Opinion Talk

By Pat

August 13, 2008 8:36 AM | Link to this

It’s just another example of how tone-deaf China’s ham-fisted autocrats are. They’re too dumb to figure out that pulling the “not pretty enough” kid would be a far bigger black eye internationally than any slight imperfection the “less attractive” child could deliver the country.

By SoBittered

August 13, 2008 8:54 AM | Link to this

See Sharon Stone was correct! Those Chinese caused it…

By NotSoAlien

August 13, 2008 9:08 AM | Link to this

“National interest” is a foreign concept to Americans? Wow. Number 1, politics in the U.S. is all about image. Number 2, current debates about immigration, oil dependency, etc., are all framed in terms of national interest.

By "The Corporal"

August 13, 2008 9:19 AM | Link to this

That is the way those systems of diabolical governments work. There are no rights (or respect) for the individual. Everything is subservient to “the people” (the government). When you start picking away at individual rights (as is happening here) that is what you eventually get.

By Aaron

August 13, 2008 9:23 AM | Link to this

I don’t get why this upsets people. Who cares?

-AJB Chicago

By Old Pirece

August 13, 2008 9:31 AM | Link to this

The swap is not something ideal, but defendable. The opening ceremony is a staged event, and China staged so well I fully enjoyed (is that supposed to be?) Picking the swap sounds like a sour loser. Artistic exaggeration is a form of expression deeply rooted in Chinese Arts and culture.

By Kevin

August 13, 2008 9:33 AM | Link to this

TO ALL CIVILISED PEOPLE OF THIS PLANET WATCHING THE BEIJING OLYMPICS.

We all should start publicising and promoting this lovely little girl Yang Peiyi who has been dumped by her own country and her own people because she was NOT HUMAN ENOUGH FOR THE CHINESE PEOPLE AND REGIME to deserve her glory in front of the world. Do the Chinese people believe that THEY are civilized enough for the rest of the world? Do they have any sense of shame ? Do they deserve our admiration after treating such an innocent and normal little girl as a non human ? What if it was their daughter and was rejected as little Yang Peiyi ? What will happen to Lin Miaoke when she will grow up and being taunted as only A FAKE person and a NO ONE really. Finally do they really believe that WE believe that all real little Chinese girls look like and are capable as the fake singer ? They have got to be dumb if they do because WE HONESTLY DON’T.

We ask the whole civilised world to start a campaign to promote and help Yang Peiyi to regain her deserved place in the world community.

Representatives of the World Civilised Community.

By JohnH

August 13, 2008 9:34 AM | Link to this

Works the same way in every country, including the United States. State before individual, party before individual. National interest is another way of saying state interests trump individual interests.

By Kevin

August 13, 2008 9:35 AM | Link to this

TO ALL CIVILISED PEOPLE OF THIS PLANET WATCHING THE BEIJING OLYMPICS.

We all should start publicising and promoting this lovely little girl Yang Peiyi who has been dumped by her own country and her own people because she was NOT HUMAN ENOUGH FOR THE CHINESE PEOPLE AND REGIME to deserve her glory in front of the world. Do the Chinese people believe that THEY are civilized enough for the rest of the world? Do they have any sense of shame ? Do they deserve our admiration after treating such an innocent and normal little girl as a non human ? What if it was their daughter and was rejected as little Yang Peiyi ? What will happen to Lin Miaoke when she will grow up and being taunted as only A FAKE person and a NO ONE really. Finally do they really believe that WE believe that all real little Chinese girls look like and are capable as the fake singer ? They have got to be dumb if they do because WE HONESTLY DON’T.

We ask the whole civilised world to start a campaign to promote and help Yang Peiyi to regain her deserved place in the world community.

Representatives of the World Civilised Community.

By David Hulbert

August 13, 2008 9:36 AM | Link to this

If you watched the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, you would have seen one of the most spectacular, beautiful, sophisticate , and engaging theatrical events ever produced. If you watched the games you will see highly skilled Chinese athletes who win and loose with grace and emotion. These are a people who have struggled long and hard and are moving into world prominence while the West blindly sneers. What country is more into the superficiality of looks then the US? Hollywood, magazine covers, beauty pageants, plastic surgery, etc, etc. To call the Chinese dumb, and to compliment Sharon Stones crude, ignorant, and tasteless remark about the tragic earthquake demonstrates the blindness and bigotry of America which can only lead to our demise. Oh… did America cause Catrina?

