China Refuses to Answer Questions from UN Panel on Torture Allegations

According to an Associated Press report (http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/081110/world/un_china_torture) China refused Monday to answer questions from a United Nations human rights panel about the alleged torture and disappearance of dissidents, or provide official figures on the mistreatment of detainees in its prisons.Campaigners have long criticized the country for failing to live up to a 1984 UN anti-torture accord, citing the secrecy of its courts and the persecution of lawyers who highlight abuses.

Li Baodong, China's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said his government had "zero tolerance for torture" and was making progress in stamping out abuse.

"The concept of prohibition of torture is gaining widespread recognition among the judiciary," he told a public meeting of the UN Committee Against Torture.

But Li and 31 other members of China's delegation rejected requests for detailed information on issues such as forced disappearances and prisoner abuse.

Three years ago, the UN's torture investigator said inmates told him they were forced to lie still for weeks, faced beatings with electric batons or sticks, or faced other ill-treatment. Human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch also have documented cases where they say torture was committed by state officials.

Felice Gaer, one of the UN panel's 10 members, said she had hoped to receive more specific answers from China during the two-day hearing, which began Friday.

"The problem is not the absence of statistics but the inability to make these statistics public," she said.

Gaer also cited individual cases that China had been asked to explain, including the disappearance and prosecution of religious figures, human rights campaigners and lawyers.

Chinese officials addressed only one case, that of Gendun Choekyi Nyima, who in 1995 was chosen by the Dalai Lama to become the Panchen Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's second-highest ranking figure.

Nyima, who was six years old at the time, disappeared with his family soon after and has not been heard from since. Human rights groups say Nyima, now 19, is being held under house arrest by the Chinese authorities.

"Choekyi Nyima and his family are leading a normal life and they don't want to be disturbed," Shen Yang, an official with China's Ethnic Affairs Commission, told the committee.

The UN committee will issue a list of findings and recommendations on China later this month.

Comment: China Ratified the Convention Against Torture in 1998. Here is part of the text China agreed to abide by at that time: Article 20

1. If the Committee receives reliable information which appears to it to contain well-founded indications that torture is being systematically practised in the territory of a State Party, the Committee shall invite that State Party to co-operate in the examination of the information and to this end to submit observations with regard to the information concerned.

2. Taking into account any observations which may have been submitted by the State Party concerned, as well as any other relevant information available to it, the Committee may, if it decides that this is warranted, designate one or more of its members to make a confidential inquiry and to report to the Committee urgently.

3. If an inquiry is made in accordance with paragraph 2 of this article, the Committee shall seek the co-operation of the State Party concerned. In agreement with that State Party, such an inquiry may include a visit to its territory.

4. After examining the findings of its member or members submitted in accordance with paragraph 2 of this article, the Commission shall transmit these findings to the State Party concerned together with any comments or suggestions which seem appropriate in view of the situation.

5. All the proceedings of the Committee referred to in paragraphs I to 4 of this article shall be con fidential , and at all stages of the proceedings the co-operation of the State Party shall be sought. After such proceedings have been completed with regard to an inquiry made in accordance with paragraph 2, the Committee may, after consultations with the State Party concerned, decide to include a summary account of the results of the proceedings in its annual report made in accordance with article 24.

China Should Ensure that its Human Rights "National Action Plan" Amounts to More than a Publicity Stunt

Statement from Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) "a non-political, non-governmental network of grassroots and international activists promoting human rights and empowering grassroots activism in China. CHRD's objective is to support human rights activists in China, monitor human rights developments, and assist victims of human rights abuses. CHRD advocates approaches that are non-violent and based on rule of law. CHRD conducts research, provides information, organizes training, supports a program of small grants to human rights activists and researchers, and offers legal assistance."

