2008 Olympics: One World One Dream.....Oh, Really?

Was China ready to host the 2008 Olympic games? Or was this country only ready to pull a hoax on the world they claim to want to live harmoniously with? The decision of Chinese officials to bar 7-year-old Yang Peiyi from being shown singing 'Ode to the Motherland' has caused quite a stir. Apparently, they felt this child wasn't 'beautiful enough' to represent their country; however, they felt her voice was beautiful enough and had another child, whom they deemed 'cuter', to lip-sync the song during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. It seems that 'theatrics' won over honesty and integrity.

I believe it would have been much more well-received had the Chinese people been upfront about the lip-sync'd ceremony. The star of the show, Lin Miaoke, performed better, according to Beijing organizers, while Peiyi sang better. By keeping this hoax a secret, China has lost its credibility with the nations of the world. A newspaper in Spain referred to the debacle as "Olympic Karaoke," while The Times of London dubbed them "the counterfeit games." Not exactly the kind of press China was hoping for.

While the parents of both girls reportedly feel honored to have had their children be a part of the opening ceremony, I wonder what the girls themselves feel. How will this affect their lives later, when they each realize that they were not up to par on their on and were simply pawns in a cruel game of appearances hosted by their Motherland? Will Peiyi suffer from low self-esteem because she feels she isn't pretty enough? Or will Miaoke struggle with the realization that her voice just wasn't good enough?

How can a nation stoop so low as to believe appearances are better than the truth? Especially at a world event where international relations are at stake. Do they feel that their ever-smiling blue-clad Olympic staffers with their polite 'pleases' and 'thank yous' can make up for the disappointing trickery that has marred the festivities? It can't.

Now that the world has seen the calculated deceit of China--not just from the lip-sync'd song, but also the computer-generated fireworks--global leaders may rethink their positions with the Communist country. In my opinion, they should not only rethink them, they should hold China accountable, not just for this Olympic hoax, but for other cover-ups of which China has been a part, as in human rights atrocities.

'One World. One Dream.'

Oh, really?