The spectacular opening ceremony that millions saw last Friday has somehow lost its luster when one controversy after another began to unravel. Following their admission several days ago that some of the fireworks we (those of us watching worldwide) saw during the Olympic opening ceremony were faked, another faking scandal has been admitted. Chinese officials have admitted deceiving the public over another highlight of the Olympic opening ceremony: the picture-perfect schoolgirl who sang as the Chinese flag entered the stadium was actually lipsynching! What's worse, it wasn't even her real voice that was playing in the background.

But wait, that's not all. Wait till you hear the reason why. Lin Miaoke, the girl in the red dress with the pigtails, was picked to appear at the event because the real singer was not attractive enough and had crooked teeth. This was revealed in a recent interview by the ceremony's musical director.

If that's not disturbing enough, here's another one. After becoming an overnight sensation because of her appearance in the opening ceremony, little Lin Miaoke was mobbed by the press and gave interviews to the media about her performance. Why, then, was she allowed to give such interviews wherein she lapped up the praise for her singing? Wasn't one act of deception enough? I understand that organizers must have been pressured to produce the best of what China can offer in this Olympics, but to deceive the whole world and corrupt an innocent child in the process is something very disturbing.

Your thoughts on this, please.

update 08/14/2008: There's a report on local news of the clamor to persuade the Olympic organizing committee to let the unnamed girl with the golden voice sing in the closing ceremony.

Another controversy going around is the issue of racism caused by this photo of the Spanish national basketball team:

Apparently done for an ad before the Olympic Games, it appears to show all its players slanting their eyes, mimicking the appearance of the Chinese, and Orientals in general. While the purpose of such action is not clear at the moment, the photo has already caused an uproar in China and in Chinese and Asian communities worldwide. Some say it is racist, while others contend that it was done in jest perhaps to signify the team's contract extension with their major sponsor, the Li Ning Footwear company (yup, the same Li Ning who lighted the Olympic flame!). Whatever the reason behind this photo may be, the majority agree that it was done in poor taste, a stupid pose that shouldn't have been done in the first place.

But can it be considered racist? What do you think?

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latest Olympic controversies: deceit and racism

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