作者：CHRD 文章来源：CHRD 点击数：25 更新时间：2008-11-7 11:07:10

China Should Ensure that its "National Action Plan" Amounts to More than a Publicity Stunt

(Chinese Human Rights Defenders, November 7, 2008) –The Chinese government announced on November 4 that it is to draft its first "national action plan to protect human rights". Although CHRD welcomes the initiative, it is concerned that the plan will fall short of its stated objective of protecting human rights due to the following reasons:
The plan, as outlined thus far, is vague. It lacks details such as a concrete timetable for implementation of the plan or precisely the kind of actions that it will involve.
It is unclear why the State Council Information Office (responsible for publicizing official information domestically and promoting the Chinese government abroad) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (responsible for foreign relations) will be heading the government panel that drafts the plan.
The government panel will be advised by "ten human rights experts from key universities and academic institutions" and "NGOs". CHRD is concerned that these experts and organizations will only be those carefully hand-picked and controlled by the government. CHRD is particularly concerned that the drafting process excludes consultation with the wider public, especially independent human rights activists and genuinely independent NGOs.
The facts that the plan as currently outlined is vague and that its drafting is to be led by government agencies involved in promoting China's image abroad and advised by individuals who lack independence raise the suspicion that Chinese government has initiated the plan not to promote human rights but to placate the international community at a time when China is being reviewed by the UN Committee Against Torture (November 7 and 10) and will soon be reviewed by the Human Rights Council in its Universal Periodic Review mechanism in February 2009.

CHRD believes that a concrete national action plan could genuinely and effectively promote human rights if:
the Chinese government invites members of the public and civil society, especially independent human rights activists and groups, to participate in the drafting process;
the Chinese government makes a draft of this plan available to the public, involves it in a thorough process of consultation, and incorporates the public's opinion into the finalized plan;
the drafting panel is headed by the National People's Congress (NPC), the legislative body that is vested with the power to make laws that could effectively protect human rights;
the plan includes the establishment of a national human rights body, such as an independent National Commission on Human Rights, as exists in many other countries, to ensure that the plan will be implemented and effectively monitored; and
the plan addresses, among other areas of concern, the following five requests CHRD has made to the Chinese government and asked the UN Human Rights Council to consider during its Universal Periodic Review of China in February 2009:
(1) Take effective measures to implement the Convention against Torture.
(2) Abolish all systems of arbitrary detention.
(3) End the criminalization of freedom of speech and of the press.
(4) Cease Party and government control of the judiciary.
(5) Honor its commitment to protect human rights defenders.

http://crd-net.org/Article/Class9/Class15/200811/20081107110710_11609.html

Dalai Lama Possibly Changing Tactics

The news today says that the Dalai Lama is calling a big meeting of Tibetan exiles to discuss what to do as the PRC government has not been negotiating sincerely with the Dalai Lama's group.

(http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/081028/world/dalai_lama)

It is hard to assess if this will lead to a major change of tactics re: Tibetan sovereignty.  In my judgment, it is very unlikely that the Government of PRC will make any meaningful concessions to the Dalai Lama. 

The Tibetan tragedy continues.

Mei Ping's Unacceptable Characterization of the Parliament of Canada

I was told by e-mail this morning that in a speech in Montreal this week, the former ambassador of China to Canada (1998-2005), Mei Ping, referred to the Dalai Lama's 2006 honouring by the Canadian House of Commons as "so-called honorary citizenship." But there is nothing "so called" about it. This honour was a unanimous resolution of the Parliament of Canada supported by all parties. Mr. Mei's characterizing it this way is an insult to the dignity of our Parliament.

===============

Vancouver, Canada 9 September 2006 (AP) The Dalai Lama has been presented with honorary Canadian citizenship, joining only two other people to have received the honour.

The decision by Canada's parliament to award citizenship to the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader has drawn criticism from China, which continues to rule Tibet.

"Welcome to our great country," Immigration Monte Minister Solberg told the Nobel Peace Prize laureate on Saturday in front of a crowd of about 12,000. "We will welcome you each and every time you return to Canada to share your message of kindness and compassion."

The normally talkative Dalai Lama seemed at a loss for words.

"Now I am also a citizen of this country," he said. "I am honored to receive this citizenship."

Canada has previously granted honorary citizenship to South African leader Nelson Mandela and Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who saved Jews from extermination during World War II.

Solberg presented the Nobel Peace Prize laureate with a framed copy of the parliamentary motion granting him citizenship. Prior to his arrival, the crowd spontaneously burst into the country's national anthem, "O Canada."