By Peter S

August 13, 2008 9:38 AM | Link to this

Well NotSoAlien, Re #1 those involved in politics in the US do so at their own will and any imaging they engage in is their own. Re#2: Immigration and oil are of national SECURITY interest, not just a global image issue. Totally different from yanking a not so cute girl off the stage because we must present a perfect image to the world. Our faults in the US are transparent for the most part, not so in China where there is no personal freedom. Also it would be the equivalent of Bush having final say on American Idol because he wants the US to portray a certain image.

By YouSb

August 13, 2008 9:43 AM | Link to this

the reporter is stu*id.

By poot

August 13, 2008 9:52 AM | Link to this

WHo cares? Heck pretty much any pretty singer now-a-days lipsinks.

By Vin

August 13, 2008 10:03 AM | Link to this

Who cares? go get a life!!!!!

By Peter S

August 13, 2008 10:05 AM | Link to this

JohnH: I don’t know what state or party you are from but that is not what the US constitution is about or guarantees. The government works for us not us for the government. If not, we have the right to hold them accountable.

By sunaath

August 13, 2008 10:33 AM | Link to this

Why not replace Mao’s picture with that of a beautiful Chinese maiden?

By Pierre

August 13, 2008 10:33 AM | Link to this

our concerns should be about human rights on this planet, please…

By Levon Khachatryan

August 13, 2008 10:36 AM | Link to this

The issue is not just about the little girl. What may seem like an insignificant event, actually surfaces very deep social and cultural control of invidiual citizens, and inequality and prejudice based on age and sex. Basiclaly, it violates human rights. The difference between an agent in the US turning down an actress, even though she is a better actrees, but “less attractive, is that this action in China was insitutional and legal, whereas in the U.S. you have to have reasoning outside of age, sex, creed, race, etc. In the US, we have laws. if the agent was to actually say that is the reason he pulled her off, he could easily be taken to court. No country is perfect, but human rights laws set a standard to destructuralize violations and create standards for punishment. Violations of basic human rights in China are openly, structurally, and socially enacted without any legal reprimand.

By rb

August 13, 2008 10:49 AM | Link to this

This is un-American. How can this be!! :)

By vin

August 13, 2008 11:12 AM | Link to this

just like a whole lot of things chinese - emotion, friendship …the list goes on is a big FAKE!!!

By gunther

August 13, 2008 11:17 AM | Link to this

sound familiar? yes hitler did the same with his perfect aryan policy. the imperfect dont matter.

By ron

August 13, 2008 11:45 AM | Link to this

Everything about the Chinese is deception.

By shamed american

August 13, 2008 11:51 AM | Link to this

embarrassed to be american

i wish the all americans would stop whinning and complaining about these olympics.

not are we sore losers we are also sore winners as well.

we have hosted many olympics in our country but have the foreign media criticized are seemingly perfect country? with our own violence, racism and other social problems we should be focusing more on ourselves instead of what others are doing in their homeland.

looking for imperfections at every detail is shameful. no other country is doing this. i can’t even watch NBC coverage because of all the complaining by the commentators. at least CBC will interview and praise the winner regardless of origin.

america has really turned into a classless bully and the world sees it. no wonder we are so hated worldwide.

By Jake

August 13, 2008 11:59 AM | Link to this

The worst travesty was that fake gymnastics team they marched out yesterday. Little girls taken from their families at age 3 and sent to gymnastic gulags where they are forced to do the same routine a million times. Ten years later, at the age of 13 and the emaciated weight of 72 pounds they perform by using fake passports. And what does the IOC do? They encourage these human rights violations by saying the fake passports look pretty good to us.

By Vanamala

August 13, 2008 12:08 PM | Link to this

Ruthless rudes to squeeze the little heart

By RealityKing

August 13, 2008 12:08 PM | Link to this

Back dating the birth certificates of their lady’s gymnastics team to win a gold metal is a much bigger offence..

