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The Makings of a Beijing Olympics Medal Presenter

Posted February 6, 2008 at 03:38 PM by Rich Rodriguez

Section: Beijing 2008

BeijingForeignAffairsSchoolStudents Many hopeful women are busily training in various schools across China with the goal of grabbing a coveted spot as a medal presenter at Beijing Olympics. These programs were designed as part of a massive PR campaign to position the Chinese as warm and welcoming and eradicate any unflattering behaviors ahead of the Summer games.

The Beijing Foreign Affairs School (BFAS) and other state-run colleges, specialist dance schools, and regional contests have been given the task of “producing camera-friendly girls for awards ceremonies.” Some of the training practices include balancing a book on their head to build upright posture, studying English, cultural training, proper public etiquette, review of past medal presenters, and learning, according to 17-year-old student Li Bogeng, that “the perfect smile consists of ‘only showing the eight top teeth.’” The women must also be a required height of 1.63 meters tall (5’ 4") and be 18 - 25 years of age.

Brad Adams, Asia Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, has spoken out about these practices saying,

“In planning the Olympics, officials at the highest levels of government should publicly condemn discrimination rather than reinforce harmful stereotypes and unfair hiring practices.”

However, many of the women vying for one of the few spots on the medals podium see this moment as an important opportunity. “I have an air of elegance now, and my bearing has changed through this training program,” says Bogeng.

Sources and for more information: [Reuters][Beijing Visitor]

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