It has been claimed that the little girl who starred at the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony was miming and was only put on stage because the real singer wasn't considered attractive enough.
Ceremony muscial director Chen Qigang says pigtailed Lin Miaoke was selected to appear because of her cute appearance and hadn't sung a note of the emotional song Ode to the Motherland.
Photographs of Lin in a bright red party dress were published in newspapers and websites all over the world and the official China Daily hailed her as a rising star on Tuesday.
But Chen says the girl whose voice was actually heard by the 91,000 capacity crowd at the main Olympic stadium was in fact seven-year-old Yang Peiyi, who has a chubby face and uneven teeth.
"The reason why little Yang was not chosen to appear was because we wanted to project the right image, we were thinking about what was best for the nation," Chen said in an interview that was posted briefly on the popular news website Sina.com.
"The reason was for the national interest. The child on camera should be flawless in image, internal feelings, and expression," he said.
"Lin Miaoke is excellent in those aspects. But in terms of voice, Yang Peiyi is perfect, each member of our team agreed."