By blondy

August 13, 2008 12:14 PM | Link to this

What else are the Chinese lying about? THE KID IS NOT PRETTY ENOUGH! CRAP! THEY HAVE RUINED IT FOR EVERYONE! A SELF NATION! A FEARFUL NATION!

By nematode

August 13, 2008 12:16 PM | Link to this

This switch is just a minor example of the type of human violations that exist in China. The question is, when is it going to end, when is China going to change?

By RealityKing

August 13, 2008 12:17 PM | Link to this

Yang Peiyi represents real China.

Lin Miaoke represents fake communist controled China.

Sorry Lin..

By me

August 13, 2008 12:21 PM | Link to this

The majority of all you posters are stereo typical americans, meaning you are poor sports, terrible losers, just like most athletes in America. By the way, you do not spell very well either. Take a look at the womens gymnastics last night, we lose the gold, and automatically start a broadcast of debate about age. Heck, i would be more upset knowing we lost to a group of kids, that are smaller and weaker than our girls, or better yet give those US girls a heck of alot of credit for doing a damn good job, they did their best, and that is all that we can ask.

By me

August 13, 2008 12:27 PM | Link to this

Additionally you all believe every you hear from the reporters on a daily basis, and the coaches. Someone mentioned American Idol, this is a great example of the US singling out, not accepting the overweight, and ugly. Why, because they dont sell anything. So i guess we are just as p** poor as the Chinese, but you would probably say it is different, because we are Americans and we live by a double standard.

By Sanjiv

August 13, 2008 12:29 PM | Link to this

If Chinese feels National Interests greater than human ethics, then they should have staged daughter of Chinese Head of State. Talent recognition does not require looks. Are Chinese going to replace talented sportsperson with good looking artists from Hollywood ?

By spicey

August 13, 2008 12:37 PM | Link to this

There are many other problems in this world besides looks. Beauty’s in the eye of the beholder and both girls are beautiful!

By Canadien

August 13, 2008 12:47 PM | Link to this

there is no merit in this article. So what? The person who wrote this is very lobsided (or narrowminded, as I’ve liked to call it)

By TechNeck

August 13, 2008 12:50 PM | Link to this

Is lip syncing and the like truly an integral part of cultural Chinese expression (minus the mandates of its current system of government)? Would something like this have been tolerated in the courts of the Chinese emperors of yesteryear, or would the men staging the purported presenter have risked losing their head when the emperor found out? I could see using makeup on Yang Peiyi’s face if they really wanted to enhance her appearance, but not this switcharoo. She’s also still very young — who knows, she may turn out to be the proverbial ugly duckling that grows up to be a beautiful swan, envied even by Lin. I wish both girls the best as they grow up, of course, and the same wishes to all people at the Olympics from Communist countries, as well as wishing them a future of a land that is much more free than their present land.

By GaLiberal

August 13, 2008 12:54 PM | Link to this

The Olympics’ Opening Ceremonies are staged show and like any staged show you do what is necessary for success. Hollywood (and live theater) have been using lip synching for decades. This is no different. It has nothing do to with winning any medals so there is no ‘integrity’ issue here.

All the hateful bigoted comments about the Chinese government are just a further demonstration of how the Rethuglicons have damaged this country. The mindset of these bootlicking drones seems to be the US is the only model for a successful government. That’s arrogant and very ignorant. After Bush invaded and occupied Iraq, we have no moral high ground to say how the Chinese should conduct a theatrical production.

When you vote Rethuglicon, you vote against your own best interests. And all these bigoted, hateful, egotistical anti-Chinese comments are living proof.

By Poste Haste

August 13, 2008 1:08 PM | Link to this

There were scoring anomalies too. One chinese girl fell off the beam. Our star did a near perfect routine, yet their scores were similar.

Obviously the scoring is political. That’s the only reason we lost.

Only reason.

By ed

August 13, 2008 1:09 PM | Link to this

Stupid decision… they are both equally pretty!

By Jake

August 13, 2008 1:12 PM | Link to this

GaLiberal - We live in McMansions while they’re still roasting chicken feet over a charcoal fire because their government model is sooooo successful! You’re a Pinko and a traitor and should be deported to go live under that great government.

