Let’s face it, China lied about the Olympic opening ceremony. They deceived us. They admit it. Funny, we thought all that cool stuff they did was really on the up-and-up. Jokes on us. All and all, it’s no big deal. Just a ceremony. Ha Ha.
Nevertheless, it does call into question the integrity of the Chinese.
While the events surrounding the opening ceremony are hazy, what is clear is that the Chinese are willing to deceive, lie and cheat in front of the whole world. No where is it more clear than the fake documents they fabricated that allowed their underage, ineligible girls, to participate on their women’s (girls) gymnastic team. Some of those girls can’t even be fourteen years old. There is simply no way they are the required age of 16.
Besides wondering how else the Chinese are cheating, I can’t help but think that this really isn’t that much difference than doping. I mean cheating is cheating.
Apparently the Chinese just don’t care about honestly, fair play, or leading by example. I wonder if that trickles down to the entire billions of people in China or it’s just their leaders. I guess we could ask the Chinese common folk to chime in, but alas, they aren’t allowed free (uncensored) access to the internet.
Subscribe to morecoffee
if you have already jumped to the conclusion that the chinese olympic team are all cheating (and hence conveniently tarring the rest of the chinese population with the same brush) then why pretend to be objective and asked a common chinese folk to chime in (and immediatly downplaying that the common chinese folk would be suppressed to express his/her opinion)
Just called it a rant based on unsubstatiated accusations and leave it at that.
The Chinese government calculates age starting at 1 as they only count years for age, not months. So you cannot have a baby that is 0 years old. That’s they way China have calculated ages for decades, and not something created just to circumvent the olympic rules.
So it is plausible that the girls are currently 15 turning 16 something in 2008, which would be 14 and 15 respectivley in western age calculation standards.
Is this cheating? hard to say. Rules are rules and it’s up to the IOC or other competiting nations to complain to have the rules updated to include how age is being counted in every country to ensure compliance.
Until then, do some more research rather than just bash China with alterior motives.
gus on August 13th, 2008 at 8:27 am | Link
Whoever left the above comment is a moron. All it takes is looking at those young girls to see that some of them are prepubescent. They clearly are younger than 16. I don’t care what age cut-off the Olympics chooses for its gymnasts: if they want to make no age requirements at all, I am fine with that. What I have a problem with is China making an unlevel playing field by using girls who clearly, for anyone who has eyes, are under the age of 16. The Olympics are about a level playing field. If the Chinese can compete using their 14-year-olds and 12-year-olds, then all countries should be allowed to do the same. China clearly falsified documents. Level the playing field for all countries and remove the age requirement entirely. Meanwhile, the Chinese should be stripped of their gold. Shame on the OIC for not following through. I am sure every country has some amazing younger gymnasts, as Nadia and Mary Lou were both younger as well. Let them all compete. Remove the age requirement. Shame on China for cheating. Any parent can look at those girls and judge for themselves how old they are.
Elizabeth on August 13th, 2008 at 9:13 am | Link
The Age limitations for women’s gymnastics are in place to even the playing field. Smaller (and younger) “women” have a greater advantage because tossing around a 60 lb body is far easier than tossing around one that is 110 lbs. Although there are tiny 18 year old gymnasts, they still have the weight and muscle mass to make competition far fairer than having that same 18-20 bracket competing with those half the age and half the size. It protects the integrity of the sport and should be better enforced.
And the age rules also protect the gymnast. It’s fine for 15 year olds to compete in the Olympics (the rules state they don’t have to be 16 to compete - only that they turn 16 during the olympic year). Being an Asian myself, I know there are many women who are small for their age. However, I’m doubtful that some of the Chinese gymnasts are even 15 so all that confusing babble about months and years that the original post claimed would still not excuse them (while not Chinese myself, I had many Chinese friends, and even lived with a Chinese-American as well as a Chinese-on-student-visa. Neither of them mentioned anything about that tricky age counting system.) One of the girls hasn’t even grown an adult tooth to replace her recently lossed baby tooth. An intense gymnastics program does stunt the puberty process, but this excuse is a stretch to me. Many of the girls could easily fit far within the 12-14 age bracket and I wonder what long term effects will surface from the stresses the Olympics will have on the girls’ bodies.
One last stupid, funny point. I gotta admire China, though… To consciously make controversial decisions like the women’s gymnastic team lineup while they are the host nation…. that takes from gigantic balls of brass, haha. Were they anywhere else but in Beijing and were it a sport with even a slightly better history of objective judging, you can bet there would be a far greater uproar.
