FAKE FIREWORKS, fake singers and now fake ethnic minorities. Beijing Olympics organisers have admitted that children from China's dominant Han population were used in the opening ceremony last week, not youngsters from all 56 ethnic groups as previously claimed.
The news brings the issue of China's treatment of the minority ethnic groups within its borders back into sharp relief, following accusations that Beijing has sought to drown out dissenting voices from different ethnic groups during the Games.
The Han ethnic group accounts for more than 90 per cent of China's 1.3 billion people and is the dominant cultural group.
The 56 children who carried out the Chinese flag in a moment intended to showcase national harmony were all Han Chinese, but organisers played down the significance of using Han children to represent China's ethnic diversity.
"It is typical for Chinese performers to wear different apparel from different ethnic groups," said Wang Wei, spokesman for the organisers.
"There is nothing special about it. They will wear different apparel to signify people are friendly and happy together."
Organisers often use Han Chinese instead of the genuine ethnic groups in national displays to avoid any spontaneous outbursts of independence.
Meanwhile, Tibetan rights campaigners yesterday staged a protest in Beijing when they abseiled down one of the capital's iconic landmarks to unfurl a "Free Tibet" banner over the top of an Olympic Games banner.
The Students for a Free Tibet group said that five of their members - three Americans, a Briton and a Canadian - were involved in the action at the CCTV headquarters, which was designed by the famous Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.
All five were later expelled from China.