, everyone seems to be in agreement that the Chinese gymnastics team is composed almost entirely of 12- and 13-year-olds with passports forged to make them appear 16. Shadiness.
Then, earlier today came news that the adorable Chinese girl singing beautifully at the opening ceremony was actually lip-synching. The actual little girl who sang was considered not to be pretty enough.
“The main consideration was the national interest. The child on the screen should be flawless in image, in her internal feelings and in her expression,” says Chen Qigang [the Chinese musical director of the show].
The musical director says it was a “last-minute decision, a choice we had to make” to swap out the singer.
“Our rehearsals had already been vetted several times – they were all very strict,” he says. “When we had the dress rehearsals, there were spectators from various divisions, including above all a member of the politburo who gave us his verdict: we had to make the swap.”
Despite her young age, Yang Peiyi is said to have been a good sport about the situation, reputedly declaring, “I am proud to have been chosen to sing at all.”
Heh. You know little 7-year-old Peiyi’s concerns have been assuaged with promises that she’ll be allowed to compete with the Chinese national gymnastics team at the London Olympics in 2012. After all, she’ll be 11 by then.
And now comes news that Chinese journalists have been censored in their coverage of the murder of the father-in-law of the U.S. men’s volleyball team.
Several Chinese reporters had their notebooks and at least one tape recorder confiscated after a news conference held by the US men’s volleyball team …
The players had been discussing the impact of the murder on them. The victim was the father-in-law of team coach Hugh McCutcheon and the father of former national team member Elisabeth McCutcheon.
Such removal of notebooks and equipment is a common occurrence for Chinese journalists covering protests or other undesirable activities, but it is the first time this has happened at an Olympic venue. Earlier, reporters covering a small protest in Tiananmen Square by pro-Tibet US Christians were manhandled by plainclothes police who tried to take away microphones and notebooks.
Hey, China, this kind of shit is not helping your image at all.
This is just another example of how fucked up China is. We should ban EVERYTHING from that country and give jobs back to the United States.
This is just another in a long list of things that has been ‘shady’ to say the least that has gone wrong with this Olympics. I am ashamed for them. Both of those girls are absolutely adorable, and I just ache for the one that had the beautiful voice and was told she wasn’t beautiful enough on the outside for her to be ‘what was best’ for their country. :(
Which one is the cute one?…..they both look cute to me
ow, i like Peiyi, i think shes beautiful. this kind of thing is totaly common in china, japan, corea, etc. They teach their children to be the best in everything but theres no place for EVERYONE to be the best in the world, that is why there has a LOT of kid’s suicide… its a shame. And instead of china spend that amount of money to build a good image for the world, they should spend it to help milions of chineses that live in the country area, with no structure what so ever, to stop the murders of baby girls, and much more… but sadly it’s all about the apparences… =[
China kinda sucks a lot.
My heart broke for Yang Peiyi, she is a beautiful little girl.
If they’re so concerned with a “flawless image”,
maybe they could start working on human rights
I agree with you Susie.
re: “The main consideration was the national interest. The child on the screen should be flawless in image, in her internal feelings and in her expression,†says Chen Qigang [the Chinese musical director of the show].
if they really wanted a kid that was flawless in image and her expression to sing the song they should have put shilo pitt up there! she’s perfect.
Sweety.. the are just funny, sweet, bungling, kind and crazy, hard working communists! Not like US news agencies! Actors, singers or Liberal subversives or revolutionary politicans trying to destroy the American way. We never photoshop or make up lies, or show false documents, or lipsync, just those silly communists! Hahahaha!
Thats horrible, that little girl is just beautiful.
I think China needs to work on its “internal feelings” and stop worrying so much about its outside image.
at least these girls are ALIVE (which is a big feat for little girls in china). . .
Two things scared me when I was watching the men’s gymnastics last night:
1. The Chinese coach had said that if his tea didn’t win gold, he would jump off the tallest building in Beijing.
2. Apparently the Chinese government made their Olympic coaches sign contracts that they would not LET their athletes get injured.
Right, because people have total control over those things…
Those girls are equally beautiful. Shame on China.
I had to stop myself from gagging hard when I watched the opening ceremony everytime the concepts of peace and harmony were demonstrated. I could not get past China’s horrible human rights history, the poor people who were evicted from their homes so the government could build the new venues, the poor people who were given unpaid vacations from their factory jobs, the victims of the earthquake, etc.
After living through countless lip-syncing incidents such as Milli Vanilli, Ashlee Simpson, Britney Spears, I could tell the little girl was faking it. I was not fooled by the firework footprints either. China can only progress if the Communist government is finally overthrown. I do not hold my breath.
I personally have boycotted watching any of the Olympics because of the location. China out of Tibet!
They are the Milli Vanilli of China!
i love donkey punch! it’s cool that you are boycotting the olympics in china!!! i can see you now, sitting on your chinese made couch eating off of chinese made dishes, listening to your chinese made mp3 player in front of your chinese made television avoiding the olympics. you boycott those olympics!!! that’ll show em.
Actually almost none of your statements are true. My television was made in Korea, my Mp3 in Taiwan, my couch in Canada. I specifically look for products not made in China.
I completely agree with your point though. The business world turns a blind eye to China’s crimes just to increase their profits. Slavery is still around…it just shifted over to Asia.
…and yes I now that technically Taiwan is part of China (just as much as Tibet is).
that is so rude how do you tell a 7 year old they arnt pretty enough?? i would just like to see how ugly the loser who told her that is.
re: iiirene’s comment;
they all look alike. just pick one.
They are not honest people. They never were and they never will be. Do not trust them. They let harmful products go out on the market like tooth paste and dog food. They lie all the time. We should all just silently boycott any product made in China. They can’t be trusted.