Posted by Damozel | Man, I feel bad for the Chinese. Have any Olympic hosts ever worked harder at creating a beautiful occasion? My 80 year old mother was in tears over those opening ceremonies. "I'm sending you the DVD," she said firmly. "No discussion." And damn if she wasn't right.
The Chinese worry a lot about losing face. Here in the west, you lose face if you show you're too concerned about losing face. If you try too hard, and you're caught at it, people just feel sorry for you. Then you have what we call "egg on face." It's not as bad as "losing face," because you just wipe it off, swear to learn from the experience, and move on. Still, it's fairly easily avoided.
Their obsession with putting together a "flawless" occasion---right down to the digitally imaged fireworks---makes me sad. You know, if the occasion is colorful, exciting, and grand, it's probably good enough, people.
Somebody really should tell them how one loses face in the west (by worrying too obviously about losing face). What about the food regulator they executed last year to compensate for losing face? And what price those dissidents who were mucking up the all-important appearance of harmony?
We know that the Chinese replaced an adorable child with a beautiful voice but crooked teeth in favor of a lip-synching moppet they considered "flawless." (HuffPost)
A member of China's Politburo asked for the last-minute change to match one girl's face with another's voice, the ceremony's chief music director, Chen Qigang, said in an interview with Beijing Radio. (HuffPost)
Jon Stewart sort of sums up what shocked me about this cold-eyed weighing up of a cute little bunny toothed girl with an amazing voice....
Westerners like life to have a few jagged edges and we prize energy and opposition. And we don't mind the occasional pratfall because of the value of being able to laugh at yourself.
Now it appears that the rumors of under-age gymnasts are all too true. I suppose they wanted that performance to be flawless as well.
The New York Times first looked into the age of China's gymnasts with a story on July 27 that focused primarily on He Kexin, whose birthdate on numerous online records was listed as January 1, 1994, making her 14 when the Games began and ineligible to compete.
When the world was officially introduced to He Kexin this week, even those unwise to the ways of competitive gymnastics could tell that with He, something was not right. At 4-foot 8-inches tall and weighing 72 pounds, the Beijing native appears significantly younger than most of her Chinese teammates much less her American and European counterparts.....
So, for all of those who are still left unconvinced, I offer a collection of evidence that will demonstrate not only that the Chinese gymnast in question was born in 1994 and underage, but that Chinese officials, over the last few weeks, have systematically tried to cover it all up. (See HuffPost for evidence)
Eep. Egg on face time. That's baked-on egg, all over China's face. The sort that adheres. Yep, you could lose some face when you wipe off that kind of egg.
Law professor Jonathan Turley: "There is obviously a lack of enforcement and deterrence in the area. If this trend continues, the next games will feature a zygote in the swimming competition."
On that note, we'll turn to Jon Stewart (who also comments on the Spanish basketball team and traditional American treatment of Asians in advertising):
Psst! Guys! Be polite to the Chinese. I understand we owe them a lot of money.
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Hi,
Nice article......I have not played this Chinese games , will try out this game....
Posted by: r4 kartes | July 01, 2009 at 08:37 AM