Comments on: Memo China: this is bordering on the tragic

By: Stephen

Stephen — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

I seem to recall that during the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the Australian soldier who escorted winners to the podium was replaced because he was fat with a protruding belly. Maybe the Chinese are just good learners.

By: tony

tony — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

The Games are rapidly developing into a farce.

On the same day that we mindlessly celebrate Stephanie Rice's 2nd gold medal (and all the cliches about her glamor and good looks) the ABC reports that more than 30 people have been killed in Xinjiang Province (in protests and the predictable Chinese response) over the past week alone.

Naturally, no coverage of this tragedy is to be seen on the commercial news stations, presumably for fear of upsetting the Chinese authorities.
The collective view seems to be that it is better to keep quiet, let us bask in the reflected glory of our blinkered nationalism and turn a collective blind eye to the Beijing butchers.

Wake me up when the whole thing is over.

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

On the firework front, what's important is that the fireworks did go off, only
part of it wasn't captured live on TV. So what's the big deal?
NBC also has augmented its Olympic coverage in the past to set the right
mood. That fire in the studio fireplace during the 2002 Salt Lake Games?
It was just a video. What's wrong with the Chinese organisers chosing
not to risk the lives of the helicopter crew when live filming is deemed
to be too dangerous?

About the little girl singing, this is only a SHOW, not a COMPETITION.
So what's the big fuss? Lip-synching has been used all the time,
including in Hollywood and Bollywood movies, as long as the overall
effect is good. Besides, the Chinese organisers themselves revealed it
to give the singer (Yang) a well deserved recognition. Had they not
done it, you wouldn't have had a chance to be here wasting your time writing
celebrity gossips. What else can you pick on? That the precision of
the dancers and drummers are done by robots? Give me a break. Who
cares if the People's Liberation Army took part in the performance. We
wanted a good show and we got it.

As for human right, which country is 100% clean? Not Australia and
certainly not U.S.

Get over it Charlie. It's a fantastic show! The only way to beat the
Chinese is to put more effort into our own show next time round.
Barking anti-China comments only helps to make Australians look
pathetic. Belittling other nations will not make Australia win more
medals. What a loser!

By: David Hurford

David Hurford — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Charles Happell should follow his own advice as written towards the end of his article…chill out, get a life and don’t be such a tragic wannabe. The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games is an entertainment…an entertainment for the people seated in the stand…but more importantly, for the billions who are watching on TV throughout the world. I am no less thrilled by what I saw now that I know some of it was done via computer imagery…or that the voice of one girl was being mimed by another…I was enthralled…I was entertained…I was delighted to see the spectacle of the opening ceremony. And as for decisions that went the wrong way…Charles very nicely points out that Beijing is not unique in that regard. maybe it’s about time for the large body of knockers to reflect on the fact that the Chinese Government has done an amazing job of staging the biggest sporting event in the world…they might not have done it in accordance with the wishes of some in the Western World…but they have done it…and done it well. get over yourself Charles.

By: nelson

nelson — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Agree with the idea of chill out, get a life and don’t be such tragic wannabes, which should equally be applied to a significant chunk of our population. I’m sick of hearing whinging about drug cheats and per-capita calculations of medal counts. A bit rich to suggest that somehow Australians are in China “just to compete”.

By: The Kid From Bondi

The Kid From Bondi — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Dear C - your commets are just simple Bu** S**t and Nelson, if only it were so. The AOC like any nation’s OC is the spawn of the IOC and what that organization has become is a sick joke for all athletes and their countrymen and women, tghe tax payers. I happen to agree with Charles.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Your article is very patronising toward the Chinese. The Olympics has a history of farce and stuff-ups. We should not be hyper-critical of China.

Where is the memo to Sydney for the cauldron stuck for 3 minutes above Cathy Freeman's head? Where is the memo to Barcelona for lighting the cauldron a few seconds before the flaming arrow reached it?

So please - tackle the issues which are important, like human rights. Finding faults in China while not finding fault in similar actions by western countries is a little racist.

By: c

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Just an observation.
Coming from a background of having been raised in an asian society,
maybe the lip synching don't bother the chinese so much.
Lip synching and play acting on musical instruments are seen on TV all the time.
By TV, I mean the Hong Kong, Taiwanese soaps and variety programmes.
(Not farmiliar with Chinese Tv)
The canto pop stars lip synch all the time, i reckon even at live concerts.

Being an amateur musician, this is deeply offensive to me, but it doesn't seem to
offend my kinsman much.

This might be due to the grassroots arts scene which might not be as developed compared as
the west.

I have seen a Hong Kong variety programme a few years back, where one of the top tier Canto pop star
was adjudicating an idol type event, he actually told one of the contestant who i thought
was pretty decent on the guitar that he probably had no future on account of not having the good looks
required, being able to play the guitar and sing is not enough......

So it might be societal trait or something imposed on chinese society by the entertainment
industry.

As can been seen from my examples from Hong Kong and Taiwan, its not just a behaviour
that is solely confined to China

By: David

David — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Hey Charles as you are so brave pointing out trivial crap, hearsay and more than a touch of anti Chinese, get yourself to Tiennamin Square and shout your protests in the face of those same goose stepping soldiers. Lets see how really brave you are then. Your comments are nothing but insipid grandstanding and they like yourself are forgettable. You write dribble.
It must get up your racist nose, not only are the games being run brilliantly but the Chinese athletes are outstanding and the Chinese population are showing immense pride and enjoyment. Get off your high horse and stop pontificating, idiot.