Beijing opening ceremony child lip-synched

Original Child Singer’s Crooked Teeth Was Considered Damaging For China’s International Image

 

Beijing: The cute little girl whose sweetvoiced rendition of one of China’s favourite revolutionary anthems started off the Olympic opening ceremony performance may not have been all that she seemed. Little Lin Miaoke, it has been revealed, was only lip-synching.
   Officials have now admitted that the voice that rang out through the vast Birds Nest stadium was really that of seven-year-old Yang Peiyi, who may have had the voice of an angel but whose crooked teeth made her unsuitable for the opening ceremony’s top spot.
   The revelation has stirred up an online furore in China’s internet chat rooms and on comment pages.
   Many are not amused to learn that the nine-year-old whose coy smile and pigtails won the hearts of the world during Friday night’s opening extravaganza was chosen more for her cuteness than her talent.
   The English-language China Daily announced on Tuesday that little Miss Lin was well on her way to becoming a star. The internet has been littered with pictures of the little girl going back to school after her stirring performance that had millions singing along to Ode to the Motherland — a paean to the revolution — in homes across China. The newspaper said: The 9-year-old songbird said she was thrilled to be part of Friday’s performance, mostly because ‘I felt so beautiful in my red dress.’
   But the songbird looked better, it seems, than she sounded while little Yang Peiyi, unfortunately for her own ambitions, sounded better than she looked.
   Chen Qigang, music director for the ceremony said in an online article: “Little Yang Peiyi’s failure to be selected was mainly because of her appearance, because we were concerned with the interests of the nation.” “The child on camera should be flawless in image, internal feeling and expression.”It appeared that while the seven-year-old child’s voice could not be faulted, her crooked teeth were not deemed suitable for a ceremony required to show a flawless China.
   Chen’s explanation drew furious comments online. One said: “What does it mean to say you are worried about image? Seven year old girls are all little angels. Why say this. It’s really ridiculous.”
   Others were less polite. “That’s bullshit. Any little boy or girl who is not so good looking and sees such an explanation will sob their heart out.”
   Lin, Miaoke’s father, said his daughter had been under strict orders not to discuss plans for the performance. He got only the 15-minute notice about her role and was thrilled. He only later learned of the voice switch when he saw a video clip of the interview by Chen.
   “Everyone should understand this in this way,” Chen said. “This is in the national interest. It is the image of our national music, national culture, especially during the entrance of our national flag. This is an extremely important, extremely serious matter.”SUNDAY
TIMES, LONDON AND NYT NEWS SERVICE

 

BEIJING FIREWORKS: Yang Peiyi (right) was replaced by Lin Miaoke who mimed Ode to the Motherland as her face was ‘not suitable’ for the Olympics opening ceremony