(08/13/2008) (Preface: There is nothing new in this, as it only reframes the excellent work at the Fool's Mountain blog)
這個話題已經被關心了好幾天了，如果參加主新聞中心的記者會，就會聽到記者們就這個問題提問，為何門外如此多的求票者，而場內卻是如此多的空位？北京奧組委的答案是，這是因為這些空位都是給贊助商的票，也就是說，贊助商給了誰，他們管不了，拿了票的人來不來，他們也管不了。不過今天又多了一個問題，那就是澳洲澳組委的主席質問，為何有如此多的黃牛票？
朋友這個月特地留在北京為了看奧運比賽，他手頭有好幾張票，問他哪裡來的，他說，是讓他的秘書每天撲在網路上倒過來的，反正價格對於他來說不是問題。他說真的不明白為何如此難買票，因為他已經動用了自己在北京的大學裡面帶的研究生們的身份證在網上申請，三十多個申請，居然一張都申請不到。
不過不知道是他的運氣問題還是其他的原因，今天採訪熊偉，他在昨天透過新京報表示，如果誰承諾戒煙一年，他就捐出自己手頭的十張票。問他這些票哪裡來的，他說，都是自己上網買的，我沒有嘗試過買票的程式，反正聽了這麽多周圍朋友的經歷，覺得他運氣肯定是特別的好。連他自己也沒有想到，十張門票招開一百三十多個申請，有的還是來自外地，有的為了自己進場，有的為了孩子，反正看來，奧運門票對有些人來說，真的是一票難求。
雖然一票難求，場內出現了不少穿著黃衣服來撐場的志願者，當然，北京奧組委說，這些觀眾是暫時的，如果觀眾拿票進場，他們就會讓座。不要說志願者，已經有北京的單位開始組織員工集體觀賽，充當佈景板了。
採訪的記者，在非註冊媒體中心可以憑證買票，一證一張，看到同行們淩晨三點就來排隊買票，一下子把我去買票的念頭徹底打消。
假唱的問題：
我想，假唱大家都很熟悉，也已經接受了，比如06年冬季奧運會那個七十多歲的主唱者也是假唱，因為年紀和天氣的問題。畢竟大家看的是一場show，如何定義表演，有討論的空間。我只是希望，一定不要把指責放在這兩個孩子身上，包括他們的家長，因為在這些事情裡面，他們是無能為力的。
紐約時報找到了妙可的父母，他們也是在開場前十五分鐘才知道自己的女兒是領唱，因為孩子是被要求不可以透露彩排內容的。雖然妙可的父親當時覺得，歌聲不像自己女兒平時的聲音，但是也覺得可能是因為技術原因。他們也是看到了有關訪問出街之後才知道的。他們已經告訴了妙可，聲音不是她的，而妙可表現得並不在乎，她的父母說，妙可和沛宜本來就是好朋友，當時準備唱這首歌的，有十個女孩子備選。妙可的父母說，同樣不在乎誰唱，他們只在乎孩子有沒有因此而受到傷害。
我想這才是最重要的，這也是這則新聞引發西方主流媒體關注的原因，因為裡面涉及到未成年的孩子，一個社會如何對待孩子，顯示出一個社會的價值觀取向。我想，兩個人合作完成這個節目同樣也不是問題，問題在於大家現在所知道的理由：一個聲音不夠好，一個樣子不夠漂亮。對於那些主張，對待孩子要鼓勵，愛護的人們來說，這樣的理由是否有點點殘酷？
(Rose Luqiu's blog)
I think that people are familiar with lip-synching and they found it acceptable. For example, the 70-something-year-old singer was lip-synching due to illness and weather. After all, this is a show and there is some leeway for how to define the performance. I only hope that the responsibility should not be placed on the two children and their parents. After all, they can't do much about what happens.
