General @ Tuesday August 12, 2008 12:45 pm by WunderKraut
UPDATE: Greetings CNN.com readers. Background info on me and previous posts are on the right. Feel free to look around.
Also, we recently spent 15 days in China to adopt our daughter. Having been in the country and been through the process, I feel I have some insight into how the govt. is operating. See our trip here.
Don’t forget while watching the Olympics that China is a brutal dictatorship that will stop at nothing to project the image of a modern state with happy people.
Also don’t forget that they are so image conscience that nothing is beyond them.
Such as: adding computer images of fireworks to the news feed so they fireworks display would be better.
A little girl and her song captivated millions of viewers during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. But what they saw was not what they heard.
Games organizers confirm that Lin Miaoke, who performed “Ode to the Motherland” as China’s flag was paraded Friday into Beijing’s National Stadium, was not singing at all.
Lin was lip-syncing to the sound of another girl, 7-year-old Yang Peiyi, who was heard but not seen, apparently because she was deemed not cute enough.
“The reason was for the national interest,” said Chen Qigang, the ceremony’s musical director, in a state radio interview. “The child on camera should be flawless in image, internal feeling and expression. … Lin Miaoke is excellent in those aspects.”
The decision was made at the highest levels, Chen said.
“We had to do it,” he said. “We’d been through several inspections. They’re all very strict. When we rehearsed at the spot, there were several spectators from various divisions, especially leaders from the Politburo, who gave the opinion it must change.”
Nice group of thugs you’ve got running your country.
28 Responses to “Don’t Forget”
“The reason was for the national interest,” said Chen Qigang, the ceremony’s musical director, in a state radio interview. “The child on camera should be flawless in image, internal feeling and expression.”
Wow. Just like in 1936.
Yep. Can’t have any imperfections now can we?
Yeah, my heart went out to both girls: the one that should have been up there, as well as the one that has to stand up there and pretend to sing knowing that her voice wasn’t good enough (and she had to do it with a smile on her face).
The entire western world is getting fooled by Chineese. They are the most brutal communist leaders in the world. Allowing them to host such a world event itsef is a SHAME. God only know what else they are doing behind the screen.
You think Western countries aren’t concerned with their images and won’t do the same if not worse things to in similar situations? It’s just that no one ever found out, stop your naive and baised quibbling and wake up to the real world.
Shaji, you are absolutely correct.
The two things I mentioned were to show how trivial the Chinese govt. is. If they will go to great lengths to keep a “not cute enough” kid from singing a wonderful song, think of how they treat things that actually matter to them.
Just ask members of the underground church in China about how open and friendly the govt. can be.
Imagine being the parents of Yang… I think that the decision that was made must have been a terrible blow to the pride of the family; especially after Yang’s beautiful voice won the competition. And what parents see their children as anything less than beautiful?
Perhaps, if those of us whose sensibilities have been offended by this article are lucky, Yang and her family are so thoroughly indoctrinated in their country’s political agenda and lofty ambition to appear a major player on the world stage, that they will not feel or notice the sting of dismissal or (possible) subsequent disgrace.
I am hoping that the negative reaction to this news continues to spread and reverberates throughout the world with a resultant backfire on the official(s) who made this thoughtlessly cruel decision.
But hey, that’s just my opinion.
Ah Shawn, the good ol’ moral equivalence argument.
*sigh*
Ok, little history lesson here for ya. How many millions of people (approximately) did Mao and his thugs murder?
How about 20 million people?
Ask the underground church about how tolerant and accepting the Chinese govt. is. Think maybe they get put away, out of the spot light?
What about political dissidents?
Look, the U.S. has had its own issues in its life, but…and this is a huge but…by and large the U.S. has been a force for good in the world. If you can’t see or understand that, then it is pointless for me to reason with you.
I can go to the church of my choosing on Sunday without fear of arrest or death.
The very fact that I am writing on a blog proves that I have right to political dissent.
So no, I’m sorry, I can’t buy that the U.S. would “do the same if not worse things”.
Also, how did those Atlanta Olympics turn out? We had a bombing, a botched investigation and tons of criticism for being so commercialized. I guess the U.S. govt failed to round up and kill enough people to make sure the games were a swimming success.
It actually may have been a good thing to let China host the Olympics. If they had not, none of this would have come to light. Perhaps placing these kinds of “image over substance” acts front stage will help to convict China in the court of popular opinion and may, in the years to come, help to move this ancient (the Great Wall was begun two hundred years before Christ was born) and brutal culture forward. We can only hope.
I think it is funny.
In communist China the government selects who is pretty enough to perform to mass audiences. In America it is left up to free market forces who is pretty enough to perform to mass audiences. I guess this shows no matter your form of government you will be descriminated against based on looks.
It kind of makes me mad how the press makes China look bad while turning a blind eye to the same problems that exist in America. That being said I don’t want to come off as saying China doesn’t have a dark history. I think they are honestly trying to improve though they still have a long way to go. Lets give them a bit of a break here and save the politics for after the Olympics.
Ian,
I am willing to put the politics off until after the Olympics.
But.
Having been to China and seen the two Chinas, I feel something has to be said.
There are two Chinas. The one the govt. wants you to see is one of emerging capitalism, of wealth, of prosperity.
The other is abject poverty. Those tempted to make the same argument about the U.S. are wrong. The poorest of our poor live much, much better than what I saw.
The govt wants to portray the country as a Western country. The fact is, you can build Western buildings and bring Western economic reforms, but you still have a population that is very Eastern and intimidated.
Yes, these two things I posted on are very minor. Very minor. But to me is just gives a glimpse into the mind of the govt.
You failed to mention the reason CG fireworks were added because the IOC wouldn’t let any helicopters to fly close enough for the video capture.
