The rise of a new super-power brings its own challenges, not least trying to dictate what Australians should watch:
The Chinese Government has demanded that the Melbourne International Film Festival dump a documentary about an exiled minority leader whom they label a terrorist and blame for instigating this month’s ethnic riots in Xinjiang, which left more than 180 people dead.
The Australian film about millionaire Uighur businesswoman and grandmother Rebiya Kadeer, who was once feted by the Chinese Government as an example of ethnic harmony in China, is scheduled to premiere on August 8.
Festival director Richard Moore said the Chinese consulate in Melbourne phoned him late on Friday after the festival’s full program was published in The Age, insisting that the documentary, The 10 Conditions of Love, be withdrawn.
I saw Kadeer in Sydney a while ago and her humanity, strength and non-violent approach was clear. She is a threat because of these very attributes. The threat of a good example.