The Sadness of Hosting the Olympics

I have yet to watch the entirety of the Opening ceremonies. I was eating steamed crabs that were as big as my head, and then I was so full that I fell asleep while I was watching the Tai-Chi demonstration that blew my mind. (I do have it on DVD and intend to watch when I have time)

First, I learned that the Chinese and Olympic flags blew dramatically because they were powered by special devices in the flagpoles. OK, that was smart. Good for effect. No harm, no foul.

Then I read that many of the fireworks seen on television were digitally created because, according to officials, the smog was too bad for anyone to see the real ones. Well, you make due with what you have, I suppose.

Now I read something that really ticks me off. The tiny 9-year-old girl (Lin Miaoke, pictured on the left) didn't really sing "Ode to the Motherland." NOPE! China pulled a Milli-Vanilli. The little girl that REALLY sang the song (Yang Peiyi, pictured on the right) was not deemed cute enough for a world audience.

"After several tests, we decided to put Lin Miaoke on the live picture while using Yang Peiyi’s voice," said musical director Chen Qigang in an interview with Beijing Radio. "The reason for this is that we must put our country’s interests first. The girl appearing on the picture must be flawless in terms of her facial expressions and the great feeling she can give to the people."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I know that we are dealing with another country. I've heard that Chine imprisons more journalists than any other country in the world. They have a "one child" policy to control population. This is just embarrassing and I feel so bad - there's now another little girl in the world who has been told that she wasn't pretty enough. And what about cutie-patootie Lin, who will forever be seen as the "cheater?"

I'm shaking my head.