LA Times: Chinese Medal Haul Forced September 3, 2008
Posted by Taikor in media, sports.Tags: Beijing Olympics
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LA Times was not telling the complete truth about Cao Lei’s incognizance of her mother’s death before the Games.
LA Times: China’s gold medals came at a high price
“Cao Lei, was kept in such seclusion training for the Olympics that she wasn’t told her mother was dying” – Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer.
But the weightlifter gold medalist was not told of her mother’s condition by her father; not the ‘authorities’. Her father kept her in the dark while her coach informed her immediately upon knowing of the situation, causing her to be overcome by grief and failed in the third attempt to break a total world record.
Ms. Demick also painted dark pictures of other Chinese gold medalists:
Xian Dongmei….won her gold medal in judo…had not seen her 18-month-old daughter in one year, monitoring the girl’s growth only by webcam
Chen Ruolin…was ordered to skip dinner for one year to keep her body sharp as a razor slicing into the water
In contrast, the glory of US athletes are attributed to openness, freedom and ‘fun‘:
“Americans rambled on about their parents, their siblings, their pets, their hobbies. They repeatedly used the word fun…many U.S. team members hauled their parents to Beijing, most Chinese parents had to settle for watching the Games on television…many U.S. athletes have ambitious parents to nurture their talents, China’s future champions are drafted as young children for state-run boarding schools“
So, ‘many‘ Chinese parents were not ambitious to nurture their children’s talents. They just leave their kids with the fun-less and torturous sports academies…
“The state is the supreme entity and the role of the individual is to support the state…they are treated like rank-and-file soldiers“
Was Michael Phelps ‘advised‘ or ‘ordered‘ to binge?
Michael Phelps’ Diet:
Breakfast: Three fried egg sandwiches; cheese; tomatoes; lettuce; fried onions; mayonnaise; three chocolate-chip pancakes; five-egg omelette; three sugar-coated slices of French toast; bowl of grits; two cups of coffee
Lunch: Half-kilogram (one pound) of enriched pasta; two large ham and cheese sandwiches with mayonnaise on white bread; energy drinks
Dinner: Half-kilogram of pasta, with carbonara sauce; large pizza; energy drinks
At a staggering 10,000 calories, that could feed five average men for a day.
Journalist Banned For China-Friendly August 29, 2008
Posted by Taikor in media.Tags: Germany
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A Chinese editor of Germany’s Deutsche Welle was suspended for commenting positively about China’s human rights record.
Four days before the Beijing Olympics, Zhang Danhong remarked in the broadcaster’s Chinese programme that “The Communist Party of China has more than any political force in the world implemented Article 3 of the Declaration of Human Rights“, referring to the Chinese government pulling more than 400 million people out of poverty.
Zhang’s statement elicit strong reaction from the German media.
Ansgar Burghof, a Senior official at the Deutsche Welle, say “we needed a uniformed voice“, and “Ms Zhang voiced inappropriate opinions“.
On Aug 11, German magazine Focus attacked Zhang as someone who was ‘courting’ the Communist Party of China. On Aug 20, parliamentary representative Dieter Wiefelsputz says that Zhang’s performance was a ‘catastrophe’.
Two days later, Aug 22, Zhang was confirmed suspended from duty and her post.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, urged “The media should adhere to the principles of objectivity and justice when covering news.“
Zhang, 42, was born in Beijing, studied German in Peking University and in Cologne, Germany. She became an editor of DW-Radio’s Chinese programme in 1990 and was promoted deputy editorial director of the programme in 2004, the broadcaster’s website read.
In late July, Zhang said that the Chinese government had done a lot to protect local culture in Tibet and criticized German Chancellor Angela Merkel for sapping relations with Beijing.
