CHINA REFUSES TO ISSUE VISA TO FINNISH FILMMAKER

China has refused to allow Finnish documentary filmmaker Arto Halonen to attend the Beijing Olympics as part oF his country's Olympic Committee delegation, because, it claimed, he broke Chinese law on his previous visit. Between 1994 and 1998 Halonen filmed his award-winning Two Ways of Divinity in Tibet and China in which he examined China's policies towards Tibet, claiming in part that China had installed puppet religious leaders in the country. In a statement issued today (Thursday), Halonen said, "If defending the rights of Tibetan and Chinese people and aiming to get to the truth means breaking the law, the Chinese government's idea of justice is at the level of the Inquisition. The events surrounding the Olympics pose important questions to the international community why do we allow China to politicize the Olympics and manipulate its citizens through the event?"

07/08/2008