Amanda Zhao Murdered in Burnaby in 2002 and Her Family Suffers Still

I am appalled at how badly the grieving parents of Amanda Zhao has been treated by our diplomats in Beijing.  The fact that her brutal murderer has not been made accountable for his awful crimes is simply disgraceful. I feel personally grateful to Jason Kenney for all the work he has done on this matter.

Party School Democracy Realization Date Now Sooner

On October 15, the London Daily Telegraph published an article entitled "China will be a democracy by 2020, says senior party figure" (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/3195370/China-will-be-a-democracy-by-2020-says-senior-party-figure.html)

The reads in part:

Zhou Tianyong, an adviser to the Communist Party's Central Committee and one of its most liberal voices, told the Daily Telegraph that "by 2020, China will basically finish its political and institutional reforms".

He added: "We have a 12-year plan to establish a democratic platform. There will be public democratic involvement at all government levels."

Mr Zhou also predicted "extensive public participation in policy-making, such as drawing up new legislation".

Mr Zhou is deputy head of research at the Central Party School, the most important institution for training senior leaders. President Hu Jintao is among its former directors.

Comment by me: In 2020, I will be 65 years-old if I live that long.  If China is fully democratic and complaint with the all the Covenants associated with the UDHR in 2020 I will retire from political science and commence my plan for old age which is to offer free English lessons to little children in Yunnan Province, read Chinese poetry, and practise my brush calligraphy. But in the meantime I think I should still go back to the Central Party School Beijing next month as they must need some follow-up to the September seminar in Montreal (or they would not ask us to come again, I suppose).  Anyway I still have a few questions for them on the details of implementation, such as the date they will hold their first free and fair elections, when the press will be free from Party control, when the judiciary will be made independent of the Government, when the regulations for registration of NGOs will be lifted, etc., etc., etc.

DPRK Taken Off U.S. List of States that Sponsor Terrorism

Comment: This recalls to mind U.S. attempts to push forward the agenda on DPRK in the declining period of the Clinton administration.  But I continue to hope that I am wrong in my cynicism with regard to the intentions of the North Korean régime internationally and in its domestic policies.  Having lived in China when it was under a charismatic authoritarian leader, I remember only too well the dishonesty in foreign relations of the Mao régime which was the extension of its policies of "cultural revolution" domestically.

Letter to the Globe and Mail about Lawrence Martin's Comment "Giving the Tories a free pass on sleaze and low ethics"

Mr. Martin writes "One way to being a measure of civility to the process would have been through reforms that, for example, allowed parties to speak only of their own policies and personalities in TV ads." This would have been a terrible idea. Freedom of political debate is at the centre of our Canadian democracy. Any attempt in the name of "civility" to limit what parties can and cannot say would be an outrageous affront to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. My suggestion is that if citizens are offended by a political party's "uncivil" attacks on political opponents that they express their repugnance at the ballot box.

The article was published in the Globe on October 6, p. A15

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081006.wcomartin06/BNStory/specialComment/home

My letter was published in The Globe and Mail on October 7, 2008, p. A14 under the title "On the road to civility"

China Warns Norway Against Peace Prize to Hu Jia or Rebiya Kadeer

Here is an extract from a report by Nina Berglund published in the Norwegain Aftenposten:
"China warns against Peace Prize to one of its dissidents: Chinese authorities have been quick to issue warnings that awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to a Chinese dissident will hurt relations between China and Norway"
China wasted no time two years ago in formally warning a visiting delegation of Norwegian politicians that the Norwegian Nobel Committee should not award the Peace Prize to human rights activist Rebiya Kadeer of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Kadeer had won the Rafto Prize, also awarded in Norway, in 2004 and that wasn't well-received in Beijing.
Kadeer has also long been a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize, and the Chinese government told the delegation from the Norwegian Parliament that relations would be damaged if the prize went to Kadeer. The Norwegian delegation responded that although the parliament appoints the members of the Nobel Committee from parties represented in parliament, the committee itself is independent. The Norwegian government has no control over who is considered for prize or named as the annual winner.
That hasn't stopped the Chinese authorities from once again issuing a warning, after speculation over this year's winner tipped human rights activist Hu Jia as a possible winner. Hu Jia has been harassed and imprisoned for years by the Chinese authorities, for his ongoing efforts to further democracy, human rights, environmental protection and AIDS/HIV programs in China.
A spokesman for the Chinese foreign office told Reuters this week that if the prize goes to Hu Jia, Beijing won't like it. The spokesman said the Chinese authorities hoped the Norwegian Nobel Committee will make a "correct" choice and not one that would "hurt the feelings" of the Chinese people.
They received the same message that the Norwegians delivered in Beijing -- that the Norwegian Nobel Committee operates independently of the Norwegian government, and makes it own choices, free of any government control.

