Published by: World Tibet Network News ISSUE ID: 97/10/20

By Dominic Lau

HONG KONG, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Some film distributors said on Monday they would not show two new Hollywood movies on Tibet which have upset Hong Kong's new ruler, communist China.

One distributor said bluntly that he was afraid of angering Beijing while others gave no specific reason for their decision.

Hong Kong became part of China in July after 156 years of British rule. The fate of the films was the latest in a string of incidents in the media this year that have aroused concern about China-related self-censorship.

China has made clear it strongly opposes the movies, which portray the life of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader. He fled to India in 1959 when Chinese troops overran Tibet and suppressed a bloody anti-Beijing revolt.

``That's dangerous. It's very sensitive (subject),'' Tony Wong, owner of Cinemation Films International, told Reuters.

``We are afraid to buy it. We don't want to get into trouble,'' Wong said.

The two movies deal with the life of the Dalai Lama and China's occupation of the ``roof of the world'' region which Beijing regards as historically Chinese sovereign territory.

The first film, ``Seven Years in Tibet'' directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud and starring Brad Pitt and David Thewlis, opened in the United States last Wednesday.

The second, ``Kundun,'' made by the Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) and directed by Martin Scorsese, is based on an official biography of the Dalai Lama. It opens in the United States at Christmas.

The Chinese government has denounced Kundun and threatened Disney with commercial retaliation if it goes ahead and releases the movie. Disney has refused to back down.

Panasia, another film distributor in Hong Kong, also said it did not buy the two films, but would not state its reasons.

Hong Kong film maker Shu Kei said he had heard one or two film distributors were not going to buy the films on Tibet.

Shu criticised the practice of self-censorship by some Hong Kong film distributors and said he would try to acquire the Hong Kong rights to ``Kundun.''

``I am interested in ``Kundun'' and I will try to buy its rights in Hong Kong,'' he said.

Alice Bishop, head of the Hong Kong office of the Freedom Forum, a U.S.-based human rights group and press freedom watchdog, said it would be a shame if Hong Kong's 6.5 million people would have no chance to see the films.

``They are probably interested in it and it's really a shame that the foregone conclusion is that there isn't any interest in it and therefore it's turned down. Why not let the public decide?'' she said.

The Dalai Lama won the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent campaign against Chinese rule in Tibet, an ancient Himalayan kingdom traditionally ruled by its Buddhist clergy, with the spiritual leader acting as a kind of god-king.

Beijing has come under fire from human rights groups and western governments for its heavy-handed treatment of those seeking autonomy or independence for Tibet.

Tibet is officially an autonomous region within China and Beijing dismisses the criticism as interference in its internal affairs.

Another Hollywood movie, ``Red Corner,'' directed by Jon Avnet and starring Richard Gere, may also face distribution problems because the film criticises the Chinese legal system.