I’ll state my opinions just because I’m an opinionated person. No one is a moron for pointing out that cultures are different and that should be accounted for before making an educated opinion. Also, the original blog never put a disclaimer of “unbiased blog.” An unbiased blog is the biggest oxymoron out there. Please refrain from calling one another stupid just because you have differing views. That’s what turns these comment walls into pointless sources of internet name-calling and making fun of other people’s spelling.
Gabi319 on August 13th, 2008 at 10:03 am | Link
I was wondering if anyone knows how to contact the IOC or Jacques Rogge to voice a complaint about this. The IOC website, olympics.org, is completely unhelpful. Thanks!!
Christina on August 13th, 2008 at 10:43 am | Link
One of the Chinese gymnasts was missing a tooth!!! A baby tooth perhaps!?!? Who knows. The Chinese wanted the gold and they would do everything in their power to achieve that goal…in their home country. They seem to be a very controlling country. Honestly, do you think it would be accepted in the US for the government to take your kid when it is 5 years old, stick it into a rigorous training camp and allow it to visit it’s family ONCE a year? I think not.
We won the silver and we will accept that. Unfortunately, for the Chinese, there will always be a dark cloud over their gold!
GO USA!
AngryAmerican on August 13th, 2008 at 10:56 am | Link
It is very clear the Chinese are cheating in most events,swimming and other events,,,,the judges are all chines and the chinese win all events,there should be different conutry judges,I hope this is looked into as they will have used un detectable drugs,,
John Roe on August 13th, 2008 at 7:53 pm | Link
It is really sad that they have to cheat to win! They beg to have the olympics in their country and then they cheat! That is pitiful!! I say never again! They should never have the chance to hold the Olympics in their country!
I say their Women’s gymnastics medals do not count! Sure they showed them passports on these girls…passports that had been changed! Hello! It is their country! Their government probably did it for them! Well I think all the teams that do NOT cheat are doing fantastic! But China sucks! The world gives them a chance to shine and what do they do? They muddy that chance up by cheating! So you know what? Go everyone except the Chinese! CHEATERS NEVER PROSPER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the Chinese will not prosper in my eyes!
anon on August 14th, 2008 at 6:07 am | Link
What was misled during the opening ceremonies? I’m missing something…
“Just called it a rant based on unsubstatiated accusations and leave it at that.”
For the record, I didn’t say that the Chinese people were all liers and cheaters; I asked if they were. Thanks for telling us they aren’t.
As for unsubstantiated accusations, you are walking on thin ground. It was widely reported yesterday that several Chinese newspapers reported the age of at least one Gymnast (”He” i think was the name) as 13ish, just last November 07.
As for the absolutely absurd claim that a child comes out of the womb being one years old in China and one day old every where else in the world. It just doesn’t work like that. Cultural relativity and custom doesn’t usurp reality. The earth spins once in 24 hours. The Chinese don’t alter physics or astronomy so that they can cheat in gymnastics. Regardless, were not talking a couple of months here, some of the Chinese gymnasts still would be ineligible if the Olympic Committee allowed your “one year at day one rule for Chinese women’s gymnasts.”
being a descendent of chinese myself, i can say you shouldnt blame the ENTIRE chinese population but you should think the government probably had something to do with changing all the gymnasts’ records. it is unacceptable to use underage girls to compete. if they lied about the girls being 16 instead of 14, how will the girls go back to school? do they skip grades? so what, for the rest of their lives they are always going to be 2 years older? i think these “little gymnast machines” dont realize how much their lie will affect their futures.
shame on the government for doing anything to win that gold medal. if i were them, i would first clean up the horrible air and then focus on the medals. winning all the gold medals wont make the smog go away!
by the way, does anyone think the chinese female syncronized divers might also be underage? (the ones who won the gold coincidentally.) and isnt it kind of ironic how the female gymnasts who are assumed underage are all 16?
p.s im still rooting for canada to win a medal
jenn on August 15th, 2008 at 4:04 pm | Link
there might be a possibility that the girls are 16 in the eyes of the chinese because when babies are born, they are counted as 1 year old, and when new years arrives everyone will turn one year older (chinese new year is in feb.) in the case of the ‘He’ girl, her birthday was jan. 1st 1994. by the time february comes and chinese new year is here, she will have aged to 2 years in about 2 months. oh, and for your information, the chinese do not usually celebrate birthdays on the actual day or birth. on chinese new year day, everyone turns one year older together.
but the He girl’s age should have been calculated according to the “western” formula. if the underage accusations are true, He should not be allowed back in any olympics as it is the same punishment for doping and personally, i think being underage is the same crime as doping.
frd13 on August 15th, 2008 at 4:21 pm | Link
Different sports have different age requirements. It is not 16 across the board. There are younger members from other countries in different sports.
