China complains to Australia about Uighur`s visit

Canberra: China has repeatedly complained to the Australian government about the planned visit to a Melbourne film festival of a Uighur activist whom Beijing accuses of inciting ethnic riots in its far west, an official said Wednesday.Rebiya Kadeer — who lives in exile in the United States — will attend the Melbourne International Film Festival on Aug. 8 for the premier of a film about her life, "10 Conditions of Love." She denies being behind the violence this month between Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese in the Xinjiang region that left nearly 200 dead.

She is set to arrive in Melbourne next Wednesday and is scheduled to address the National Press Club in Canberra on Aug 11 in a nationally televised speech before she returns to Washington, her host and film producer John Lewis said. The complaints are the latest in a string of objections to the screening and Kadeer`s appearance: Festival director Richard Moore said an official from the Chinese consulate in Melbourne asked him to withdraw the film about three weeks ago. Two Chinese directors have pulled their films in protest. The festival`s Web site has also been hacked into — an attack Moore blames on his refusal to scrap the Kadeer film or her visit. "I can confirm that the Chinese embassy has made representations here in Canberra," a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman told The Associated Press under condition of anonymity, citing policy. "The matter has been discussed several times, both in Canberra and Beijing," she said. "We do not ordinarily comment on the details of bilateral discussions." A Chinese embassy official was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday. China`s Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said this month that Beijing opposed any country providing the 62-year-old businesswoman "with a stage for her anti-China separatist activities." Gang added Monday that China "expresses strong dissatisfaction" with the Japanese government for allowing Kadeer to visit this week. The festival closes on August 9. Bureau Report