A video showing a dress rehearsal of the Beijing games opening ceremony has been unexpectedly released on Korean television.
Given the recent news that
China has reneged on their pledge to allow free internet access to journalists covering the games, this video could show a rare chink in the armour of the State.
Having been shown on Korean TV, rather than Chinese, it seems very likely that the government had no plans to release this film.
Who did leak it will almost certainly remain a mystery.
The strength of the Chinese State has grown inexorably since economic liberalism. Recent strong growth has led to China's international power rapidly reaching similar levels to its domestic control.
That they so brazenly broke the free media agreement made while bidding for the war, to the deafening silence of western politicians and meek acceptance of the IOC, surely says a lot about how inert our leaders feel in face of China.
Domestically their power is near total. Most famously, Chinese blogger
Hu Jia is currently serving three-and-a-half sentence for his documentation of human rights abuses.
Reporters Without Borders issued a damning verdict of their media freedom last year, which makes a leaked video of their most prized asset all the more surprising.
Just possibly it was planned so foreigners would believe their control weaker than it really is. Just as likely someone could be languishing in jail indefinitely for its publication. Whether a State-controlled media coup or a brave show of defiance, this is our first glimpse of the Chinese take on Olympic tradition.
