Originally published by Radio Taiwan International, 12 February 2010

A pro-Taiwan independence group said Friday it has again invited Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer to visit Taiwan. That’s after a previous trip was prevented by the government over concerns it would provoke China.

Head of the organization Guts United Taiwan, Freddy Lim, extended the invitation when he met Kadeer in Washington on Wednesday.

The group said in a statement that Kadeer wished very much to visit Taiwan for DVD release of the Chinese version of her biopic, The Ten Conditions of Love. The DVD is scheduled to be released in Taiwan in March.

Last year Kadeer’s biopic was screened across Taiwan, including at a high-profile film festival in the southern city of Kaohsiung. This screening reportedly prompted Beijing to tell its tourists to boycott the city.

The Taiwanese government then refused to grant Kadeer a visa, citing security concerns. Government officials suggested that the World Uighur Congress, which Kadeer heads, is linked to a terrorist group.

Beijing accuses Kadeer of orchestrating ethnic violence in China’s northwest region of Xinjiang last year. Kadeer has denied these charges.

http://english.rti.org.tw/Content/GetSingleNews.aspx?ContentID=95969