When interviewing a senior Tibet exile leader, she asked why the pursuit of independence is still in their constitution while Dalai Lama had publicly said that he was not seeking independence from China?
updated: Aug 30
Sydney Olympics Mimed Too August 26, 2008
Posted by Taikor in media, sports.Tags: Beijing Olympics
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Nikki Webster who ‘sang‘ the national anthem was miming as her piece was recorded three months before the opening ceremony of Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
The Age: SOCOG officials had ordered pre-recorded backing tapes for the entire ceremony to ensure nothing could go wrong on Sydney’s big night.
While Sydney’s lip-synching was a kept secret, Beijing’s lip-synching was an open honesty, publicly disclosed over a radio interview. The name of its original singer was printed on the official programme guide of the opening ceremony.
…Beijing might have used one girl to mime another to sing on the Olympic opening ceremony, Sydney used an entire orchestra to mime for another on stage…
…the musicians asked to sign “confidentiality agreement” weren’t allowed to speak. At the very least, Beijing didn’t put up a gag order upon its musical director Chen Qigang, singer/performer Yang Peiyi and Lin Miaoke
Sydney Morning Herald: Symph Synching
Yahoo! News: Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) mimed its entire performance
CNN: Orchestra admits miming at Sydney Olympics
The new standard for ‘original‘ performance seems to have started from the backlash of Beijing Olympics.
revised & updated: Aug 30
Fake Medal Standings August 25, 2008
Posted by Taikor in media, sports.Tags: Beijing Olympics
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Yahoo! Sports rank number one, among other sites which reports the Beijing Olympics, in convoluting figures of medal tally to come up with table standings that ranks America on the top spot.
The REAL Olympic medal count:
…our version of the Olympic medal count, which ignores results for judged sports…The events thrown out of our medal tally are: diving, equestrian, gymnastics, judo, synchronized swimming, taekwondo, trampoline and wrestling
“In the U.S., all medals are counted, so the Americans still hold a lead…by that standard…China’s system of athletics places value on the medal count above all – as opposed to professional success or athlete choice” – Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports columnist.
So, now it’s QUANTITY instead of QUALITY.
36 facts about the Olympic medal count:
These so-called ‘standards‘ or ‘systems‘ are NEWLY cooked up. They’re not real but fake as it contradicts with the usual standard used for decades and in several other sporting events.
Instead of saving-face, they end up losing-face. For that, Yahoo! Sports gets gold medal for bigotry and self-deception.
Fabricated Ugliness August 19, 2008
Posted by Taikor in media.Tags: Beijing Olympics
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The claim or description of “uneven/crooked/wonky/buck teeth” and “fat/chubby face” girl, whose voice was used in the singing of a patriotic song in the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympic Games, by organisers of the event or a senior member of the politburo, was found to have been fabricated by western media.
Chinese In Vancouver (CIV) has list out some of the quotes from the media:
(Quotes are edited due to moral concerns)
Los Angeles Times: …crooked baby teeth and a chubby face
AFP: …uneven teeth and a chubby face…chubby face and uneven teeth.
Times Online: Chubby-cheeked with crooked teeth…
Telegraph: The real singer, …was dropped at the last minute because of her buck teeth
Globe and Mail: She has uneven teeth
National Post: …too-crooked teeth and a too-chubby face
But the original radio interview of Chen Qigang, chief music director and designer of the opening ceremony, suggests otherwise:
(translated by Fool’s Mountain)
We then focused on searching through younger kids. The age criteria was to find someone about 7 years old. A number of them were selected, including both Lin Miaoke and Yang Peiyi.
We went to the Central Broadcasting Radio Station to make recordings. It was felt afterward that Lin Miaoke’s voice wasn’t exactly suitable in terms of tone control, range and depth. In the end, we decided that Yang Peiyi should be the one to provide the voice.
It’s clear that Lin was replaced (voice) in the last minute; not the other way round.
“The problem with the news is that it skipped over the fact that the singer wasn’t known at all in China until the Olympics, while Lin was very famous. Thus, if anything, Lin was banned from singing instead of ‘Yang’ being banned from coming on stage, considering that if they have to chose one for both performing AND singing, it would be Lin.” – Anthrophobia, Anti-CNN Moderator.