The New York Times located the parents of Lin Miaoke. They were informed only 15 minutes before the start that their daughter would be the singer, because the child was asked not to disclose the details of the rehearsal. But the father did not feel that the voice was like that of his daughter, which he thought may be due to technical reasons. They only found out after the relevant interview was aired. They told Miaoke that the voice was not her, but she didn't care. Her parents said that Miaoke and Peiyi are good friends and there were ten girls selected to prepare for the singer's role. The parents said that they don't care who sang, just as long as the children were not the children.
I think that this is the most important part, and it is the reason why this story got the attention of the western media. This case involves children and the values of a society is revealed by how children are treated. I think that there is nothing wrong with two people collaborating on this program, but the problem is that everybody now knows the reason: one did not have a good voice and the other was not pretty enough. For people who advocate encouraging and loving children, this kind of reason must surely be too cruel.
I had dinner with some foreign correspondents yesterday. They did not have much to say about the electronic fireworks, and their attention were on the two children. In the western world, it is unacceptable to to treat children this way for this reason. This opening ceremony show was supposed to the perfect performance for the west, especially for those people who are prejudiced against China. It was not worth it for this one episode to reinforce those prejudices.
Yes, it is all about protecting the children being hurt ...
昨天和一些外國同行吃飯，對於焰火用了電腦效果他們並沒有過多地談論，他們的關注點都放在了這兩個孩子身上，因為在西方看來，這樣對待孩子的做法和理由，實在是難以接受，這場給世界看，特別是給西方對於中國有偏見的人看的完美演出，因為這樣的原因而加深別人固有的偏見，實在是很不值得。
空氣品質問題：
北京空氣好不好，反正肯定比之前好，是不是好倒沒有被批評的地方，那肯定是比很多地方要差，還有改善的空間。不過今天代表美國隊參加比賽的肯雅籍運動員就公開表示，沒有之間傳說中的那樣差，自己來了好幾天，並沒有發生任何問題。他提醒其他的運動員，不要別人說什麽就相信什麽，結果是自己搞得緊張的不得了，毫無意義。
因為對北京市公佈的空氣質量數據有懷疑，不少外國的媒體都使用了自己的測試系統，每天記錄空氣品質，前天的空氣品質最好。當然，准不準確，也是見仁見智，反正北京市的環保部門對於他們的做法不以為然，認為他們的數字絕對不精確。而對於這些媒體來說，獨立的第三者的觀測資料才最為可信，也正是因為這樣，他們更為相信北大的測試資料，因為那是一個國際化的，學術性質的團隊。而在我看來，讓資料說話，實事求是，有問題就承認，沒有問題就堅持，而不是推卸，找讓大家覺得好笑的理由，那就會建立可信度，媒體也就沒有興趣追究下去。現在有個最好玩的說法：北京人都生活在大澡堂子裡面，至於出處，大家自己去找找吧。
昨天讓同事去做街頭採訪，看看街頭熱鬧的奧運氣氛，結果發現，那些街頭的大螢幕，已經不再實況轉播賽事了，如果要看，大家只能夠在家裡，或者在餐廳酒吧。不過在朋友家裡面聚會，有的時候也會有意想不到的事情發生，開幕式的時候，朋友在自己的四合院裡面邀請了一批朋友喝酒看開幕式，同樂一下，結果居委會的大媽找上門來了，擔心地問：“不會有問題吧？”而為了避免出現問題，朋友在大門口掛了中國國旗，原本打算掛上其他國家的國旗，因為那些代表了家裡人所能夠使用的外國語言，想了好久，還是乖乖的掛在了自己的院子裡面，自娛自樂一把。
還有，昨天和美國同行聊天才知道，原來他們一早已經知道誰是火炬手，因為彩排的時候他們可以拍攝，只不過大家遵守保密協議，另外一個做財經報紙的美國同行馬上大叫，你應該早點告訴我，我可以買李寧的股票，不過很快，他馬上說，不行不行，這算是內部交易吧。不知道，有沒有人在開幕式特別去買了李寧的股票呢？在股市低迷的時刻，那可是一枝獨秀呀。
(New York Times)
On Monday, Peiyi appeared on China Central Television, or CCTV, the state network. “I’m O.K. with it,” she told her interviewer, even performing a song. “My voice was used in the performance. I think that’s enough.” Miaoke’s father, a news photographer at a Chinese newspaper, was worried about how she would take the news. Since age 6, Miaoke has worked in television advertisements, even appearing with the country’s wildly popular hurdling champion, Liu Xiang. Her appearance in the opening ceremonies made her an instant celebrity in China, and her image was reproduced around the world.
