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This just pisses me off. Just imagine what the little girl must have felt like... :mad:
Chinese rail against lip-sync at Olympics Opening Ceremony | The Australian
CHINESE people are railing against the great singing switch at the Opening Ceremony, saying they feel cheated after a better young singer with bad teeth was replaced by a pretty girl.
Music director of the Opening Ceremony Chen Qigang revealed a member of the Politburo had come to watch the final round of rehearsals, and instructed that Yang Peiyi, 7, was not pretty enough to appear in front of a television audience of billions and that she be replaced by Lin Miaoke, 9, who mimed the Hymn to the Motherland.
The man who ordered the switch is believed to be Xi Jinping, the heir apparent to President Hu Jintao, who is in overall command of the Games organisation and whose wife, Peng Liyuan, is one of China's best known professional singers.
Lu Xia, 20, a second-year student at Beijing Peili Vocational College, was amazed when she was told about the miming.
"Can this really be true? No, it can't! This cheated the audience all over the world. Everyone will remember this beautiful little girl in red, who has basked in the glory. But the voice is another girl's," she said.
"It's like the Chinese saying, 'Gold and jade on the outside, but just cotton on the inside'. So what if the girl who actually sang is losing her teeth, that's still lovely in itself. It just shows how young she is.
"It's what should be happening at her age, it shows how innocent she is. This was a deliberate deception. They should have explained on screen that the voice was another girl's. If I were the girl cast aside, I would feel deeply hurt."
Huo Ran, in her second year at Beijing Union University, agreed: "It's not fair on the girl who sang. They wanted a girl with both a beautiful face and a beautiful voice. Someone else might have just accepted it, but if it happened to me, I wouldn't have done."
Primary schoolteacher Shi Lijun said she could not understand how it had happened.
She said: "After all, they are both Chinese girls. It was the biggest stage of all, and I think the girl who appeared there would also have liked to have her voice heard. If I were Zhang Yimou, the producer, that's what I would have done, too."
Despite the lingering controversy, the lucky number of Chinese who secured tickets to sporting events are revelling in their Games experience.
Shi, 32, said she had brought 80 students and 20 teachers to watch the women's softball yesterday, in which Australia beat China 3-1.
"We made it 100 people, a lucky number," she said.
"We gave everyone a short lesson in the rules of softball on Wednesday, so they could enjoy the competition more. It's a new sport to most of us."
She said they chartered a bus, which took an hour to get there from the school.
"The traffic is good in Beijing during the Games, and the volunteers are doing a great job, leading us to our seats. The organisation seems excellent."
Her students are aged nine and 10, in the third and fourth grade.
"We wanted them to experience the atmosphere of the Olympics," she said. "The ticket prices are very reasonable."
College students Yao Jingyao, Huo Ran and Lu Xia, in their early 20s, waved and yelled during the softball game, in hope the players would hit a ball to them.
Huo trained in softball from 10 to 18 and was almost selected for the national team, but focused instead on her college education.
"When the Australians scored a home run at the start, I cheered for them, but I was also worried for our team," she said.
"I didn't really expect China to win, so the result is not that bad to me."
Chinese rail against lip-sync at Olympics Opening Ceremony | The Australian
CHINESE people are railing against the great singing switch at the Opening Ceremony, saying they feel cheated after a better young singer with bad teeth was replaced by a pretty girl.
Music director of the Opening Ceremony Chen Qigang revealed a member of the Politburo had come to watch the final round of rehearsals, and instructed that Yang Peiyi, 7, was not pretty enough to appear in front of a television audience of billions and that she be replaced by Lin Miaoke, 9, who mimed the Hymn to the Motherland.
The man who ordered the switch is believed to be Xi Jinping, the heir apparent to President Hu Jintao, who is in overall command of the Games organisation and whose wife, Peng Liyuan, is one of China's best known professional singers.
Lu Xia, 20, a second-year student at Beijing Peili Vocational College, was amazed when she was told about the miming.
"Can this really be true? No, it can't! This cheated the audience all over the world. Everyone will remember this beautiful little girl in red, who has basked in the glory. But the voice is another girl's," she said.
"It's like the Chinese saying, 'Gold and jade on the outside, but just cotton on the inside'. So what if the girl who actually sang is losing her teeth, that's still lovely in itself. It just shows how young she is.
"It's what should be happening at her age, it shows how innocent she is. This was a deliberate deception. They should have explained on screen that the voice was another girl's. If I were the girl cast aside, I would feel deeply hurt."
Huo Ran, in her second year at Beijing Union University, agreed: "It's not fair on the girl who sang. They wanted a girl with both a beautiful face and a beautiful voice. Someone else might have just accepted it, but if it happened to me, I wouldn't have done."
Primary schoolteacher Shi Lijun said she could not understand how it had happened.
She said: "After all, they are both Chinese girls. It was the biggest stage of all, and I think the girl who appeared there would also have liked to have her voice heard. If I were Zhang Yimou, the producer, that's what I would have done, too."
Despite the lingering controversy, the lucky number of Chinese who secured tickets to sporting events are revelling in their Games experience.
Shi, 32, said she had brought 80 students and 20 teachers to watch the women's softball yesterday, in which Australia beat China 3-1.
"We made it 100 people, a lucky number," she said.
"We gave everyone a short lesson in the rules of softball on Wednesday, so they could enjoy the competition more. It's a new sport to most of us."
She said they chartered a bus, which took an hour to get there from the school.
"The traffic is good in Beijing during the Games, and the volunteers are doing a great job, leading us to our seats. The organisation seems excellent."
Her students are aged nine and 10, in the third and fourth grade.
"We wanted them to experience the atmosphere of the Olympics," she said. "The ticket prices are very reasonable."
College students Yao Jingyao, Huo Ran and Lu Xia, in their early 20s, waved and yelled during the softball game, in hope the players would hit a ball to them.
Huo trained in softball from 10 to 18 and was almost selected for the national team, but focused instead on her college education.
"When the Australians scored a home run at the start, I cheered for them, but I was also worried for our team," she said.
"I didn't really expect China to win, so the result is not that bad to me."
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