Between this and the Opening Ceremony "fireworks" (the animated fireworks that were added to television broadcasts to make the ceremony seem more impressive), I'm a little ticked off. And not impressed.

I thin it's pathetic. What...the bottom child isn't cute enough? Give me a break.

Awww, those poor little girls! They're both being used.

Why not just record the cute one and add a little "studio magic" to make it sound perfect?

This is another reason I'm glad to skip it all.

This is so depressing. The girl's only 7, and she's basically being told that she's ugly. Way to go on helping girls out with body/self-image, China!

well, China shows the best of the country.
Old, ugly, poor and unfashionable have to be hidden so the world sees the real and only face of the happy nation.

yikes... this is just embarrassing for everyone involved. but i'm not surprised at all. they were shooting down clouds to make the skies sunny, issuing dress codes, and telling businesses who they could and could not sell to. it's clear that the chinese govt doesn't have faith in its own people, which is sad.

everyone should join me in changing their avatar to this cute little girl with a beautiful voice... in solidarity!!!!

If this is true it was an unnecessary and stupid choice on the part of the producers. Children are children no one is going to judge them like their on the run way in N.Y. during fashion week. The real singer would have been just as cute as the lip sinker.

On a side note producers in America have gotten into the same bad habit, producing pretty faces first and then dealing with whether they can sing or act second. I know some average everyday folk who can sing circles around so called grammy winners and why they’re not produced is something we need to reflect on.

I can't believe they made the change. From as far away as the public was, and the cameras didn't focus too closely, why couldn't they have used the "not as cute" girl?

So true, hypno. ("On a side note producers in America have gotten into the same bad habit, producing pretty faces first and then dealing with whether they can sing or act second.")

That's awful, but hardly the first (and far from most important) example of Chinese society not respecting or valuing girls enough.

Aren't young girls a dime a dozen anyway?

This completely goes against the spirit of the Olympics where your talent is what counts, not how you look while competing or performing. Let's not even get started on the supposed 16 year old girls on the Chinese gymnastics team.

Kinda makes you wonder what else was altered or enhanced.

Seriously yaya! Those girls look like the kindergarteners my mom teaches!

How is the "uncute" girl not cute? They're both adorable! Way to make a little girl feel bad about herself, China.

No offence to the little girl who sang the song but if they were so worried about looks you would think that out of a billion + people they could find a pretty one that could sing too. It's the whole lip synching thing that got them into trouble.

>you would think that out of a billion + people they could find a pretty one that could sing too

Seriously! That's what I was thinking. Remember Star Search? They had cute little kids who could sing on every week, and we're working with a measly pool of 300 million.

I can understand why they wanted to find the perfect voice and girl to sing the anthem. A billion people watched and they wanted to promote the best representation of China (even if it is fake). The other girl is cute but the girl they used is cuter. There is a lot of sh*t that is going other than a pretty girl lip syncing.

I'm not condoning this cause they tried the "uncute" girl's set. But she didn't seem to be offended and neither should we.

The opening ceremony was still stunning.

she is not offended because she is a child and because the way state raises Chinese kids doesn't allow them to be offended.

it's 1984 all again.

Governement had banned prostitues, beggars, mentally challenged from Olympic areas and killed all the strayed dogs before Olympics begun.

But it's all in the name of fair competition and beauty of sport.

will someone else please join me in solidarity with that cute little songbird? please?!

I think just because the actual vocalist (the "uncute" one) said to the media that she was just happy to have her voice featured doesn't mean her feeling weren't actually hurt and she didn't cry over it. It's not cool to screw around with the self-esteem of little girls (and if the "cuter" one didn't know she wasn't being heard, she probably got upset too), which are too fragile already, to promote "the best representation of China". I'm not going to get too up in arms about it because it's a universal and common practice to push standards of beauty and the importance of presentation on girls from way too young of an age, but it's still uncool.

Then again, so is taking girls away from their families to train and possibly putting their 12 year old bodies through extremely strenuous exercises to compete in the Olympics. Did anyone else see the footage of them testing 3 year old girls for flexibility and cringe a little?