“Here’s something I want to tell you,” Mr. Lin said he had told his daughter. “The music director announced just now that it was not your voice when you were singing at the opening ceremony. The song was actually performed by you two girls.” Mr. Lin said his daughter was not upset. He said that Miaoke and Peiyi were “good friends” and that Miaoke “doesn’t care who sang the song, as long as she performed.”
So far so good, no harm no foul. But the western media went on to report (and I got these references by searching for the term 'uneven teeth' on Google News for which I got more than 1,400 results):
(Los Angeles Times) China's $100-million Olympics opening ceremony wowed its global TV audience with a lavish spectacle and pizazz that tried to present a perfect image of China to the world, right down to the perfect teeth of the little girl who took center-stage and sang an ode to the motherland. Except the voice was not hers. It was recorded and belonged to another girl, with better pipes but crooked baby teeth and a chubby face.
(AFP) The show's musical director revealed the real singer, seven-year-old Yang Peiyi who has uneven teeth and a chubby face, was replaced by government order because she did not present the right image of China. ... No newspaper reported on the issue on Wednesday and state broadcasters also avoided the subject. References to the story were blocked or deleted from the Internet.
(Times Online) The real singer was Yang Peiyi, a seven-year-old deemed not pretty enough to be the face of China’s most watched moment in history. Chubby-cheeked with crooked teeth, she was substituted at the eleventh hour by Communist Party officials desperate to present the best possible image of Chinese youth to a curious world. After watching a rehearsal with Peiyi in the lead role, a senior member of the Politburo told Beijing Olympic organisers that they had an urgent problem that needed fixing. The solution was to front Peiyi’s “perfect” voice with the more acceptable face of Miaoke, who had already appeared in a television advert.
(Telegraph) Now we discover that Lin Miaoke, the little pig-tailed girl in the red dress who "performed" the Chinese anthem so delightfully at the opening ceremony, was miming. The real singer, Yang Peiyi, was dropped at the last minute because of her buck teeth. In a revealing interview, the ceremony's musical designer said the intervention of a member of the ruling politburo was instrumental in making the swap.
(Globe and Mail) The unmasking of the ruse by which China attempted to pass off one girl's beautiful face as belonging to another girl's beautiful voice is also the unmasking of the new China, and the propaganda purposes of the Beijing Olympics. It would not have done to have Lang Peiyi, the seven-year-old singer of China's patriotic song, Ode to the Motherland, be seen by the world or her own country during the opening ceremony of the Games: She has uneven teeth. Those teeth, and her bowl-cut hair, do not suggest wealth or modernity. Her replacement, nine-year-old Lin Miaoke, is a pig-tailed, Asian version of one of the Olsen twins at that age. She is the ideal, the new China.
(National Post) The pinnacle of deceit, however, came when Chen Qigang, the music director of the Opening Ceremony, admitted in an interview with state media that the adorable nine-year-old girl who sang Ode to the Motherland as China's flag was carried into the main stadium was not, in fact, singing. Lin Miaoke was chosen because the girl whose voice was used, Yang Peiyi, had too-crooked teeth and a too-chubby face. As Chen reportedly put it, "we were concerned with the interests of the nation."
(AP) So in a last-minute move demanded by one of China's highest officials, the two were put together for the Olympic opening ceremony, with one lip-synching "Ode to the Motherland" over the other's singing. The real singer, 7-year-old Yang Peiyi, with her chubby face and crooked baby teeth, wasn't good looking enough for the ceremony, its chief music director told state-owned Beijing Radio.
