Opening Ceremony performers faced harsh conditions...did you know this?

2008 Olympics - Did you know????
United States
August 20, 2008 7:38am CST
BEIJING -- Martial arts student Cheng Jianghua only saw the army barracks he stayed in and the stadium where he performed at the spectacular Olympics Opening Ceremony. But his sacrifices were minor -- other performers were injured, fainted from heatstroke or forced to wear adult diapers so the show could go on. Filmmaker Zhang Yimou, the ceremony's director, insisted in an interview with local media that suffering and sacrifice were required to pull off the Aug. 8 opening, which involved wrangling nearly 15,000 cast and crew. Only North Korea could have done it better, he said. Carefully chosen pugilist prodigies spent an average of 16 hours a day, every day, rehearsing a synchronized tai-chi routine for the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony. But some news reports have raised questions about the lengths to which Beijing went in trying to create a perfect start to the Summer Games. Chinese officials were accused of fakery for using computer-generated images to enhance the show's fireworks display for TV viewers. *********************************************** I have watched some of the Olympics and did watch the opening ceremonies but wasn't aware of what this article is saying happened. Did you have any idea? http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/news/story?id=3543618&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines
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3 responses
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
20 Aug 08
I didn't see the opening ceremony and refused to watch the Olympics. I do not believe that China was the best place to hold the Olympics at all. The only positive I have seen so far is that supposedly the entire Olympics is powered by wind turbines.
@fpd1955 (2074)
• United States
20 Aug 08
As the opening ceremonies went on, I noticed the girls they had on the border of the circle of athletes slowed down quite a bit. I mean, how long were they there dancing? I knew about the lypsynching and the generated fireworks. I didn't know about the inhumane training sessions these kids were forced to endure. The director of the opening ceremonies said that it was necessary to achieve his goal. He also basically said that when he was elsewhere in the world, the people he worked with needed coffe breaks, rest and other such nonsense. All because of Human Rights! I guess if one lives in a Communist country they can be assured that rights of humnas are insignificant! Now, if one were a Panda Bear..........well. I'll just say that I think Pandas are treated with more respect in China than the average citizen. After all, Pandas are an endangered species and 1.3 billion people aren't! PEACE
@lilaclady (28207)
• Australia
20 Aug 08
I know when I was watching it I felt for the girls that were dancing around when the athletes were coming in to the arena, and I wasn't even thinking about the heat, because i was cold here i didn't even think how hard that must have been for them....they all did such a good job and they should have been rewarded well...