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article2677080.ece

Comment by me: The Chinese authorities evidently really don't seem to get the point that the Nobel Prize Committee operates independently of the Norwegian government.  Frankly it had not occurred to me that Ms. Kadeer or Mr. Hu would be candidates for this international honour.  Seems that the Chinese authorities have in effect nominated them!

Simple but Insightful Observation by Geoff York

China clearly sees the Olympics as a pivotal moment in its history – the moment when the world was forced to recognize China's power and talent. Of course the world has watched China's rapid rise for many years now, and had no need of the Olympics to confirm the obvious. Perhaps the Beijing Games were more important as a psychological reassurance to the Chinese themselves, who often seem insecure about the world's perception of their state.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080831.WByorkblog20080831112842/WBStory/WByorkblog/

Comment by me: Hopefully this will be good thing in terms of the nature of the Chinese Communist Party's domestic and international policies in years ahead.

Geoff York and Globe and Mail China Bashing?

I have just been reading Geoff York's blog entry "Post-script to Olympics lip-synching girl"

(http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080827.WByorkblog20080827135333/WBStory/WByorkblog/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20080827.WByorkblog20080827135333)

The story related the comments of the teacher of the little girl, Yang Peiyi who had to sing "Ode to the Motherland" off-camera at the Olympics opening ceremony while another little girl with more attractive features mouthed the words in her place. Miss Yang is reported by her teacher

Kent News & Pictures Ltd/(01622) 755133
Originally uploaded by liwaer83

to be feeling quite hurt by the whole thing. It is the comments that people have made to Geoff York's blog entry that give me pause to think. I am quite surprised that pretty much all of them see Geoff York's simply repeating what Yang Peiyi's teacher wrote as indicative of some sort of anti-China conspiracy on the part of himself and the Globe and Mail. After all most Chinese people evidently think that Yang Peiyi should have been shown singing that song on-camera at the Ceremony and that the producers made a mistake in replacing her with another "more attractive" girl. It is an interesting story about whether superficial appearance or artistic talent makes a child more beautiful. I don't really see it as much related to "China-bashing." But there is a lot of anger in those comments. This worries me..

Fragment from Globe and Mail Editorial Contrasting Beijing and London Olympics

Beijing's Olympics were the most dramatic demonstration in history of the raw power of the totalitarian state, bulldozing and building anything it wanted in the service of sport and spectacle. China's leaders are undoubtedly pleased.

. . .

In London, the authorities will, alas, be unable to carry out mass uncompensated evictions in order to build a monumental Olympic plaza. Their budget will be only half that of the Chinese Games, and they will have to rely on performers for the opening and closing ceremonies who are not conscripted "volunteers."

The full editorial can be found at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080828.ELONDON28/TPStory/Opinion/editorials

Farewell Chairman Hua

The Canadian newspapers have printed obituaries of Hua Guofeng today. When I was a student in Shanghai, a portrait of the "heroic and brilliant leader" Chairman Hua was suspended about the blackboard in our lecture halls right next to the identically framed portrait of the "great leader" Chairman Mao Zedong. At the time I regarded Hua Guofeng as a clumsy fogy whose plodding calligraphy paled in comparison with the powerful vigour and creative spirit of Chairman Mao's swirling handwriting. Hua also seemed to have no ideas of his own,. Chairman Hua said "We will resolutely uphold whatever policy decisions Chairman Mao made for us, and unswervingly follow whatever instructions Chairman Mao gave to us". This statement was repeated in a joint editorial, entitled "Study the Documents Well and Grasp the Key Link", printed in February 1977 in the People's Daily, the theoretical journal Red Flag and in Liberation Army Daily. Hua was a "whatevervist."