聲音楊沛宜形象林妙可，開幕式音樂導演陳其鋼講述紅衣女孩真相
(transcript in Chinese via China News Digest)
(translated into English by DJ at Fool's Mountain)
Chen Qigang: The director requested first and foremost adorable kids, and we identified about 10 children accordingly. We then listened to the singing of those kids, and not all of them had good enough voice to perform. The request from the director was that, first the appearance must be good, and of those, the one with the best voice and ability to sing should be picked. We went through a few such candidates through the process and they helped our music creation effort tremendously.
The first kid was about 10 years old. She contributed the most towards the preparation stage of this part of the performance. All the early practice runs were based on her recorded singing. But the director felt she was not the best visual for the scene. She was considered somewhat older than envisioned, a bit adolescent that is. So regrettably she was dropped. 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. We thought it was in the national interest to put the one with the best appearance and expression on the stage. Lin Miaoke was a very good choice for this role. But in terms of the music, we all felt that Yang Peiyi had the flawless voice.
Interviewer: So the one appearing in front the camera was Lin Miaoke and the song came from Yang Peiyi?
Chen Qigang: That’s right. It was a last minute, tough decision. We went through multiple practices and reviews. We played Lin Miaoke’s recording during one joint practice. Many reviewers, particularly someone in the Political Bureau of the Central Committee [of the CCP], made comments that it must be changed. We had no choice.
Interviewer: This is the first time for us to hear this story.
Chen Qigang: We have a responsibility to explain this to the Chinese viewers. I think the viewers should be able to understand that, in the national interest, for the perception of the country, it was an extremely important and serious matter to present the flag [in the best possible manner]. We made a decision, which I think was fair to both Lin and Yang. We felt the coupling of a perfect voice with the best appearance produced the most optimal result. From Lin Miaoke’s point of view, she might not even have realized it. We had two recordings from both of them and they didn’t sound very different.
So where did Chen Qigang talk about the "chubby/fat face" and "crooked/uneven/buck teeth"? Nowhere. Go back and re-read the western media reports -- they are the ones who thought that she had those physical attributes. Lin and Yang were among the final three candidates who were listed on the programme, and therefore it cannot be the case that they are not 'presentable' or could not sing. But today, the world knows Yang as having "chubby/fat face" and "crooked/uneven/buck teeth" and Lin as having no singing talents. Well, who needs Politburo members when we have western media showering such 'tender loving care' on Chinese children? DJ's post at Fool's Mountain is titled The cruelest insults come from ones pretending to speak as the righteous. Right ...
