If you haven’t heard about it by now, you’re a bit behind the times, my friend. In a move that has both offline and online tongues wagging, China chose to pair the singing voice of one girl with the more adorable face of another for the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Sun Weide, a spokesman for Beijing’s Olympic organizing committee, stated it plainly: “We decided to let Lin Maoke to sing on the stage, and to use Yang Peiyi’s voice, because Yang Peiyi has the best voice, while Lin Miaoke is the best actress.”
One seen, one heard: Lin Maoke (left) and Yang Peiyi (right)
“The reason was for the national interest,” said Chen Qigang, the ceremony’s musical director, in a state radio interview. “We had to make that choice. It was fair both for Lin Miaoke and Yang Peiyi,” Chen told Beijing Radio. “We combined the perfect voice and the perfect performance.”
But China’s choice has quickly become a hot debate, especially in social networking. Here are a few comments garnered from various articles, blogs, etc:
- “The organizers really messed up on this one,” Luo Shaoyang, 34, a retail worker in Beijing, said Tuesday. “This is like a voiceover for a cartoon character. Why couldn’t they pick a kid who is both cute and a good singer? This damages the reputation of both kids for their future, especially the one lip-synching. Now everyone knows she’s a fraud, who cares if she’s cute?”
- “They want the best-looking people to represent the face of China. I don’t blame the organizers for picking a prettier-looking kid over the not-so-pretty one,” said Xia Xiaotao, 30, an engineer.
- “Wow, I can’t believe that anyone would do that to a child. Yan Peiyi is adorable, crooked teeth and all. She’s only 7 afterall. Talk about a blow to her young self esteem to be told she’s not cute enough. It’s also tragic for Lin Miaoki who will now be known as a fraud. I think it’s a terrible thing to do to two innocent children.” Kim D
- “It’s the unfortunate reality that these sort of things turn political,” said marketing worker Zhang Xinyi, 22.
Personally, I can see both sides of the proverbial coin although honestly I’m leaning towards the thought that they should have used the same girl for both face and voice. By the way, I know the comments above reflect that viewpoint more, but that’s what I could find! So anyway, what do you think?
“The UK and Austrailian press is way ahead of US publishers, with pictures of the little girl Yang Peiyi, who has crooked (baby?) teeth and slight chubby face. What’s next- more attractive Chinese athletes accepting medals in place of the real winners?” Comment by Free Georgia! – August 12, 2008