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Journalism of Courage
Taiwan’s second-largest city on Monday dismissed a warning from China against showing a biopic about exiled Uighur Muslim leader Rebiya Kadeer,in a move expected to further anger Beijing.
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu shrugged off China’s criticism of the city’s decision to show “The 10 Conditions of Love” later this week,saying she would not submit to censorship from the mainland.
“It would harm Kaohsiung’s position as a progressive city and a city of human rights if we blocked the film just because Beijing is against it,” she said in reply to a query raised at the city council.
Kadeer has become a lightning rod for tensions over the western Chinese region of Xinjiang,with her travels around the world irritating Beijing.
In a concession to critics,the local mayor said on Sunday the film would be screened this week rather than at the high-profile Kaohsiung Film Festival in October. This followed concern,especially in the local tourism industry,about reaction from Beijing,which considers Kadeer a criminal responsible for bloody unrest in her home region of Xinjiang in July this year.
Kadeer has denied orchestrating the July violence,in which about 200 people lost their lives when Uighurs and Han Chinese clashed,underlining ethnic tension lingering in the region.