"Fake Singing" Gate (08/13/2008) (Si Dai at My1510.cn)
奧運開幕式所帶來的強烈視覺衝擊還不時在人們眼前恍惚，就揭出29個空中腳印多為電腦特技的造假事件；純真童音唱出的《歌唱祖國》美妙旋律尚餘音在耳，卻傳出“假唱”、演“雙簧”的醜聞。這一新聞今早上網才看到，李普曼兄昨晚已在1510率先披露並發表評論。
“假唱”這種事對於國人來說，應該說已是司空見慣，見怪不怪。但這種事在舉世矚目的奧運慶典上出現，對於沒見過大世面、心理素質不佳的外國人來說，大概還是很不可接受的，儘管有外電披露2006年在都靈冬奧會上一代歌王帕瓦羅蒂的獻唱也是放的錄音。這種事被揭給全世界看，對國人來說的確有些丟臉，是一件令人尷尬的事，但還算不上令人憤怒。
令人憤怒的，是披露這一內幕的身為開幕式音樂總監陳其鋼先生的高論，聲稱沒有讓原唱的楊沛宜小朋友出場是“考慮到對外形象”，是“為了國家利益”。這種說法，無論誰聽了都會感覺彆扭。就算這位楊小朋友長得太砢磣，長相有些對不住觀眾或不符合大導演們的審美標準，這些話也不能說出來呀。這種話也說得出口，只能說說話的人腦子進水了，或罵聲“弱智”大概也不以為過。
這一內幕披露後，大多數人都為楊沛宜小朋友鳴不平，況且視頻還有照片中的楊小朋友也是非常可愛可人的，根本不是陳大總監口中的那種拿不出手或代表不了中國小朋友的樣子。說實話，我開始還以為這位小朋友有什麼先天不足，還想如果讓一位身有殘疾的小朋友站在那裡效果豈不更好？
但就“假唱”一事而言，的確對楊小朋友來說是有些不公平。如果這件事不披露，讓人們一直都認為那麼美妙的歌聲（更有媒體形容為天籟之音，這本是對Sarah Brightman嗓音的讚譽）是林小朋友唱的，對楊小朋友來說會更不公平。儘管有些不公平，但如果說楊小朋友為此心靈受到了傷害，我卻並不同意。為什麼呢？
另有媒體報導，陳音樂總監同時還披露，林妙可小朋友的聲音被換掉，是最後一刻“一位政治局委員”下令的結果。這裡且不說這位政治局委員的命令有沒有道理、應該不應該，至少告訴我們這樣一個事實：最後一刻被換掉的，是林小朋友的聲音，而不是楊小朋友的形象。換句話說，楊小朋友的歌聲是在最後一刻被決定換上的。就此而言，楊小朋友的確應該感到自豪，或用她自己的話來說是“感到滿足”，儘管有沒能站到舞臺上的遺憾，但換上她的歌聲應該不會給她帶來傷害。
真正傷害楊小朋友的，我覺得恰恰是陳大總監的高論。或許他的本意是好的，是想還楊小朋友一個公道，同時也還給人們一個真相。但他的話，的確太傷人了，不僅傷害了楊小朋友的自尊，也刺痛了我們許多人善良的心。據說這位大音樂家曾在法國呆過很長的時間，莫非是說外語的時間太久，而忘記了中文的語言藝術？
就受到的傷害來說，我倒是同意李普曼兄的觀點，或許林妙可小朋友心靈受到的傷害更大一些。
先說被換掉聲音這件事。大家不要忘記，作為總導演的張藝謀在開幕式結束後的記者招待會上曾特意提到林小朋友，說最令他感動的就是9歲女孩林妙可清唱的《歌唱祖國》，說每次排練都讓他由衷地受到感動。張大導演在這裡沒有披露或者說刻意隱瞞了“假唱”這件事，但他也道出了一個事實，就是林小朋友為這次演出進行了多次排練，台前幕後也付出了很多努力。但付出了很多努力之後，最後還是被認為聲音不夠好聽，被決定換掉。我想，這對她小小的心靈來說也應該會受到一點打擊。我們進一步假想一下，如果這時決定連她整個人都換掉，她又要承受多大的打擊？這裡我倒是贊同導演們或領導們的做法，繼續讓這個小姑娘站到舞臺上，仍然給她這份光榮，而不是在最後一刻將其撤下舞臺、掃地出門。當然，這只是我一廂情願的想法，或許真正的原因是根本來不及換人，或是因為張大導演的確太喜歡這個小女孩了，或陳大總監認為她的形象更符合“國家利益”。
但陳大總監的一番表白，不僅傷害了原本不必受傷的楊小朋友，也傷害了原本沒怎麼受傷或受傷不重的林小朋友。對林小朋友來說，她小小年紀不僅要背負“假唱”的惡名（儘管這不取決於她），還被認為奪走了本屬於另外一個小朋友的榮耀和光輝。這是她小小年紀能背負的嗎？是她該背負的嗎？
回國頭再說說“假腳印”和“假唱”這兩件事。對於電影導演來說，這兩件事被說成“造假”可能是怪可笑的。電腦特技，已經成了電影創造視覺效果不可或缺的手段，從外國的Titanic到張大導演的“英雄”，如果沒有電腦特技，還有這些電影麼？再說“假唱”和“雙簧”，這根本就不是電影的術語，電影術語是叫“配音”和“替身”，沒有替身，那些身手不佳的大明星們或許早就“出師未捷身先死”了；沒有配音，那些臉蛋漂亮卻五音不全的明星也早就向世人“獻醜”了。但在舞臺上，特別是在這樣一個盛大的奧運開幕演出中，該不該用這些手段，我還是有些困惑。評論這些是與非，就見仁見智了。
但即便用了這些造假手段，如果處理得當，也不至於造成多大傷害。假如張大導演在開幕式後的第一場記者會上，就有意泄點底，告訴世人，為了這次開幕式的完美無缺，我們還是採取了些特別的手段，例如大螢幕上的空中腳印有些是提前錄製並加工過的，林小朋友的歌聲不是原唱而是另外一位楊小朋友的嗓音，等等。如果那時說出來，或許只會博得在場的老記們會心一笑，還沉浸在視覺盛宴中的世人也會有瑕不掩瑜之感。但今天，再多的解釋也會讓人有受到欺騙的感覺，並且只會如陳大總監般，把本是微瑕的事情越描越黑。
說到這裡，又想起我常常引為“武功秘笈”的梁實秋先生《罵人的藝術》一文，其中一條點到，要先將對方要罵你的話替他說出來，這便等於繳了他的械一般，令他罵回來的話失去效力。如果張大導演或奧會的官員以及所有的為官者都深諳此道，會不會挨的罵會少些呢？也與1510諸君共勉。
[CNN] Faking it at the Olympics 2008.08.12
While the strong visual impact of the Olympic opening ceremony was still shimmering before our eyes, there came the disclosure that the 29 footprints in the air were special effects created by computer. While the sound of the song
