Hollywood's latest releases will not be shown in mainland cinemas because of government protests against alleged anti-China bias by overseas film-makers. Authorities yesterday acknowledged Communist Party censors would block the import of two Western-produced films critical of China's 46-year occupation of Tibet. Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang said censors remained vigilant against questionable content of foreign films. 'Films are never banned in China,' Mr Shen said. 'However, sometimes we must make changes.' The blacklisted United States productions include Seven Years in Tibet, a US$60 million (HK$464 million) adaptation of an autobiography by the Dalai Lama's maths tutor, to be released on October 8. Kundun, a sympathetic film biography of the Dalai Lama, is scheduled for release in December by Walt Disney's Touchstone Pictures. The Foreign Ministry previously threatened to retaliate against Disney business interests for producing a film that 'distorts history and sings the praises of the Dalai Lama'. President Jiang Zemin has urged domestic studios to 'reflect the greatness' of socialism through such productions as Red River Valley, which depicts alleged British atrocities in turn-of-the-century Tibet.
