China Regrets Spielberg Decision

China has expressed regret over film director Steven Spielberg's decision to pull out as artistic adviser to the Beijing Olympics over the Darfur issue.
The foreign ministry said "ulterior motives" may be behind criticism of its links with Sudan.The director said his conscience would not allow him to continue in his role. China has strong economic and military ties with Sudan, which campaigners say it should use to put pressure on Khartoum to resolve the Darfur crisis. A UK newspaper has published a letter from 80 Nobel laureates and artists urging Beijing to help end the conflict.
'Empty rhetoric'
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said: "We have taken notice that recently there have been many controversies and actions involving China and Darfur.
"It is understandable if some people do not understand the Chinese government policy on Darfur, but I am afraid that some people may have ulterior motives, and this we cannot accept," he told a news conference. "China is also concerned about the humanitarian situation in Darfur. [But] empty rhetoric will not help. We hope that relevant people will be more pragmatic." Beijing says it has appointed a special envoy to Darfur and sent peacekeepers to the region. But many, including Steven Spielberg, say that is not enough. At least 200,000 people have died and two million forced from their homes in the five-year conflict in Sudan's Darfur region, where pro-government militia are accused of widespread atrocities.Sudan denies backing the Janjaweed militia and says the suffering in Darfur has been exaggerated.
Sudan sells some two-thirds of its oil to Beijing, while Beijing sells weapons to the Sudanese government and has blocked efforts to pressure Khartoum in the UN Security Council. Campaigners say arms sold by China to the Sudanese government that have been used in Darfur. Mr Spielberg's announcement late on Tuesday is Beijing's first big setback in staging the Olympics, analysts say.
The renowned director, who had been brought in as artistic adviser for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games, said his conscience would not allow him to continue in the role. Sudan's government bears the bulk of the responsibility for these ongoing crimes, but the international community, and particularly China, should be doing more," he said. Adding to the pressure, British newspaper the Independent has published on its front page the full text of a letter signed by 80 Nobel laureates, politicians and artists to Chinese President Hu Jintao urging greater action on Darfur. Signatories include South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu, US former Senator Bill Frist and British playwright Tom Stoppard, as well as a host of former Olympians. The letter, released by campaigning group Crisis Action on 12 February, said China had both the opportunity and the responsibility to help bring peace to the troubled region.
"Ongoing failure to rise to this responsibility amounts, in our view, to support for a government that continues to carry out atrocities against its own people," the letter said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7244133.stm

Steven Spielberg Does The Right Thing

US film director Steven Spielberg has withdrawn as an artistic adviser for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. In a statement, he accused China of not doing enough to pressure Sudan to end the "continuing human suffering" in the troubled western Darfur region.At least 200,000 people have been killed and two million forced from their homes in the five-year conflict. Beijing has not yet responded to the move, which correspondents say is its first big setback in staging the Games.
A source in the Beijing Olympic Committee said a response was being discussed at the highest levels but had not yet been made public.But the BBC's James Reynolds in Beijing says the decision will anger and worry the authorities there.Since Beijing won the right to host the Games it has always tried to keep China's politics and China's Olympics separate, he says, and it has attacked anyone who has tried to link the two.
Boycott call
Mr Spielberg, who had been brought in as artistic adviser for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games, said the cause of Darfur was more important than his role. "I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue business as usual," he said in a statement."At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies, but on doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur."
He added: "Sudan's government bears the bulk of the responsibility for these on-going crimes, but the international community, and particularly China, should be doing more." Rebel groups in Darfur said this was exactly the kind of pressure that was needed to get Beijing to change its policy towards the Sudanese government.
"This is a noble move by Spielberg," Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) leader Abdul Wahid Mohammad Ahmed al-Nur told the Sudan Tribune newspaper."He will certainly go down in history as someone who gave human lives precedence over fame and money."
Ahmed Abdel Shafi, who leads an SLM splinter group, told the BBC: "I commend him for his strong position. This is a lesson to the rest of the world that people should distance themselves from China." Another group, the Justice and Equality Movement, has appealed to countries sending teams to boycott the games. The International Olympic Committee said the decision was a personal one made by Mr Spielberg.
"The IOC recognise Darfur is a highly complex issue, with tragic circumstances, but is a matter for the UN to resolve," the committee said in a statement.
Desperate time's
Sudan, with its vast oil reserves, sells some two-thirds of its oil to Beijing.
In turn, Beijing sells weapons to the Sudanese government and has defended Khartoum in the UN Security Council. As a result, China has been criticised for its links with a government ostracised by many for its role in the ongoing crisis in Darfur.
Earlier on Tuesday, as part of a "Global Day of Action" focusing on Darfur, an open letter signed by Nobel Peace Prize laureates and former Olympians was sent to China's president. Actress Mia Farrow, who signed the letter and had pressed Mr Spielberg to end his involvement, said his decision sent out the right signal to the Chinese government.She said: "I'm delighted by his decision and it's a desperate time for Darfur, so this is a shred of good news in a very bleak week."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7242016.stm