Apparently the discussion about China’s attempt to bamboozle the world is now getting some attention.

An excerpt:

[China coach Lu Shanzan] said the governing body of gymnastics was given additional documents Thursday night to try to dispel lingering questions. Those documents included He’s current and former passport, ID card and family residence permit. Lu said the documents all say she was born in 1992, which would have made her eligible to compete. Gymnasts must turn 16 during the Olympic year to be eligible.

“Surely it’s not possible that these documents are still not sufficient proof of her birthdate?” Lu asked. “The passports were issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. The identity card was issued by China’s Ministry of Public Security. If these valid documents are not enough to clarify this problem, then what will you believe?

“The Chinese government and the Chinese athletes must be respected,” he added.

Respect and trust are two completely different things. With such dishonesty every step of the way, why should the Chinese government be trusted? China has proven itself to be absolutely untrustworthy in almost every possible way. Why should we believe that self-issued documents are correct? They have already shown that they are ready and willing to deceive the world when their national image is at stake. I have a printer attached to my computer, I can print out a few documents that say I’m 16 too, but that doesn’t make it true.

They have thrown all the old news releases and documents down the memory hole, so now the only stuff left is this new “proof” and we’re supposed to just accept it? Wrong. China may be able to brainwash its own citizens, but it can’t censor everyone. The world is starting to see the truth, even if the IOC is almost certainly just going through the motions so they can say, “we tried” while dropping trou.

I just hope this is a black eye on China for a long, long time. They have gone to great lengths and enormous expense to try to protect their “national image,” lying to the world and their own people. Taking young children away from their families and putting them into something that must resemble concentration camps, and not letting them quit is hardly worthy of respect.

Looks like that national image could use some more work.

As I mentioned recently, there has been some controversy over the eligibility of the Chinese women’s gymnastics team. For the moment, we’ll focus on He Kexin (何可欣).

I don’t think anyone can deny that she has plenty of talent. The question is whether or not she is old enough to compete. To compete in the Olympics, a gymnast must be at least 16 years old in the year of the Olympics. For this year (2008), gymnasts must have been born in December 31, 1992 or earlier. Regardless of whether or not you agree with that minimum age, it is the official requirement and must be followed until it is officially changed or removed. He Kexin (He is her family name) is listed for these Olympics as having a birthday of 1/1/92, which would make her 16 and eligible.

However, Stryde over at Stryde Hax has managed to dig up information to the contrary. He found documents issued by the General Administration of Sport of China that list He Kexin with a birth date of 1/1/94, which would make her 14, and ineligible for the 2008 Olympics.

Unfortunately, the original files have been removed (surprise!), but there are still cached versions out there. See for yourself here and here (until they get deleted too). Below are my screenshots, which won’t be deleted by the government. Note the sources: cached versions of .xls files from an official Chinese government website.

Click on each picture for a larger version.

He Kexin (何可欣), b. 1/1/94

Source (General Administration of Sport of China)

He Kexin (何可欣), b. 1/1/94

Source (General Administration of Sport of China)

More info here.

Winning can be difficult. It’s even more difficult when you’re expected to win.

Congratulations, Michael Phelps. Very well done.

If anyone needed proof that China doesn’t deserve to have the Olympics and needs to go away (and why the IOC is such a POS), here are a few tidbits:

First, China had to undertake a huge campaign to convince their citizens not to spit, litter, cut in line, or do other offensive things in preparation for the Olympics. Such a wonderful culture we should all experience. It’s not bad, it’s just “different.”

They said they wouldn’t censor the internet for foreign journalists and then went ahead and did it anyway. The IOC’s response? Kevin Gosper, chairman of the IOC’s press commission, said, “If you have been misled by what I have told you [over the months and years] about there being free internet access during the Games, then I apologise.” Honesty and freedom? In China? I didn’t think so.

Then they forced half their citizens to park their cars every day in an attempt to de-grossisfy the smog that covers Beijing. On opening day, the air pollution index was 91 (poor, above 100 is considered a health hazard). Anyone who saw the video had to grimace a little. No worries about the smog though, the IOC called it “mist”. Because that makes chewing it a lot easier.

They also revoked an American gold medalist’s visa hours before he was set to fly to China. He has actively spoken out about Darfur, and China didn’t like it. Tolerance in China? I didn’t think so.

The opening ceremonies included a young girl, Lin Miaoke, 9, who appeared to sing a patriotic song to glowing praise. Well, it turns out, it wasn’t her voice. The actual singer, Yang Peiyi, 7, apparently didn’t fit the “look” the Chinese were going for. She’s a little chubbier and her teeth aren’t all straight. Said the Chinese, “We should all understand it like this: it is a question of the national interest. It is a question of the image of our national music, our national culture. Especially at the entrance of our national flag, this is an extremely important, an extremely serious matter. So we made the choice. I think it is fair to both Lin Miaoke and Yang Peiyi - after all, we have a perfect voice, a perfect image and a perfect show, in our team’s view, all together.” Lies and propaganda in China? Well, that actually does fit their “national image.”

On day one of the Olympics, an American was killed and his wife seriously wounded by “a crazed Chinese man” who then jumped to his death. The victim’s son-in-law is the head coach of the USA men’s volleyball team. Did China force this “crazed Chinese man” to kill an American or two and then kill himself, leaving no apparent reason, in an attempt to strike fear into the heart of every American in China, possibly increasing China’s own chances to win more medals? Can you honestly say you think there’s no way China would do something like that? I can’t.

When the Chinese named their women’s gymnastics team, there were reports that some of the members were underage. They resurfaced, but their passports say they’re 16, which, apparently is all the IOC needs, even though China issues the passports and China has a vested interest in having them compete.

China obviously thinks the world is stupid, and the IOC either is actually that stupid, or simply refuses to say or do anything about it, which makes them disturbingly impotent.