No one from the Chinese side says she’s ugly or anything to that effect. It was the western media.
Sydney Morning Herald: Western media shows its ugly face
Chen’s comments strongly imply an unnamed leader considered that Yang’s replacement, nine year-old Lin Miaoke, had a “flawless” image. But the bit about Yang’s alleged ugliness, chubby face or uneven teeth was a Western media description repeated a thousand times across the world – as if it was the verified judgment of the Chinese Government.
Hundreds of foreign journalists, most of whom cannot speak Chinese and had been in China for only a week or so, replicated each other’s stories without bothering or having the time or ability to check the evidence themselves.
The Western media tended to portray Yang as the victim…
The fact that Chen Qigan and the movie director Zhang Yimou helped shape the opening ceremony shows that the Chinese state is making some room for art over politics.
Also the organisers and director had never intended to discredit Yang’s role either. The official programme guide for the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony highlighted Yang ahead of Lin:
演唱 (singing): (A) 杨沛宜 (Yang Peiyi), (B) 林妙可 (Lin Miaoke), (C) 雷茈昕 (Lei Cixin)
As I’ve said on BBC Five Live during the weekend, the sayings about ugliness of the girl by Chinese organisers or politician was most certainly fabricated.
Fabricating ugliness reveals the fabricator’s own ugliness!
edited: Aug 28
Beijing Olympics Misused For China-Bashing August 12, 2008
Posted by Taikor in China, media, sports.Tags: Beijing Olympics
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A visual effect that’s labelled ‘fake’
Aug 10: The Beijing Times revealed last weekend that the scene of giant footprints, shaped by the fireworks, leading towards the Bird’s Nest was pre-recorded with computer-generated graphics.
The organisers decided that it would be impossible to capture all 29 footprints from the air and it’s dangerous to do live filming with helicopters chasing after it. So, a 55 seconds trailer, which took almost a year to produce, was made. But the ones hovering above the national stadium were real and captured on film.
The revelation, however, has drawn ill-willed reports in the west.
Telegraph: Beijing Olympic 2008 opening ceremony giant firework footprints ‘faked’
Yahoo! Sports: Some Opening Ceremony fireworks were faked
Yao Urged To Quit China
Yao Ming, China’s best global sports icon, has been struggling with foot injuries over the past years (four surgeries in two years). The condition of the basketball player resurfaced when he plays for his national team against the US on Sunday.
Even this was capitalised as fodder to bash the Chinese government.
Yahoo! Sports: …Here, everything is about saving face…Yao must tell China’s government: Enough is enough – we’re even.
But the columnist, Adrian Wojnarowski, forgot to tell Yao to say “No” to Houston Rockets and the NBA, the real culprits of his injuries.
Best Singing Presentation Not Appreciated
Aug 12: An elaboration by the opening ceremony’s musical designer, Chen Qigang, to a Beijing radio on the effort to present the best effects – perfect voice, perfect image and perfect show – of a schoolgirl singing the patriotic song, Ode to the Motherland, was heavily criticised.
Telegraph: Faking scandal over girl who ’sang’ in opening ceremony
Times Online: China banned child singer with crooked teeth from singing at opening ceremony
ABC News: Faking Their Way to a Perfect Olympics
Angel-faced Lin Miaoke, in red dress, was lip-synched by angel-voiced Yang Peiyi (right). Joint effort by the pair had produced beautiful performance for the global audience.
Cheer Squads Labelled Fake Fans
An open effort to remedy empty seats problem as seen in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games was sneered and accused of faking.
Times Online: The use of fake fans…
revised & updated: Aug 14
BBC Biased Towards China July 5, 2008
Posted by Taikor in media.Tags: BBC
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The BBC has continued to exercise biased reporting against China whilst favouring South Korea in its news report this week.