By TechNeck

August 13, 2008 1:12 PM | Link to this

The comments of GaLiberal would come closer to making sense if this were the international convention of world “professional” wrestling. But Olympics is very much about truth, honesty, and fairness. Why do you think they yank the medal of anyone who was found to have been doping? It is simply out of character to the Olympics to frame it in a proceedings that makes vaudeville look like the Vatican. I hope the closing ceremonies are much more genuine. And I hope the next Olympics happens in a place with decent air quality (China has many such places, but no they’d rather do it in their thickly smogged capital city).

By Rocknrico

August 13, 2008 1:25 PM | Link to this

I see absolutely nothing wrong with this. The opening ceremony is a show. To be part of a show you need to look good. This is reality. Get a grip and off your high horse.

By me

August 13, 2008 1:31 PM | Link to this

You should all go back to work and earn your keep with your respective companies, instead of wasting their bandwidth talking about something you have no knowledge or background.

By Poste Haste

August 13, 2008 1:37 PM | Link to this

The two little chinese girls look alike to me, I mean, who cut their hair? and those teeth!

Dont you see how funny this is? All chinese look exactly alike, yet the commies wouldn’t risk us noticing that one girl has a more prominent overbite? Now that’s three stooges funny, man.

There’s only one barber in china. Remember that bit? “Lookie here, I give you haircut just like Moe.”

I loved that bit. I’m disgusted with the chinese and their preteen gymnastics team.

By Chuck

August 13, 2008 1:40 PM | Link to this

Look, honestly, who gives a flip. I just wouldn’t want to be the ogre that looked at the little 7-year old that could sing and tell her she just wasn’t pretty enough for television.

Maybe they’ll put her up for adoption or something.

By MamaS

August 13, 2008 2:14 PM | Link to this

I think she is talented and pretty. I would adopt her in five seconds if the Chinese were not also prejudiced against, single, older, and overweight parents.

By jeez

August 13, 2008 2:23 PM | Link to this

How about we all get together and make sure this little girl’s not had an attack of low self-esteem? Let’s give her a fake trophy. Or better yet, let’s give her a fake trophy, some new teeth, and a house. All free and without strings. We can make it into a tv show. Let’s call it Extreme Makeover for Chinese Children. Who knew that makeover idea could be used in so many different configurations and would make us all feel so good? And all we have to do is sit in front of the tv and do nothing….

By David

August 13, 2008 2:40 PM | Link to this

As a volunteer for the Atlanta games, I think all of this bigoted talk about China has bot to do with sour grapes. THe Chinese kicked Atlanta out of the sgtadium with their opening ceremony and stunning architecture. Atlanta’s games have gone down as one of the worst in the last 30 years. I will be happy if Chicago gets the games and can show the world that America really can stage a decent games. And, while I don;t agree with what the Chinese did with the little girl, I think everything else has been perfect.

By David

August 13, 2008 2:41 PM | Link to this

As a volunteer for the Atlanta games, I think all of this bigoted talk about China has bot to do with sour grapes. THe Chinese kicked Atlanta out of the stadium with their opening ceremony and stunning architecture. Atlanta’s games have gone down as one of the worst in the last 30 years. I will be happy if Chicago gets the games and can show the world that America really can stage a decent games. And, while I don;t agree with what the Chinese did with the little girl, I think everything else has been perfect.

By Nanci

August 13, 2008 2:43 PM | Link to this

She doesn’t need new teeth. She’s seven, and nature will take care of it soon enough.

By Randall Smith, phD

August 13, 2008 2:44 PM | Link to this

Americans place a huge premium on appearance in choosing leaders, favorite celebrities and news readers. Why should we be surprised when such tendencies are acted upon honestly by those setting up a performance with marketing as the prime driver?

By photty

August 13, 2008 3:00 PM | Link to this

Well I thought the long line of beautiful bimbo girls joggling up and down and smiling, all look-alikes….as each country paraded its athletes….well that was almost heaven…….Then I wondered how they did that without a potty-break. maybe they had a plastic bag implant ?

By GaLiberal

August 13, 2008 3:13 PM | Link to this

TechNeck@1:12 PM said: The comments of GaLiberal would come closer to making sense if this were the international convention of world “professional” wrestling. But Olympics is very much about truth, honesty, and fairness. Why do you think they yank the medal of anyone who was found to have been doping?

