UIGHUR DOCUMENTARY AT CENTER OF LATEST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 001149

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/21/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM CH TW
SUBJECT: UIGHUR DOCUMENTARY AT CENTER OF LATEST
CROSS-STRAIT DUST-UP

Classified By: AIT Director Bill Stanton. Reasons 1.4 (b)(d)


1. (C) Summary: At the urging of the city government, a
Kaohsiung film festival rescheduled the screening of a
documentary about Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer in hopes of
lessening possible PRC repercussions on the local economy.
Several mainland tourist groups have cancelled visits to
Kaohsiung for a variety of reasons, and the city's
hospitality industry fears the scheduled screening of the
movie could lead to further declines. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen
Chu,s decision to screen the film before the start of the
festival, instead of cancelling it altogether, was seen as
playing to her political base of voters who would see
cancellation as kowtowing to Beijing. End Summary.

Had We Known...
--------------


2. (C) The non-partisan Kaohsiung Film Archives, organizers
of the October 10-29 Kaohsiung Film Festival, told
AIT/Kaohsiung it had not foreseen opposition from Beijing
over the decision to screen "The 10 Conditions of Love," a
documentary about Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer. The
organizers defended the film's selection as an act of free
speech and artistic expression. Nonetheless, at the request
of the Kaohsiung City government, the screening was moved
forward to nearly three weeks before the festival's opening
in an attempt to put the controversy to rest early. An
initial special screening for invited guests was held
September 22, with more screenings through the following day.
There were no immediate reports of protests.

Tit For Tat?
--------------


3. (C) Even before the controversy over the Kadeer film,
Mayor Chen had earned Beijing's ire by inviting the Dalai
Lama to Taiwan to console victims of Typhoon Morakot.
Kaohsiung,s tourism sector subsequently complained to the
city government about several Chinese tour group
cancellations. The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau Director told
AIT/K about 5,000 hotel room reservations in Kaohsiung had
been cancelled in September, and he speculated Typhoon
Morakot, the Dalai Lama visit, H1N1 flu and the Kadeer film
all were factors.


4. (C) Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Economic Director Lee
Li-jane told AIT on September 21 that China had made no
formal protest over the Dalai Lama's visit. Lee said MAC had
learned, however, that Chinese officials recently had advised
travel agents to delay organizing trips to Kaohsiung City and
County without specifying why. The visitor slowdown, Lee
said, was due in part to typhoon damage to favorite tourist
attractions. He noted that China had indicated tours to
Taiwan could be increased after expected road repairs in
those tourist areas were completed in early October.

Political Motive?
--------------


5. (SBU) Accurate or not, the vision of China using its
growing economic importance to Taiwan to influence the
island's political and social life plays into the opposition
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) message that President
Ma's efforts to improve cross-Strait ties will only make
Taiwan more vulnerable to PRC coercion. Certainly, some saw
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen,s decision to move up the screening of
the film, instead of cancelling it outright, as a move to
balance the demands of the tourism industry with a political
base within the DPP that is wary of China's designs on
Taiwan. In a September 21 island-wide poll conducted by
Apple Daily, 57% of respondents supported the decision to
screen the Kadeer film, while 34% were concerned about the
effect of the screening on local tourism. Support for Mayor
Chen,s decision may have been even higher in Kaohsiung,
which is a DPP stronghold. Meanwhile, editorials in the mass
circulation Apple Daily, pro-DPP Liberty Times and other
media outlets lambasted China for its "interference in
Taiwan's domestic affairs" and encouraged the people of
Taiwan to stand resolute in support of the film as a symbol
of democracy and freedom of expression. Also, the directors
of two films about political prisoners during Taiwan's
martial law era withdrew their films from the festival to
protest Mayor Chen's decision to cancel the documentary's
official screening.


6. (SBU) While Koumintang (KMT) politicians in Kaohsiung have
not publicly linked the decline in mainland tourism to Mayor

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Chen's decision to invite the Dalai Lama, followed by the
film festival controversy, a small number of KMT legislators
in Taipei have done so. Premier Wu Den-yih indicated he
respected the Kaohsiung government's decision to screen the
film and would not involve the Executive Yuan in the matter.
STANTON