China’s ‘smiling angel’ faked Olympic ceremony song

Paging Ashlee Simpson …

Lin Miaoke’s singing of “Ode to the Motherland” at Friday’s opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics wowed the world, giving the 9-year-old immediate fame and the nickname, “smiling angel.” The only problem was she faked it. The real songbird was 7-year-old Yang Peiyi, who was not used because she’s not as angelic looking.

Speaking on Beijing Radio, musical director Chen Qigang said:

“The reason for this is that we must put our country’s interest first. The girl appearing on the picture must be flawless in terms of her facial expression and the great feeling she can give to people.”

I’m not going to be so ignorant and hypocritical as to pretend Americans don’t often make the same decisions about who to promote and who to exploit. But moral equation doesn’t make the situation any better.