Over the last few weeks Australians have witnessed an extraordinary attempt at censorship by a foreign power. I'm speaking of course about the Chinese government and its sympathisers trying to stop the screening of the documentary, The 10 Conditions of Love, at the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF).
Their campaign has been totally counterproductive, giving the film and its protagonist, Rebiya Kadeer, far more publicity than they ever would have garnered without it. (Continues below)
The documentary is a portrait of this 62-year-old grandmother who's become the unlikely leader in exile of the Muslim minority Uighurs in the far western Chinese province of Xinjiang (or as Uighurs prefer to call it, East Turkestan). She is in Australia to speak at screenings of the film.
Kadeer was once a wealthy entrepreneur in China, and worked with the Chinese government to further the cause of her people. But after speaking out against the government, she was imprisoned. She left China in 2005 and now lives in the United States.
The trailer featured here is from the 54 minute documentary made by Australian filmmaker Jeff Daniels.
Kadeer is a tireless advocate for the rights of the Uighur people, and her efforts go well beyond this film. As well as extensive media and speaking engagements, she has also recently released an acclaimed autobiography, written with Alexandra Cavelius, called Dragon Fighter: One Woman's Epic Struggle for Peace with China.
Kadeer rejects claims by the Chinese government that she is a 'criminal' and 'terrorist'. She says her struggle is not religious, and she condemns Muslim extremists and terrorists. What she wants is peaceful coexistence with the Chinese, recognition of and respect for distinctive Uighur culture, and a degree of autonomy.
This sounds very reasonable, but as is evidenced by efforts to stop screenings of the film here and to prevent Kadeer's visit, Chinese authorities will have none of it. They lobbied hard against granting her a visa. But after extensive checks, the Australian government found the allegations that she had fomented the recent violent race riots in Xinjiang to be baseless. As a result a visa was granted.
The Chinese consul in Melbourne contacted the director of MIFF in an effort to have the film withdrawn, and our ambassador in Beijing received a dressing down over the issue. Other Chinese films were taken out of the festival in protest. This was followed by a series of