According to reports, the children appearing in costumes representing China’s 55 minority groups at the Olympic opening ceremony were fake. The children were performers from the Galaxy Children’s Art Troupe, a group that only includes children drawn from the Han Chinese majority. According to Wikipedia, China has 55 minority groups consisting of an official figure of 123.33 million people, or 9.4% of the population. Visually some of the minority groups have little differences to the Han population, but others are distinctly different, including a Russian minority who are white.

There is delicious irony in China showing the word that it embraces its minority groups by showing fake minority group members. Even those with pro-Chinese sympathies will shake their heads at this.

It also begs the question: is anything at the Olympics real? There have been allegations of biased judging, empty stadiums, promises of foreign press freedom that has seen journalists beaten, boards hiding construction sites and obvious poverty… and probably a whole range of other things covered or faked as well. China could have used these games to highlight the good in the country, but in their own controlling paranoia they are actually causing more negative press than would have otherwise been the case.

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