China puts prettiest face forward for the Olympics, despite critics

Olympics organizers revealed Wednesday some of the training that thousands of young women are undergoing in the hope of working as medal ceremony assistants, a process that has been criticized as discriminatory because only young and attractive women are eligible.

Thirty-two young women were shown being drilled in rows in how to smile, walk elegantly, greet guests and to hold medal trays, under the watchful eye of hundreds of journalists attending the press event at a gymnasium at a vocational training school outside Beijing.

Similar short courses are taking places throughout the country, but less than 400 candidates will be chosen to take part in medal ceremonies when the Games take place in August.

U.S.-based Human Rights Watch criticized Olympics organizers last month for stipulating that only attractive women between the age of 18 and 25 and over 1.68 meters tall will be eligible, describing it as ''discriminatory.''

''Officials at the highest levels of government should publicly condemn discrimination rather than reinforce harmful stereotypes and unfair hiring practices,'' it said.

Olympic officials declined to comment on the criteria for picking successful candidates Wednesday, but Liu Wenjing, the vice principal of the college that hosted the press event, said nine of its students have already been selected.

''They're all about 1.68 meters tall, good looking and with good figures...up the standards needed to take part in the ceremonies,'' he said.

Girls taking part in the training exercises, part of which involved balancing a book on their heads to show the correct deportment, said that beauty is not the most important criteria for selection.

Liu Junmei, 17, who like all the other girls taking part in the course is training to be an air hostess, said, ''I think the most important thing is our smile, showing the beauty inside.''

''It would be a dream to take part in the Olympic Games. I want to help serve my country. I am so proud we are holding the Games,'' she said.

China's government is going to huge lengths to ensure that every part of the Olympic Games will present the country in the best possible light.

Building work on most Olympic venues has already been completed and public education campaigns are underway to ensure that Beijing citizens do not embarrass the host nation with ''uncivilized'' behavior such as spitting or jumping queues.

Zhang Lijia, a writer and social commentator based in Beijing, said Western criticism over only using attractive girls to present medals will be met with indifference in China, where beauty contests are regularly aired on TV.

''The feminist movement has not formed a force here and few voice opposition to beauty contests as few would associate it with degrading women or being sexist,'' she said.

''Bear in mind that pursuing beauty wasn't allowed for many years under Mao (Zedong)'s strict regime. Only in Deng (Xiaping)'s reform era did China start to unbutton Mao's straight jacket and maybe in some ways we have now gone to the other extreme.''