A Taiwanese film festival is set to screen a documentary on the exiled leader of the The Kaohsiung Film Festival is scheduled to show The 10 Conditions of Love about World Uyghur Congress leader Rebiya Kadeer, organizer Liu Hsiu-ying (劉秀英) said.
“We selected the Kadeer film because it fits one of this year’s themes — ‘people power.’ Our goal is to promote arts and culture, we hope people will not view the choice from a political angle,” Liu said.
More than 70 films from around the world are scheduled to be screened at the festival between Oct. 16 and Oct. 29, she said, adding it was a coincidence that none of them was from China.
Beijing has labeled the US-based Muslim minority leader a “criminal” and accused her of inciting recent ethnic violence in the Xinjiang region in which authorities say nearly 200 people died.
Last month, China protested Kadeer’s visit to Australia for the screening of her biopic at the Melbourne International Film Festival, while Chinese directors boycotted the festival.
Observers said screening the Kadeer film is likely to further irritate Beijing, which is already seething over the Dalai Lama’s visit last week.
The Tibetan spiritual leader was invited by seven local government chiefs in the south to comfort victims of Typhoon Morakot.
He had said repeatedly that his visit was “non-political,” but China voiced anger and canceled several delegations to Taiwan.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) did not meet the Dalai Lama during the monk’s visit.