After he gave up all his official offices in 1980, Hua Guofeng was little heard of, but he stayed on in the Central Committee and even appeared sitting in the back row on the rostrum at the Party Congress last fall. People in China in general have a benevolent impression of him.

Now I realize that when he was Chairman, Hua Guofeng was only a little older than I am now. Now, as was once a common expression in China referring to the deceased, Chairman Hua has "gone to see Marx." As I get older I am more and more aware of the reality that all thing pass away in the end.

China's Aide Memoire to the UN Applying to Be a Member of the Human Rights Council

I am as ever amazed at the ability of the PRC Government to make claims so assertively that are manifestly untrue, Today I was reading the 2006 Aide Memoire that the Government of China sent to the UN with the request that the PRC be put up for election as a member of the Human Rights Council . It reads in part:
The National People's Congress has adopted nearly 300 laws and regulations related to the protection of civil and political rights ensuring complete freedom of the Chinese people in movement, employment, access to information, religious belief and ways of life.

Jean Chretien says Harper was wrong not to attend Olympics opening

Mon Aug 18, 11:42 AM

QUEBEC - Jean Chretien says Prime Minister Stephen Harper was wrong not to attend the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics.

And the former prime minister believes Canada may pay a high price for his absence.

Chretien, who was speaking at a news conference following a speech to the Canadian Bar Association in Quebec City Monday, says he would definitely have gone to Beijing had he still been prime minister.

He says Harper should have been at the celebration given China's economic and demographic clout and the mentality of its leaders.

Chretien believes relations between the countries have deteriorated since the Conservatives came to power.

The former Liberal prime minister pointed out he always maintained very good relations with China when he was in charge of the government.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080818/national/chretien_harper


My comment: I don't think the Canadian interest is served by this kind of statement by a retired Prime Minister. On matters of foreign policy presenting a Canadian united front is best. Partisan political debate is of course a good thing, but former Prime Ministers are better off giving their counsel in private in my opinion.


Update August 20:
By The Canadian Press
BEIJING - Chinese media have picked up on the war of words this week between Jean Chretien and Stephen Harper over the prime minister's decision to skip the opening ceremonies of the Summer Games in Beijing.

The story was teased on the front page of the English-language China Daily under the headline "Canada PM Flayed for Skipping Day 1" and was also featured on about a dozen Chinese news websites and various blogs on Wednesday.

Most stories ran with the headline: "Former Prime Minister Chretien Strongly Criticizes Current Prime Minister Harper for Not Attending Olympics: Will Pay Heavy Price."

(http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080820/national/oly_harper_chretien)

My Question and Cheuk Kwan's Answer on Chinese Nationalism published in The Globe and Mail Website

Charles Burton from St Catharines: When Canadians express concern about the situation of Tibetans or Uyghurs or believers in religion in China, some ethnic Chinese often dismiss these claims on the basis that the Canadians are 'anti-China' or 'don't understand China.' So we get no reasoned response, but are instead charged with racism and ignorance.What can Canadians do to on the one hand to stand for those who are suffering from injustice in China and on the other to avoid making these ethnic Chinese feel so offended?

Cheuk Kwan: Unfortunately there's no easy solution because mainland Chinese, and by extension, Chinese Canadian immigrants often do not distinguish the three separate entities: Chinese people, Chinese as a nation, and the Chinese government. And that distinction is not made very clear by the Chinese-language media in Canada, where most immigrants still get their news. This is especially serious with the introduction of CCTV, the state Chinese television broadcaster, into our cable system who will beam one-sided pro-Chinese government news coverage into Canadian homes. I think Canadians should continue to make their voices heard, and let these Chinese Canadians know that a criticism of China's government does not equate itself to offending the Chinese people.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080815.wkwandiscussion0815/BNStory/specialComment/?pageRequested=all

My comment: China has a proud and wonderfully rich tradition, but it is not identical with the bases for the legitimacy of the authoritarian rule of the CCP.