And you failed to mention all those good things the Chinese government did for China in the past 30 years.
Sounds like you guys just have a personal vendetta against them, doesn’t really matter what they do. Would you really want them to be closed off like N. Korea?
Jack,
No I don’t have a personal vendetta against China.
I have a big problem with their leadership. I have a huge problem with their ruthless crackdown on religious freedom. I have a huge problem with their outright lies and deception. I have a huge problem with their human rights record.
Like I said, the issues I mentioned are very minor things. Almost comical if you think about it.
The only reason for posting them is to remind people that what they see IS NOT what the reality is in China.
I have no doubt that life for ordinary Chinese people is immensely better than it was 30 years ago. While China has implemented reforms and “capitalism lite” they are very much still a ruthless totalitarian government.
Here is where it gets tough. American companies want to do business in China because of the huge, untapped market. The Media wants access to China for the same reasons. Politicians (both sides of the aisle) want to do business with China because of the trade potential. The issue becomes one of balance. How do you balance those needs/desires with the reality of who the Chinese govt. is.
It’s a tough question, and no, I don’t want them closed off like N. Korea. We need their cooperation in the region.
How far do you we go? Does the media give in to the censorship demands in order to keep access open? The major news outlets did that in Saddam’s Iraq. CNN would censor themselves to keep their access.
We need the media to keep pressure on China to continue their reforms. Their economic reforms are working, but the corresponding reforms allowing more freedom are lagging way, way behind.
That’s what I have a problem with.
“Those tempted to make the same argument about the U.S. are wrong. The poorest of our poor live much, much better than what I saw.”
You haven’t seen much then.
I don’t mean to be disrespectful with the above statement, it’s just that some of the things I’ve seen are pretty bad.
Jack,
I know. I live in a small town in South Georgia and there are parts of it that make me ashamed. I’ve been to Chicago as well and seen places I was shocked to learn people still lived there.
I’ve also been to China. I’ve been to the countryside. I’ve seen the dirt poor farmers.
I’ve seen the poor in the big cities in China. Trust me, our poor are nothing compared to what is the norm for millions of Chinese people.
Also, no offense taken. I learned a long time ago with this blog that you can’t always get peoples feelings and emotions when they write. So, I take it for what it’s worth. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
I agree with you that continued reforms are needed, no doubt.
But, could China have gotten where it is now if it had been democracy? NO, Period. The the whole omelette and eggs metaphor, unfortunately, holds true.
I think a lot more changes are needed, but I also think they shouldn’t get to that point over night. IMHO they’re going the proper speed.
Way to go Mikey… Best post yet in 08..thanks for informing the oh so uninformed… geeesh….
I have a problem with the previous comment:
“I think a lot more changes are needed, but I also think they shouldn’t get to that point over night. IMHO they’re going the proper speed.”
A proper speed to where? There is no doubt that China has come a long way economically. China has modernized and prospered beyond what most people probably expected 20 years ago. But there has been little movement towards greater individual freedom and respect of minority groups.
The market may be capitalist, but the core of China’s belief is that repression and violation of freedom is still legitimate for the collective good. Don’t agree with the govt? More “patriotic re-education” for you.
This core belief ripples into everything else, including massive survillence of its people, the sweeping under the rug the genocide of minority groups.. so what’s the big deal about replacing an ugly face with a prettier face?
The US is not perfect and we have made many many mistakes, but our founding value is freedom, and that enables us to question the government and as individuals, initiate a movement towards our ideals.
The Olympics has further derailed us to look at what we should promote in the global community. You can’t criticize the government in China. So if everyone on-screen looks happy, maybe the rest of the world will stop criticizing too.
Thanks WunderKraut for ur blog. Ideology isn’t the same everywhere, but it doesn’t mean that we should sight of our own.
Ditto Mike……Tracy said it best, and both she (thru
her brother’s chinese experience and your recent on scene experisnces) and yo are enlightening your part of the internet world. God BLess and Keep you all on the main goals…. Let the TRUTH ring out! ACE
“But, could China have gotten where it is now if it had been democracy? NO,”
Jack,
I beg to differ. China only began to catch up with the rest of the world when they ditched the authoritarian element to their economy. If/when they ditch the political side, then you would really see progress.
I’ve been to China as well, and a couple of things struck me. 1) Anyone who says that the Chinese government gives a rat’s rear end about the environment has not been to China and breathed the air. 2) The poorest in the US are better off than large numbers of Chinese.
Prechrchet
This is excellent Mike…really
Dude, a CNN-alanche.
I hate you.
So the Chinese faked the fireworks, they faked the performance, but we are to believe that the passports for their underage gymnast are real. I wonder what else they are faking for their National interests, drug test, scoring systems I wonder. I guess once the Olympics are over the only thing we’ll have to worry woory about them faking are the quality of the products that the ship here.
Bella Karoli the old coah for the U.S. women’s gymnast’s
just said on live television that it is very obvious that half of the Chinese gymnasts are under age. He said just because the Chinese government has passports that say they are sixteen does not mean that they are. I thought the comment was great and appropriate, but Bob Costas looked panicked and quickly got off the air. It was really funny.
You know, the funny thing is that China was did the ole switcheroo, because it was “in the national interest” and for the “national image.” However, this has had the opposite effect because it has damaged, among other things, China’s credibility.
Just like Mili Vanili did. Remember what happened to them?
Being the mom of a high level gymnast, and having traveled all over the US watching her compete with thousands of elite gymnasts, from all over the globe, I can tell you that I have never seen such small 16 year old gymnasts. My daughter is 15 1/2 and competes against many girls who are 16, and from other countries.. it’s a well known fact that in the gymnastics world, the chinese are truthful…never have been.
I meant that last line to say “are NOT truthful”