Matt on August 16th, 2008 at 1:04 am | Link
“Different sports have different age requirements. It is not 16 across the board. There are younger members from other countries in different sports.”
Not sure what your point is. Yes age requirements are different in different sports. We are talking about women’s gymnastics here (at least I am).
Don’t jump to the conclusion so quickly. There is a 2003 documentary film about how China was preparing for the 2008 Olympics. In this 89 minute documentary there’re many then unknown athletes, including two of the accused ‘underage cheaters’ - Jiang Yuyuan and Deng Lingling.
In 2003, China was already screening young girls for the 2008 Olympics, and the group included Jiang and Deng (but not He Kexin). They were selected because ‘these girls will be at the right age in 2008′, according to the film. While birth certificates, passports and newspaper reports can be faked, it is unlikely that this documentary was faked back then (with five years down the road!), unless the Chinese sports authorities were already certain who would emerge as eventual Olympians among such a large group.
If these girls are indeed 12-14 years old as some claimed, then they were only 7-9 years old back then in 2003. Isn’t it ridiculous?
Check the film yourselves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWKVK6aJccc
EastSouthWestNorth also mentioned this 2003 documentary film on their website. According to wikipedia, EastSouthWestNorth is actually a blog that many foreign correspondents read. My hunch is that major news media will not touch this topic again.
EastSouthWestNorth archive link:
http://www.zonaeuropa.com/200808b.brief.htm
Ray on August 17th, 2008 at 1:42 pm | Link
Since when does China have there own age calculator? Give me a break with the full year rubbish…12 and 13 years old is underage, period. China is lying through their baby teeth!
G Duychak on August 19th, 2008 at 10:17 am | Link
The best way to resolve this is the chinese government forms independent investigation group by foreign & chinese investigators.
They will have freedom to check out randomly and independently:
‘He’ real parents,
‘He’ birth certificate,
‘He’ friends, relatives,
‘He’ UNfavorite friends, people,
‘He’ competitor,
‘He’ all school records, transcripts,
‘He’ medical, dental records,
if needed an interview with ‘He’ outside china…
China loose nothing, but its reputation if it honestly wants to do it.
I DO NOT believe china will allow to do the investigation due to ????
I know china will not allow to it. It is not about the courageous chinese people, It is about the nature of chinese communist government. Let prove me wrong and do the investigation.
Victor on August 19th, 2008 at 2:46 pm | Link
Yeah victor, first someone who really matters needs to complain such as comptetitors. Then the Chicom will never allow it. They would act as if they are in the right and villify those who dare accuse. Its obvious and the world knows, they are doing it in front of the world. Lets just hope the people of the world do not soon forget the behavior of the Chicom like they so quickly have forgotten the tragedy of sept. 11th and those who perpetrated it on not only the USA but on the world.
mark on August 19th, 2008 at 3:22 pm | Link
Even if the chinese’s way of calculating age makes He 2 years at around 2 months, the possibly-falsified passport says her birthday was in 1992!! I think this whole thing is rather awful, if true. But I’d like to say that it probably wasn’t the girls’ ideas. Imagine the pressure of the coaches, maybe parents, etc.
Also–to the previous poster– 9/11 was not forgotten.
anonymouse (squeak) on August 21st, 2008 at 9:42 am | Link
Just came across this by chance so please excuse the lateness of this post. Some good points, some utter nonsense and some unbelievable sore losers!
First, the point about counting age. The chinese system is relevant and the comments about ‘ a child is not 1 year old when it leaves the womb’ are totally missing the point. If a child is in its first year of life it is ONE. Think of it the way they count time in sports. If someone scores a goal after 20 seconds then they have scored in the FIRST minute, not the zero minute. It’s not that difficult to see how the chinese system works and those ridiculing it are merely highlighting their own ignorance.
All these comments about 12 and 13 year old kids are also pie in the sky. Noone has made any realistic accusations or has any proof of such practice.
The ‘we won silver and will accept that’ comment is also hilarious. If that is the case, accept it and stop casting unfounded accusations against worthy winners. There appear to be many on here totally unable to accept coming second.
The whole world is laughing at YOU for kicking up such a fuss about something so trivial (especially getting computer experts to trawl through websites - what’s that all about!)
China 1 USA 0 I think.
Mike James on September 15th, 2008 at 5:55 am | Link