Are Human Rights Incompatible with Chinese Culture?

A posting that I wrote entitled "Are Human Rights Incompatible with Chinese Culture?" can be found on the "Olympic Journal" blog published by Rights & Democracy.

English:
http://www.olympicjournal.ca/?p=19#more-19

French:
http://www.carnetsolympiques.ca/?p=15#more-15

Chinese:
http://www.olympicjournal.ca/cn/wordpress/?p=10#more-10

Bible Smuggling in Kunming

I read a news report day that Chinese customs at Kunming has seized 300 Chinese language Bibles from the luggage of a visiting Christian group which had planned to distribute them for free (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080817/ap_on_re_as/china_bibles_confiscated_1).

In December 2007 it was reported that the Amity Foundation of Nanjing has printed 50 million Chinese Bibles since it was founded in 1988 (http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2007/12/5/ACNS4348).

Last month The China Daily reported that 10,000 bilingual Bibles would be made available at the Olympic Village during the games.

The People's Republic of China State Constitution indicates that Chinese people have the freedom to believe in religion but not the freedom to propagate religion. In the meantime the Protestant Church in China has been growing by more than 1 million believers a year for more than 2 decades.

The people in China yearn for the fruits of the spirit, the Chinese Communist Party frets over the power of the Church to promote people's democracy.

He Kexin's Allegedly Falsified Passport

GYMNASTICS-QATAR-AUS-HE
Originally uploaded by photo240779

The China Digital Times has come up with some very convincing evidence that Chinese gymnast He Kexin who did so well in the Olympics winning a gold medal is 14 years old when the minimum age to compete is 16. The item can be found at: http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2008/08/another-olympic-secret-how-old-is-he-kexin/

Evidently the IOC goes by the age listed on the athlete's passport which gives her date of birth as January 1, 1992, but the CDT has found a number of news articles and other documents that suggest that Ms. He's date of birth is in fact January 1, 1994. If the passport date of birth has been falsified this would suggest Chinese Government collusion in this fraud (most likely without the knowledge of senior level Communists).

This unexpected incident has enormous explosive potential as Chinese people everywhere who are so proud of China's hosting of this important international event will feel great loss of face if He Kexin has her gold medal taken away. It will be much worse than when Canadian Ben Johnson was revealed to be a cheat at the '88 Olympics and lost his medal. "Face" is such strong imperative in Chinese culture.

I also feel sorry that the matter involves a child who will suffer stigma for the rest of her life, despite being too young to be held in any way responsible for the alleged fraud, if it turns out to be proven definitively that she is in fact underage for the competition.

The whole thing is just so regrettable.

Update October 1, 2008: The IOC has ruled that the  Chinese female gymnasts who competed at this year's Beijing Olympics were not underage:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081001/ts_nm/us_gymnastics_china

I Think Chubby Face and Uneven Teeth Also Cute and Sweet and More Talented and Politburo Made Wrong Call

BBC via Kent News & Pictures Ltd/(01622) 755133
Originally uploaded by liwaer83

BEIJING (AFP) - The little girl who starred at the Olympic opening ceremony was miming and only put on stage because the real singer was not considered attractive enough, the show's musical director has revealed,

Pigtailed Lin Miaoke was selected to appear because of her cute appearance and did not sing a note.

But Chen Qigang, the general music designer of the ceremony said the girl whose voice was actually heard by the 91,000 capacity crowd at the Olympic stadium during the spectacular ceremony 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 appeared briefly on the news website Sina.com before it was apparently wiped from the Internet in China.

He said the final decision to stage the event with Lin lip-synching to another girl's voice was taken after a senior member of China's ruling Communist Party politburo attended a rehearsal.

"He told us there was a problem that we needed to fix it, so we did," he said, without disclosing further details of the order.

The Beijing Olympic organising committee confirmed the episode.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/080812/world/oly2008_china_ceremony_song_fake