Millions of viewers were captivated by Lin Miaoke, the cute little girl who sang during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Problem was, she was lip-synching because the real singer, 7-year-old Yang Peiyi, was deemed not cute enough:
"The reason was for the national interest," said Chen Qigang, the ceremony's musical director, in a state radio interview. "The child on camera should be flawless in image, internal feeling and expression. ... Lin Miaoke is excellent in those aspects."
The decision was made at the highest levels, Chen said.
"We had to do it," he said. "We'd been through several inspections. They're all very strict. When we rehearsed at the spot, there were several spectators from various divisions, especially leaders from the Politburo, who gave the opinion it must change."
Lin Miaoke is not just a pretty face like most people think. She is actually a child actress and had already acted significant roles in two tv shows and signed the contract for another movie before the olympics. Since then she has starred in three more tv shows and one movie. She can cry whenever the script states. however, her singing voice is extremely average, maybe even less than average. if China wanted to use her in the ceremony because she is a child star, fine, but don't let her "sing". any other role in the ceremony would be just as well.
or what about a duet? a child star singing with a girl with an angel's voice.
moreover, China is a large country...i have seen many girls prettier than miaoke and nicer voices than peiyi...they couldn't find a girl who was both?