Google and Baidu say He Kexin is 14.

. 23 August 2008

If you haven't heard already, a man by the name of Mike Walker (under the alias Stryde Hax) recently did some digging through internet search engines Google and Baidu and uncovered documents from China's General Administration of Sport stating He Kexin's age as 14.

This is rather damaging (for the Chinese) proof from non-other than the controllers of our information universe - Google and Baidu.

Essentially, what Walker did was:

  • through a Google and Baidu search he found 2 documents that would reveal the ages of the gymnasts
  • however, those documents have been deleted (or moved to a different web address)
  • Walker was able to access the documents through the search engines "cache"
  • Cache literrally means "hide" in french. In computer-speak it represents a temporary storage location for data.
  • In the cache, the documents are formatted a little differently, but display He Kexin's birth date as January 1, 1994.

For a detailed recount of his journalistic efforts go here:
Hack the Olympics!
Olympic Hacking Part II