The Country is all, the people mean nothing

The title of this piece is how I believe many in our authoritarian Labour government actually think and it is also how the Chinese government thinks.

"The reason for this is that we must put our country's interest first ... The girl appearing on the picture must be flawless in terms of her facial expression and the great feeling she can give to people."

Those are the words of the ceremony's musical director when he explained why the 9 year old girl who charmed the audience with a performance of "Ode to the Motherland" was miming. The vocal line was apparently sung by another girl who was deemed not pretty enough to appear on screen.