All of the children who held a flag during the part of the opening cermonies meant to signify national unity of cultures were from the majority Han ethnicity, a new report claims. Chinese officials had claimed the youngsters had come from all 56 ethnic groups in China.

The 56 children who carried out the Chinese flag in a moment meant to showcase national harmony were all from the Han majority, an official with the dance troupe that they belonged to told the Asian Wall Street Journal.

“I assume they think the kids were very natural looking and nice,” the paper quoted Yuan Zhifeng, deputy director of Galaxy Children’s Art Troupe, as saying.

The troupe is made up exclusively of children from the Han ethnic group, which accounts for more than 90 percent of China’s more than 1.3 billion people, according to the paper.

Official Chinese television shows and other performances often feature the Han Chinese representing minority groups.

An organizer for the Olympics and a person who answered the phone at the troupe refused to comment. If true, this would mark the fourth “scandal” involving the 2008 Olympics. The previous 3 scandals include:

• The fireworks seen during the opening ceremonies were actually pre-recorded and edited in later.
• Official documents and state-run newspapers in China listed members of the nation’s gymnastics team as being too young to compete consistently. They also appeared younger than the required 16-year-old requirement. Chinese officials presented passports as proof as eligibility and the IOC accepted it at face value, but the passports were issued shortly before the games and the Chinese government had been training its Olympians itself.
• The girl who supposedly sang the Chinese anthem at the opening ceremonies was actually lip-syncing. The young lady who was really singing was deemed not flawless enough to be used on camera.

This all comes at a sensitive time for the Chinese, who are attempting to showcase their modernization and improvements.