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Susan...Susan...is there ever a story that's not about you. You're a big girl now...move on. You started the report so well too...

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You are projecting! I agree with the children, it is an honor to be chosen by your country to serve in what may be that child's finest hour and what some may perceive as China's finest hour. That child's memories will probably be the honor of participation and the excitement of it all. It takes a long and bitter road for a person or nation not to perceive that it really was an honor for all to participate in the ceremony in whatever capacity.

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I believe Susan E. jumps on the conclusion too soon too quickly without real investigative analysis and reporting. This is misleading a lot of readers. Staying on moral grounds too high has some danger: you could fall badly! (remember John Edwards?) Nonetheless it showed the intersting side of the musical director: a French Chinese who is double digging. That is worthy of some investigation and writing! Some juicy stuff might pop open. Now back to Lip-synching. Read this: http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/sydney-comes-clean-on-olympic-miming/?scp=1&sq=miming&st=blog Sydney comes clean on Olympic miming :-) Imaging singing in a toddler's voice on mike at a stadium as big as bird nest with 91000 spectators cheering on, for technical reasons, pre-recorded songs is a better choice (remember Leona's singing in the close ceremony?). Yang is 7 years old whereas Lin is 9, that would make a big difference in such a daunting scene: 9 years would be more mature and more expreienced when facing TV camera and huge crowd (Lin appeared in TV before). It would be true that 7 years can sing, but could she behave naturally in this situation? Ms Lin's voice was the second best - not that she could not sing at all! That was the root for so called flawless expression I guess. Nothing said by the Chinese implied that Yang was not pretty enough, it was about the expression, simply, about the SHOW! So the issue at hand is not a moral one but a practical one - the show is largely for business reasons (rememeber the TV commercials overflow)? American corporations should thank China for striving to put up a good show (you might want to have some quality time, remember, this is not sports competition, but a show, and both girls' names are recongized dutifully. If you are not interested in the show, move on. No one is forcing anyone to watch and this is a commercial event (no tax money involved except the host country). Cannot wait to see Susan's next column on Sydney Orchestra's miming of Melbourne's music at the 2000 games; maybe she could uncover on her own some other mimed events

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Really, the girl's teeth, and their crookedness, are a harsh indictment of Chinese dentistry, don't you think? Seriously, we live in the US, where teenyboppers are getting breast augmentation, cosmetic braces, and nose jobs, so the Chinese need to get their sh-t together. Nevertheless, China has proved to be as crassly exploitative and manipulative as the "style censors" and "trendsetters" in the US? I guess they finally have "arrived" on the world stage then! The whole Olympic Spirit "thing" is as ethereal and insubstantial as the name implies: cheating, politics, corrupted judging, and athletes who are hardly "there" (ever heard a Phelps interview? Bush sounds more coherent!) are the norm, not the exception. Thus, a state-run beauty contest for the opening ceremonies should surprise no one. Of course, we can expect more of the same in 2012: the "games" are in London, and we all know how lousy the dental plans are in the UK!

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Susan, this isn't one of your best efforts. It reflect the views of typical middleclass America. While neither you or I know the girls, I suspect they were both proud to represent their Country and were not concerned with whether it was voice or face that was used. I realize I am an antique but I did grow up in rural America, offspring of share croppers. I was 13 before we got electricity and my parents didn't have indoor pluming until long after I had left home. Believe me I would have been happy to have either my face or my voice used to represent my Country. Since we were really poor, Country meant a lot more to us than it seems to the current spoiled generations. Also, I remember the witch hunts of McCarthy and separate restrooms for black and white. And my great grandmother was forcebly moved to Oklahoma so I appreciate that the Chinese are trying to improve all aspects of their country and don't quite have everything perfect yet. In later life I have been priviledged to travel there and to work with ordinary Chinese and I really believe they are making great progress. They hope as I do that that progress will continue. And, this was entertainment. Haven't you been to a movie lately. They substitute voice, bodies, parts of bodies. Who know what the actual actor sounds or looks like!!!! Oh, and by the way, I usually like your columns!!