When Chinese officials admitted that the little girl who sang “Ode to Motherland” during the opening Olympic ceremonies was really lip-synching, and not singing, they said the decision came down to “national interest.” Translated, it turned out to mean: The real 7-year-old singer was not cute enough to represent the country.
After the real singer, Yang Peiyi, 7, finished rehearsal one day, a senior member of the Politburo told Beijing Olympic organizers that they had an “urgent problem” that needed fixing. So at the last minute they enlisted Lin Miaoke, 9, to mouth the lyrics during the ceremony and cast aside the sweet-voiced Peiyi.
“The reason why little Peiyi was not chosen to appear was because we wanted to project the right image. The reason was for the national interest,” said Chen Qigang, a composer and French citizen who directed the music for the opening ceremony. “The child on camera should be flawless in image, internal feelings and expression. Lin Miaoke is excellent in those aspects, but in terms of voice Yang Peiyi is perfect.”
Welcome to the real world, young ladies. It takes two of you to make one acceptable girl.
With all the talk of national interest, it’s hard not to imagine that Yang Peiyi must be a horribly disfigured girl who must be shunted out of the public eye in order not to offend the international spectators. Turns out Yang Peiyi is absolutely adorable. Short hair, chubby cheeks and crooked baby teeth. It’s the teeth, apparently, that sealed her fate.
Enter the “flawless” image of Lin Miaoke. Beautiful, yes, but unable to sing a note. She has, however, been in a TV commercial. And that is how she comes across — like a perky, camera-conscious, trying-too-hard-to-be-cute American child star.
Unlike the officials, Chinese people were outraged at this deception. Lu Xia, 20, a student at Beijing Peili Vocational College, told The Australian newspaper, “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.”
Pundits and analysts have declared the episode shows the Chinese’ lack of confidence, their relentless pursuit of perfection and desperation to put on the greatest Olympics ever. OK. Just as long as we’re sure there’s no Western influence at work here. The senior Politburo member who yanked Peiyi’s moment out from under her was trying to please us, with a “prettier, more perfect” face. It’s an understandable conclusion for anyone who has glanced at American television.
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