Little Girl Not Pretty Enough to Sing at Olympics

By Pamela Mortimer

It has been said that China would go to any lengths to ensure that the Opening Ceremonies to the Summer Games would be perfect. The comment proved to be true when the Chinese Politburo replaced a 7 year old girl scheduled to sing the national anthem because she wasn’t pretty enough.

"The audience will understand that it's in the national interest," said chief music director, Chen Qigang.

Yang Peiyi, 7, was originally chosen to sing "Ode to the Motherland" at the start of the Summer Games. At the last minute, Peiyi was replaced with the pixie faced Lin Miaoke. Although Peiyi failed the "cuteness test," her voice qualified as the most beautiful.

The song was eventually performed by Peiyi but lip-synced Friday night by Miaoke, a pig-tailed little girl in a red dress. "Nine-year-old Lin Miaoke becomes instant star with patriotic song," touted a Tuesday morning newspaper headline.

"The national interest requires that the girl should have good looks and a good grasp of the song and look good on screen," Chen said. "Lin Miaoke was the best in this. And Yang Peiyi's voice was the most outstanding."

Reportedly, a Central Television reporter asked Peiyi if she was upset over the switch.

Peiyi said just having the opportunity to sing at the Opening Ceremonies was an honor.

The choice to replace Peiyi with Miaoke has become a hot topic among Chinese citizens, flooding the country's blogosphere.

"The organizers really messed up on this one," said Luo ShaoPeiyi, 34, a retail worker in Beijing.

"This is like a voice-over for a cartoon character," Luo said. "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-syncing. Now everyone knows she's a fraud. Who cares if she's cute?"

Zhang Xinyi, 22, disagreed.

"I can understand why they picked the prettier girl. They need to maintain a certain aesthetic beauty during the opening ceremonies. This situation is not so bad, especially since it gives two people an opportunity to shine rather than just one."

According to her tutor, Wang Liping, Peiyi, is well-behaved and loves for Peking opera.

"She doesn't like to show off. She's easygoing," Wang wrote in her blog.

Miaoke, a third grader, was already a minor celebrity before the Summer Games. She was part of a television ad last year that featured China's "biggest gold medal hope," hurdling champion Liu Xiang. She was also in another ad for the Olympics just before Chinese New Year.