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The infuriating part is what Chen Qigang, who is the music director of the Olympic opening ceremony, said. He said that the actual singer Yang Peiyi was kept off "in consideration of the international image" and "the national interests." This statement is bound to offend anyone and everyone. Even if Yang's looks might displease the audience or fails to meet the aesthetic requirements of the director, he should have put it that way. Anyone who says such words must have water in his brain, and it would not be an insult to call him 'retarded.'
When this story was exposed, most of people felt sorry for Yang Peiyi. The photo of Yang in the videos showed that she was quite lovely and not quite the unpresentable person that director Chen implied. Frankly, before seeing the photo, I had assumed Yang was physically impaired and I even pondered on whether it would be better to have such a young handicapped person on stage instead.
The "fake singing" affair was really somewhat unfair to Yang. If this story had not been exposed, everyone would assume the heavenly song was sung by Lin Miaoke, and that would be unfair to Yang. But even though it is unfair, I disagree that Yang would feel hurt as a result. Why is that?
The media reported that director Chen also disclosed that Lin Miaoke's sound was replaced at the last minute as a result of an order from a "member of the Politburo." ... this tells us one fact: what was replaced at the last minute was Lin's singing and not Yang's image. In other words, Yang's singing was inserted at the last minute. For this, Yang should at least feel proud. In her own words, she "felt satisfied" even though she did not get her moment on the stage. But she was not hurt when her singing was used.
What hurt Yang was precisely what director Chen said. Perhaps he intended well and he wanted to be fair to Yang as well as tell the truth to the public. But what he said not only hurt the self-respect of Yang, but also caused pain in other decent people. According to information, this great musician Chen has spent a long time in France. Could it be that he lost the Chinese art of speech because he had been speaking foreign languages for too long?
As for feeling hurt, perhaps Lin Miaoke was hurt even more.
Let us talk first about the switching of the singing. The overall director in charge Zhang Yimou specifically mentioned Lin at the press conference after the opening ceremony. He said that he was most touched by 9-year-old Lin Miaoke singing
But what director Chen said not only hurt Yang (who did not have to be hurt) but it also hurt Lin (who was not hurt much before). For Lin, she now has to bear the bad reputation of "fake singing" at her young age (even though the decision was not up to her). She is regarded to have stolen the glory that belonged to another child. Is this a burden that she can bear at this young age? Should she even be bearing it?
I want to go back and talk about "the fake footprints" and the "fake singing" together. For a movie director, it is bizarre that these two things can be called "fakery." Computerized techniques are essential nowadays for creating audio-visual effects in movies. Movies from
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