Point of fact here TeckNeck, but the Opening Ceremonies are not part of the Olympic games. It’s a staged show; not a competitive sport. Yes, I would expect them to pull the medal of someone who cheats. But that’s not the case here. There was no competition; there was no medal; there was no fairness. Comparing this to an athlete that is in competition is simply ludicrous.

I don’t you Rethuglicon drones can’t face reality, but at least be credible in your arguments.

When you vote Rethuglicon, you vote against your own best interests. And TeckNeck is living proof.

By LeadersWhoGetCaughtLying

August 13, 2008 3:21 PM | Link to this

while the US can’t throw stones at all when it comes to having, ie, presidents who lie to get our country into a war that destablilizes the entire middle east, china has taken lying and duplicitousness to a whole new level!

i had NO idea poor chinese babies were taken from their loving families and dumped in gymnastic sweatshops at the tender age of THREE YEARS!! that’s insanity!! those kids would be taken by social services in so many decent countries, but no in china!!

then they go and LIE about these kids’ ages… i had no idea china was SO DESPERATE for medals that they would do practically ANYTHING to get them!!

ALL your medals are now suspect, china. if you’ve learned anything at all, you know that LIARS can never be trusted!!

we will remember AND we are now refusing to buy anything made in china!!! because we are sickened by our animals dying from poisons in their china-made food, our kids sickened by poisons in their china-made toys, our computers that are so problematic because, again, they were made in china!

made in the USA, that’s what we’re buying from now on!

By Sharon

August 13, 2008 3:21 PM | Link to this

I’m not in favor of it, but America has not taken the high road, either. Why do you think more than half of our big-name stars refuse tostand next to an open flame. They’re all plastic, and that plastic image is projected to the rest of us as the ‘perfection’ we should strive for.

Sad, but true for China, the U.S and countless other societies.

By Sharon

August 13, 2008 3:22 PM | Link to this

I’m not in favor of it, but America has not taken the high road, either. Why do you think more than half of our big-name stars refuse tostand next to an open flame. They’re all plastic, and that plastic image is projected to the rest of us as the ‘perfection’ we should strive for.

Sad but true for China, the U.S and countless other societies.

By chasityncl

August 13, 2008 3:24 PM | Link to this

why are americans complaining, when we do it everyday. We allways choose the white girl over the black girl regardless to who is actually prettier. The bi-racial girl over the black girl.Get a grip and clean up around your own back door before you go looking into someone elses.

By Eagle

August 13, 2008 3:24 PM | Link to this

Atleast they didn’t kill the girl. American are killing more human than ever before in known history.

By Jake

August 13, 2008 3:53 PM | Link to this

I don’t think anyone should make fun of either of those sweet little girls. It’s bad enough that in just a few years they’ll be sewing 14 hours a day for starvation wages making clothes for Walmart.

By Historian

August 13, 2008 3:58 PM | Link to this

Eagle, Perhaps you should read a few history books before you make inane comments like that. Check out the slaughter during China’s cultural revolution, Stalin’s purges, Hitler’s death camps, the Khmer Rouge, etc.

It is obvious that you take the opinion of biased media talking heads you wish America never existed. Of course, their dissent would get them executed in the other countries that they love so much.

Every death of a non-combatant in war is horrible and inexcusable. But America has done more than any country in history to minimize those deaths. If all we wanted to do was subdue Iraq, carpet bombing would be more effective. Instead, we develop expensive technologies, put our soldiers at greater risk, and mitigate our strategies to reduce civilian deaths.

If you hate America so much, move to China. But perhaps you should YouTube “Tienanmen Square 1989” first.

By kd

August 13, 2008 4:06 PM | Link to this

Lip synching ? You can add China now to the “world community of lip synchers”. Of course Madonna, Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, Milli Vanilli and all the other Grammy Idiots are already there.

The Olympics are now on par with American Idle and the Music “Industry”! What a joke. No wonder I stopped watching this exercise in marketing 20 years ago.

Free the truth !

By Sarita

August 13, 2008 4:07 PM | Link to this

Oh puhleez let’s stop being so hypocritical. How is that different from what we do here in the U.S.? Our nation is one so obsessed with beauty that we even allow our children to undergo plastic surgery. There’s no shortage of studies proving that the prettier the person, the higher the salary they’ll make in the U.S., and what can be said about TV, movies and every other slice of life, where looks are the #1 priority? I’ve yet to a homely person picked to represent our nation.