I agree that the Olympics is about talent and ability, not about looks; although, the opening ceremony is more of a presentation. I didn't see this performance, but if it involved dancing at all, I can see why it would be more important to have a girl who could do the dance and an honor to the singer they used her voice. I think they are both cute.

Maybe what she really meant was she was just happy to be alive and not abandoned by her parents for being a girl. I'm just sayin'.

Killing puppies and calling little girls with angelic voices "uncute" (not to mention telling the other girl her voice sucks) - seriously, is there anything more sinister then that?

It's sad and disgusting, but let's be honest... we do the same sort of thing here in America, too.

That's mean. Poor little Yang Peiyi.

What the crap?
The way they think.. man, it's scary.

I'm more upset that they take those gymnast girls from their families and make them train since their 4.

America kills thousands of girls self-esteem every single day. If you can't fit into size 1 you're fat, if you're not blond hair and blue eyes your not as pretty, if you're poor you're not valued.

The Chinese was trying to show off, with the guy flying through the air, all the fancy fireworks, and the cutest girl they could find. I wasn't surprised when I heard this.

ZeZe what is with you and puppies? You've got people doing all sorts of horrible things to the little ones. Yesterday Sen. Obama was flipping one off, LOL.

Me? I have have no issues with puppies, as long as they don't come near me that is (and that's b/c I'm scared of furry things with teeth). My comment was referring to the Chinese killing stray dogs before the Olympics started.

i think that both girls are cute.

I chalk it up to showmanship, and this whole controversy demonstrates a clash of widely differing cultures and traditions.

This is not surprising to me given the attitudes the Chinese have toward appearances and being #1. In a nation of 1.3 billion, people will do whatever it takes to be the best and to put on the most flawless image possible (because to not do so would condemn people to obscurity and possibly to difficult lives) Unfortunately, dishonesty and cheating aren't completely out of the question when prestige or honor are at stake. This kind of attitude is present in probably every country, but in a country like China, the negative ramifications of not standing out are just too great because of the sheer number of people vying for so few positions of prestige, power, and money.

Kids are taken advantage of in every country, though the two girls had the misfortune of being used in a way that blatantly disregards their psychological needs in such a widely-televised and publicized event. It is pretty sad, I agree, but it has to be understood in context of the culture. I'm not expecting to change minds--I'm just hoping that the negative reactions will be tempered somewhat by an explanation (well, as good an explanation as I can give given my personal experiences as a Chinese-American).

I don't know why, out of all the disgusting things the Chinese Politburo does, this makes me feel the worst.

And the western media outlets aren't helping by reporting on how pretty the second girl is. The original girl is prettier to me than the fake smiling beauty pageant contestant.

I hope the Chinese people feel collectively embarrassed about this travesty.

I'm betting they don't even know about it.

Yesteryear, I would change my picture to that girl, but the other one is so much cuter, is it okay if I use her instead?

that was sooo mean, both of the little girls are adorable! Imagine how that poor girl is going to feel once she gets older and realizes what they did.

torg... HAHHAHAH... funniest comment of the day.

on second thought -- maybe the little songbird is will be a late bloomer and be more beautiful in the end. i feel bad for her in this media storm, but i think it's better to have talent than beauty -- one lasts forever and the other eventually fades.

>Imagine how that poor girl is going to feel once she gets older and realizes what they did.

I think it will sting less when she's older. I mean, who hasn't looked at pictures of themselves when they were little and thought, man I looked like a dork...good thing I'm hot stuff now!

I've never done that. I've always been hot.

Ir's awful to read about this story and know that talent isn't as better than beauty.

What a pathetic and sad manipulation by the Chinese.

I agree with bella - they are both adorable; like my corworker said (borrowed fron Animal Farm):
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others"
just replace animals with people.

Oh such a sad ordeal. This is horrible.

The fake fireworks didn't bother me because no one was actually hurt. This is incredibly deceitful and completely breaks my heart because the actual singer does not need to be told she isn't cute enough because she is.

Somehow I'm not surprised.

"This kind of attitude is present in probably every country, but in a country like China, the negative ramifications of not standing out are just too great because of the sheer number of people vying for so few positions of prestige, power, and money."

Very true. Makes me ashamed I'm part Chinese sometimes.