WASHINGTON, Dec 11 (AFP) - Forty-one members of the US film industry sent an open letter Tuesday to the Chinese government to protest Beijing's bid to block a US film on Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

"We ... have, over the last several years, become increasingly alarmed at the Chinese government's attempts to dictate what artistic projects can be undertaken in or on China," Hollywood stars including Paul Newman, Richard Gere, and Barbra Streisand said in a letter to Chinese Ambassdor Li Daoyu.

Disney Studios has resisted pressure from Beijing over "Kundun," a movie about the Dalai Lama, whose nonviolent campaign to preserve Tibetan Buddhism and oppose China's annexation of his Himalayan homeland has annoyed Beijing for decades.

The letter lauded Disney's stand against the Chinese government even though Beijing has hinted that the film could jeopardize the company's plans to build a theme park near Shanghai.

China's efforts to "restrict the right of producers, directors, distributors, writers, and others to freedom of expression are wholly unacceptable," said the letter, dated December 10 and released Wednesday to AFP by Human Rights Watch Asia.

"The latest example is your government's threat to use its market clout to halt production of 'Kundun,'" the Hollywood notables said.

They urged film companies to "actively and publicly oppose" all Chinese government efforts at censorship or intimidation and to demand distribution agreements that bar government restriction or review.

"We are eager for good relations with your government and with our Chinese colleagues, but respect for freedom of expression must underpin those ties," they wrote.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Cui Tiankai said last month that "any words or actions which distort the story of Tibet or make apologies for the Dalai Lama do not conform with reality."

Among those who signed the protest letter were film directors Oliver Stone, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Spike Lee, and actors Richard Dreyfuss, Tim Robbins, and Susan Sarandon.