By Scott

August 13, 2008 4:07 PM | Link to this

Don’t forget we just paid 15 Million for cute baby pics recently, so the chinese were just pandering to our values in this case, so were all a bunch hypocrates. If Miley Cyrus was a chubby faced toothless cow would she be as popular?

By Jake

August 13, 2008 4:18 PM | Link to this

Did we hide buttugly Gladys Knight backstage while Vanessa went out and did the lip sync? No. And their terrorist specifically targeted Americans. Our terrorist didn’t care who he blew up! And we probably paid Juan Samaranch less than they paid Jacques the Rogge.

By George

August 13, 2008 4:19 PM | Link to this

Sarita,

You are exactly right. Hypocrisy bubbles over when other nations are involved. Too bad we can’t see our own faults that we see so clearly in others.

By Sarita

August 13, 2008 4:21 PM | Link to this

I agree with Scott 100%. The Chinese were pandering to our values. Among themselves they wouldn’t have changed the little girl to one more attractive but since they’re now on the U.S.-dominated world stage they sank along with us. A better discussion might be, when are we Americans. going to stop putting beauty and money above all things and insist that our leaders and our media promote that ideology? And it’s not just beauty, what about our white skin obsession? Our country needs to grow up.

By Sarita

August 13, 2008 4:27 PM | Link to this

George, you’re so right. And it’s not just that we Americans put beauty at the top of our priority list. It’s lots of other incredibly superficial stuff we Americans have at the top of our priority list, which I won’t even get into here so as not to steer the conversation away from the beauty angle.

By lovelyliz

August 13, 2008 4:30 PM | Link to this

Surprise Surprise! We live in a world where looks matter more than talent.

By Jonathan

August 13, 2008 4:35 PM | Link to this

This is an absolute non-issue. The Beijing Opening Ceremony was some of the most amazing TV I’ve ever seen. For the media to try to sour it is just plain stupid. Lip-syncing is standard in many events, this is not some Communist plot or heavy-handed government, this is show-business.

Madonna, Mick Jagger, U2 have all lip-synched, this isn’t a national disgrace for China, what’s really a disgrace are opinion articles like this that try to spoil a good time. The news media really needs to chill, and stop being such a sad sorry bunch.

By Chuck

August 13, 2008 4:43 PM | Link to this

So now it’s America’s fault?

Wow. So what do you feed those snakes in your head?

By Sarita

August 13, 2008 4:49 PM | Link to this

Chuck just can’t admit America’s priorities are beauty, youth, whiteness, and money, nor that we do the same thing on a daily basis. He’s got to pretend we don’t do that kind of thing.

By Liberty

August 13, 2008 4:54 PM | Link to this

Just another Chinese fake… Like all the imitation crap that comes from China… Blah!

By Liberty

August 13, 2008 4:55 PM | Link to this

Just another Chinese fake… Like all the immitation crap that comes from China… Blah!

By Liberty

August 13, 2008 4:55 PM | Link to this

Just another Chinese fake… Like all the imitation crap that comes from China… Blah!

By anonymous

August 13, 2008 5:35 PM | Link to this

No surprise. How does this compare to Rove and Cheney lip synching for the U.S. president?

By Chuck

August 13, 2008 5:37 PM | Link to this

Hey Sarita, I’m cynical enough to admit that. The world is shallow but it isn’t just America’s doing. The Chinese abort untold numbers of female babies because they’re only allowed to have one and only want boys. Is that our fault too?

Let’s ask the snakes in your head…

By Tared and feathered

August 13, 2008 5:44 PM | Link to this

Post Haste is a fake, a troll who posts on this and many other ajc blogs under 15 deferent names including pigskin life, nice to fool, fruitless objections, oz, cop talk, anolcord and on and on and on. What a fake, what a loser, what a mixed up old man.

By Fred

August 13, 2008 5:47 PM | Link to this

I thought that the real singer was cute. Why are we even talking about this?

By EZ2c

August 13, 2008 6:06 PM | Link to this

Fred you racist jerk, crawl back under a rock.