Published by: World Tibet Network News Wednesday, December 17, 1997

BEIJING, Dec 17 (AFP) - China lashed out Wednesday at the Hollywood movie "Seven Years in Tibet", calling it "cheap stuff" based on "invented stories."

The official Xinhua news agency quoted a Tibetan researcher from the China Tibetology Center as saying the film, which stars Brad Pitt, "distorts historical events and portays an untruthful picture of the Tibetan natural environment."

"It is really cheap stuff and full of loopholes. I'm especially irritated by the fact that it prettifies a Nazi while vilifying Tibetans," the researcher, Dotar, said.

"Seven Years in Tibet" which was released in October, stars Pitt as a Nazi Austrian mountaineer who escapes from a British prison camp and stumbles into Tibet. He befriends Tibet's spiritual leader Dalai Lama and stays in the region for seven years.

China has been waging a campaign in Tibet against the exiled Dalai Lama, whom Beijing accuses of seeking independence for the troubled region.

Beijing has kept strict control over religious life in Tibet, banning pictures of the Nobel Peace laureate in temples and monasteries.

"The ignorance of the movie makers is shocking. They seem to try to cheat their audience," Dotar said.

China has previously indicated its objections to "Seven Years in Tibet" as well as the Hollywood films, "Kundun" which depicts the life of the Dalai Lama and "Red Corner" starring Tibetan activist Richard Gere as a US businessman framed for murder.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tang Guoqiang reiterated last week Beijing's objections to the film, saying that they "demonize China" and have "greatly hurt the feelings of the Chinese people."