You are NOT cute enough

I am sorry but this story bothers me.

A little girl and her song captivated millions of viewers during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. But what they saw was not what they heard.


Lin Miaoke was the darling of the Olympic opening ceremony, but it turns out she was lip-syncing.

Game organizers confirm that Lin Miaoke, who performed "Ode to the Motherland" as China's flag was paraded Friday into Beijing's National Stadium, was not singing at all.

Lin was lip-syncing to the sound of another girl, 7-year-old Yang Peiyi, who was heard but not seen, apparently because she was deemed not cute enough.

The statement that first made my hair stand up was the following:

"The reason was for the national interest," said Chen Qigang, the ceremony's musical director, in a state radio interview. "The child on camera should be flawless in image, internal feeling and expression. ... Lin Miaoke is excellent in those aspects."

Yang (the actual singer) was a good sport with the following comment:

As for Yang Peiyi, she's been quoted as saying she was honored to have had a role in the opening ceremony, even though few realized just how big her part really was

* cynicism* Yes, having a girl singing that is "not-picture-perfect" is definitely a NATIONAL INTEREST issue.

I guess that I am definitely not smart enough to get this and maybe it has to do with me not being entrenched in their culture. But, it still makes me sad.