Li Jiawei drags the Singapore Flag during the Olympics Opening Ceremony
The Singapore delegation was the 188th team to come out yesterday during the parade of the athletes at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games held at Beijing. It's funny that the commentators mentioned our badminton player Ronald Susilo and then Li Jiawei (without mentioning her name), the flag bearer and table tennis player. I guess they had no idea about the couple's recent ugly split. And talking about Li Jiawei, did anyone notice that she was dragging the Singapore flag on the floor? Watch the video above. I guess that's what you get when you purchase an athlete from China - they just have no respect for your flag. According to the Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Act, no person must treat the national flag with disrespect, nor must any person in possession of the flag allow or cause the flag to touch the floor or ground. The penalty is a fine not exceeding S$1,000. Ouch.
Ok enough about the Singapore team. Let's now talk about the opening ceremony in general. Last night's Olympic Opening Ceremony held at Beijing's Bird Nest stadium was spectacular. There's a lot being said about the Chinese on the run up to the Olympic Games but one thing is for sure, they do know how to create a spectacular Opening Ceremony! The Chinese put up so many amazing sights and sound for the ceremony last night but I think the most spectacular of the lot has to be the lighting of the flame cauldron. Chinese sporting icon and former gymnast Li Ning with the Olympic torch was pulled all the way up to the top of the Bird Nest Stadium, then jogged around the top ring wall "sideways" before lighting up the Olympic cauldron. I swear when he was pulled up, I was a bit worried for the man. I was just hoping the wires were strong enough. It looked scary up there.
The ceremony was directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou but I do wonder though how much of last night's displays were the brainchild of Steven Spielberg who quit as the artistic adviser for the opening ceremony in February in protest at China’s policy on Darfur. It's great to see a fellow Asian country putting up such a wonderful spectacle but as the Chinese spent millions to make sure their Olympics is a success, I can't help but think about the millions of people in Darfur who are suffering because of the Chinese continued sponsoring of the genocide there. No country has offered more diplomatic support, nor done more to provide money to buy the weaponry that fuels the engine of genocidal destruction. And no country has done more to insulate Khartoum from economic pressure or human rights accountability. China may have staged the greatest Olympic Opening Ceremony ever but they have to look at themselves for assisting in the death of hundreds of thousands of people thousand miles away. They have blood in their hands.
Update: You can also read this post on Reuters here.
Update: Li Jiawei and the Singapore team are through to the Finals of the Olympics Table Tennis event.
Also read: Help get Li Jiawei into LOL Olympics
Comments
think its awkward for both of them to be in the same team.
You all know some Chinese people or have been to China many times. Do your rights get abused..? Many Chinese are even much more well-off than Singaporeans.
But all the Americans all shaddup about how many millions of lives, property and future they destroyed when they directly barged into Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam etc etc. Americans are no better, or even worse. Most Iraqis hate the shit out of America and Halliburton and want them out. China didn't actually send battalions or carpet bomb the hell out of Darfur directly, did they.
Let's be fair and not listen to American propaganda wholesale, the bloody hypocrites.
She ain't a true blue singaporean after all.
HOW ONE MISTAKE CAN REVEAL ONE'S DEEPEST SECRETS. SHE WILL GIVE UP S'PORE CITIZENSHIP WHEN HER TIME IS UP. ANYONE WANT TO BET?
This is a mistake of the whole SGteam for agreeing to let her be the one carrying the flag and not Lee herself. So stop putting so much blame on her.
To those people who think she isn't worth being part of the SGteam, let me say: Our ancestors once come from China / India / Malaysia... Our great great great grand parents may not be pure Singaporean born but they are the ones who help us build SG. I believe when they were here as coolies and stuff, they also get such verbal abuses by natives saying that they are unsightly and poor and smelly.
=( Shouldn't Singaporeans support Singaporeans?
Complain, complain, complain!
Keep it up sg! I salute you!
Naiser
I can't help but say again, are you retarded?
You guys noticed what kind of news those chinese women create these days?
Just Beware of them!
So fine her for her sin. But do not call her a China "bi****" because of this. Fine her, yes.
Let us live to our expection and the world's expectation of us. For aren't we a FINE city? Make it "FINE NATION"!
I've been disappointed in the past week. Yes it only takes one week for Singaporeans to change my perspective and view of Singapore.
When I was doing my Secondary School there 10 years ago, I've met great Singaporean friends. Even though we were of foreign status, people that I've met treated us as equal. Out of the five people who were sitting in the Top 5, four of us were foreign students. Regardless of what nationality we had, the school and fellow students were still proud of our achievements.
10 years have passed. Instead of becoming more understanding, tolerant of people from different background, most of you call these athletes names... 'imports', 'athlete bought from china', just to name few from 3 articles I've read so far about RS and LJW.
Why does it matter if these athletes come from different national? At the end of the day, they go into the battlefield/competition as Singaporeans. They carry Singaporean flag.
Your attitude and perspective are very different to the Australians.
We do not care if you were Chinese, Malaysians, Indonesians, Iraqis, Russians, Americans... Once you don the green and glod outfit, we see you as fellow Australians and we'll cheer for you at the Olympics.
Her decision to be Singaporean makes her a Singaporean. Face it, your ancestors were once foreigners as well. Does it disqualify them, or you, as a Singaporean? Singapore was built with foreign hands, and is still being done so.
The embracement of foreign talent was what made Rome a great nation (thousands of years ago), and was also what made America a great nation. Xenophobia does not encourage success because it limits opportunities. We should embrace and BE PROUD that someone with such talent such as Jiawei wants to be a Singapore citizen, not lambaste them.
She has my respect as a Singaporean AND as a great athlete. Congrats to the Silver medal!
cut and paste the folllowing:
http://img2.cache.netease.com/
2008/2008/8/8/
200808082234489a178.jpg
As for the imports winning silver in table tennis,
It feels like China won the Gold and the Silver coz they are from the same country BUT WITH DIFFERENT CITIZENSHIP ONLY.
Li Jiawei has adopted Singapore, but Singapore has not graciously embraced her.
We (some of us) nitpick and look for faults with a magnifying glass, not realising that we are not so great after all.
We (some of us) criticise her for not mastering the English language. How many Singaporeans do speak English? I am not tocking bout Singlish. Those can tock Singlish got plenty.
We (some of us) abuse her calling her names which she does not deserve.
Why of all the Singaporeans they must choose that China girl to hold our flag? Well, isn't it obvious. that China girl is now a Singapore girl and she puts Singapore on the world ping pong map, she brings home a medal we all crave for all these years.
That's why they choose that China (now Singapore) girl.