China: Editorial: Games controversies provide a view of an unfamiliar world
Halfway through the Olympic Games that pledged to show the world a "New China, New Beijing, New Olympics", the Chinese certainly seem to have their PR work cut out. For many, the abiding image is just as likely to be that of seven-year-old Yang Peiyi, who sings like an angel but was adjudged not pretty enough to appear before the eyes of billions at the opening ceremony. She was replaced by a lip-syncing Lin Miaoke who was, in the eyes of ceremony organizers - "flawless in image, internal feelings and expression". The switch was revealed in an interview with the ceremony's music designer, broadcast - apparently unapologetically and certainly unremarked-on - on state-run television, which suggests that Chinese television audiences may not have found it either remarkable or reprehensible. But in some corridor of power, the Western reaction was quickly noted: an immediate and hostile international response prompted the pulling of the interview from the Chinese news website sina.com, where it had been briefly posted.
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