Huge protests in Seoul against the resumption of US beef import in recent weeks have seen the ‘use of force‘ against the protesters. Visuals of police officers kicking and beating the protesters with batons were shown on Asian news networks but the BBC has completely glossed over the action whilst citing the use of water cannon to mitigate the brutality.
China on the other hand did not beget the kind of attitude and understanding the BBC had conferred to South Korea as the British news giant brings up the country’s human rights record and linked the efforts to restore order in a violent protest in Tibet in March as a human rights issue which would affect its Olympic Games.
The article, published on Friday July 4, emphasised the ‘use of force‘ by the Chinese authorities to bring order to a violent protest in Lhasa – described as a ‘demonstration‘ by the western media such as the BBC – which killed scores of civilians of mainly Han ethnics.
If anything, the mobsters are the abusers of human rights while the Chinese government are protector of human rights and the US and Korea government did not respect Korean human rights while Korean protesters are defenders of human rights.
Thus, the BBC stood by the abusers and violators of human rights.
revised: Aug 14
Related: China’s Wild Wild West
‘Love China’ on MSN April 19, 2008
Posted by Taikor in media.Tags: MSN
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Starting Apr 15, Chinese netizens (mainly in China) are placing a ‘heart icon’ and the word ‘China’ next to their name handle on the MSN.
The anti-China campaign pursued by western establishments has backfired tremendously as Chinese people are standing up against the discrimination. Recent boycott of Carrefour have been noted in Germany. Size does matter.
If you wish to answer the call, type “(L) China” and append to your MSN nick/handle. This way, it shows that you’re standing by them on this cause.
Play-acting on CNN April 11, 2008
Posted by Taikor in media.Tags: CNN, Gere, Tibet
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http://www.esnips.com/doc/15f0186d-ad87-4901-a712-c5c52554c43e/Gere-on-Tibet-in-CNN
Actor Richard Gere appeared in an interview on CNN in March to talk about the riot in Tibet. During the course of the programme, Gere spoke effusively for the cause of Tibetan movement. But something is extremely wrong with the footage in the background.
Visuals of policemen manhandling protesters were repeatedly played when Gere censures ‘the Chinese‘. However, the policemen in the footages were dark skinned and they don’t look Chinese at all. They were not wearing the uniform of Chinese policemen. They were Indian. The disturbing footages that were intermittently shown, which accompanied the talks, was also the disturbing truth: the scenes were not taken in China but India. This was… a ‘false reporting’.
Gere, no stranger to India, should have noticed the ‘mistake‘ during or after the show. He’s a staunch supporter of India as he’s been very involved in humanitarian work in that country for many years. He was also nearly arrested for kissing Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty several times on the cheek and neck which triggered strong protests in India. The Indian people and India’s policemen should be something very familiar to Richard Gere. But he offered no clarification for the mistake in CNN.
Apart from showing the wrong clips, the conversation was also remarkably delusional.
Richard Gere: “…it wasn’t just the monks and nuns who traditionally, especially the nuns, who’ve been the ones who have protested, in simple non-violent marches and expressions of freedom…“
Richard Gere: “…the reality is, this is a sad reality, the Tibetans have to be in a violent situation for people to notice. An incredibly peaceful, non-violent people, how do they find a way to get in the news? How do they find a way to capture the world’s attention?“
The protest can’t be non-violent when “the Tibetans have to be in a violent situation for people to notice“.
Wolf Blitzer (CNN) and Richard Gere had pulled off one of the greatest hoaxes of all time.
Gere has been an outspoken critic of China. He is permanently banned from entering China for his aggressive stance against the country. Gere was banned as an Academy Award presenter in 1993 after he used the opportunity to condemn the Chinese government. In May 1998, Gere defended India’s nuclear tests, applauding the government for standing up to ‘bully and trouble-maker’ China. In September 2007, Gere called for the boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
