Amidst all the eye-popping grandeur in the Olympic opening ceremonies, one quiet moment stood out.   The adorable Lin Miaoke sang a stirring “Hymn to the Motherland.”   Of course, we could tell she was lipsynching.  Pavarotti did the same thing.   But it turns out she was swapped in for the seven-year-old whose voice echoed through the stadium, Yang Peiyi.  Evidently Yang’s rounder face and buckteeth got her swept aside at the dress rehearsal.  Imagine the heartbreak that accompanied the most famous musical fakery since Milli Vanilli.   As a seasoned pro from television commercials, 9 year-old Lin Miaoke put her charming pigtails to work.  The musical director for the opening ceremonies, Chen Qigang told Beijing Radio, “The audience will understand that it’s in the national interest.”

China extended a little bit of show biz fakery into the gymnastics competition.   No amount of mascara can convince me these girls are the required age sixteen.  On NBC, Bela Karoly fumed about the flagrant disregard of rules demonstrated by the Chinese.  Ann Killion of the San Jose Mercury News pointed out that the relative youth of the Chinese girls may have helped them triumph over the America competition.   As a 20 year old, college student, American gymnast Alicia Sacramone tumbled under the pressure while the little girls of China bounded toward the gold medal.

Such carefully choreographed chicanery pales in comparison to the control exerted on the average Chinese street corner.   I vividly recall the unease generated by a stroll through the aptly titled Forbidden Palace in Beijing.  “Friendly” locals approach tourists like me, volunteering to take pictures, asking where I’m staying and for how long.   When the shops on a crowded Beijing street ended, an armed soldier blocked my progress.  There would be no wandering out of the pre-established commercial zone. 

There may not have been human rights abuses lurking one block off the main drag in Beijing.  But the freedom of inquiry blocked by the government makes one wonder.    What kind of games does China continue to play with its citizens?  If buckteeth will get you banished from the opening ceremonies, what follows a political protest or a Chinese Christian’s desire for freedom of worship?   We may never know.