IT was supposed to be a patriotic tribute to China's technological prowess. Instead, a video showing the launch of China's first space station module inadvertently glorified the country's biggest rival. A video animation put together by state television to mark the highly publicised launch of Tiangong-1 - or Heavenly Palace - is set to the music of America the Beautiful, a patriotic song about the United States. It was unclear whether the choice of song - which includes the line: America! America! God shed His grace on thee - was a mistake. China launched its first space laboratory module yesterday in a step toward a manned station orbiting Earth, two months after the final shuttle mission halted the U.S.’s ability to put people into orbit . The Tiangong-1 blasted off 9:16 p.m. local time, according the official Xinhua News Agency. President Hu Jintao watched from the control center in Beijing and Premier Wen Jiabao was at the launch site in...
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