Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

October 15, 2008 10:37:03 PM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Hollywood Shapes China's Darfur Policy

Posted Apr 13, 07 9:08 AM CDT in World,  Arts & Living 

(Newser) – China is finally joining the international outcry over genocide in Darfur—and it’s down to Hollywood clout, not Washington’s. Long one of Sudan’s closest protectors, China is suddenly calling on the government to accept UN peacekeepers. The reason, reports the Times: Mia Farrow and Steven Spielberg are leading a charge to tie the Beijing Olympics to the country's policies on Sudan.

Farrow, a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, recently called them the “Genocide Olympics” and warned Spielberg, artistic adviser to the Games, that he risked becoming “the Leni Riefenstahl of the Beijing Games,” a reference to the Nazi propagandist who filmed the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Spielberg in turn approached Chinese President Hu Jintao to help “bring an end to the human suffering” in Darfur.

Source New York Times

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • China Revokes Visa of Olympian Darfur Activist

    Aug 6, 08 8:56 AM CDT
    China Revokes Visa of Olympian Darfur Activist Hours before he was due to leave for Beijing today, US gold-medalist and Darfur activist Joey Cheek got a call from Chinese authorities revoking his visa, the Boston Globe reports. A retired speedskater, Cheek is the founder of Team Darfur, a global group of athletes devoted to bringing peace to the area of Sudan torn by violence. He was headed to China as a human rights activist.
    More »

  • China's New Artist Policy Could Ban Spielberg

    Jul 18, 08 4:33 PM CDT
    China's New Artist Policy Could Ban Spielberg Steven Spielberg or his films could be banned from China under the new rules barring artists seen as a threat to national sovereignty, the Hollywood Reporter notes. Spielberg rankled Chinese leadership when he publicly withdrew from an artistic advisory board for the Beijing Olympics in protest of the nation’s trade arrangements with Sudan. More »

  • Clooney Wound Up Over Omega Role in Olympics

    Mar 12, 08 3:45 AM CDT
    Clooney Wound Up Over Omega Role in Olympics Actor George Clooney is pressuring watchmaker Omega, a key sponsor of  the Beijing Olympics, to speak out against China's involvement in Darfur. Clooney, a spokesman for the legendary Swiss company, is the latest Hollywood figure to use the upcoming Olympics as leverage against China, the strongest ally of Sudan, which is wreaking havoc in Darfur. "I have talked with Omega about China for over a year," said Clooney, who was recently made a UN peace envoy. More »

  • Olympic Sponsors Targeted Over China-Darfur Links

    Feb 20, 08 1:19 PM CST
    Olympic Sponsors Targeted Over China-Darfur Links Activists are preparing to plaster college campuses with posters with charges like “McDonald’s: Proud Sponsor of the Genocide Olympics,” hoping to pressure multinational corporations sponsoring the Beijing Games into doing more about Darfur, BusinessWeek reports. Buying oil from Sudan makes China a sponsor of the region's genocide, the thinking goes, and Olympics backers like McDonald's are sponsoring the sponsors of the killing. More »

  • Spielberg Quits '08 Olympics Over Darfur

    Feb 12, 08 7:33 PM CST
    Spielberg Quits '08 Olympics Over Darfur Steven Spielberg stepped down today as a 2008 Beijing Olympics adviser over China’s links to the Darfur genocide, the BBC reports. “I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue business as usual,” the filmmaker said. China has been criticized for buying oil from the Sudan, selling it weapons, and supporting it at the UN while Khartoum has waged war in Darfur. More »

US director Steven Spielberg arrives at   (Getty Images (by Event))
(FILES) This file picture taken 21 February 2007 at the Sakali...   (Getty Images)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Threads (
1
 of 8)

Tags

China  • 2008 Beijing Olympics  • Hollywood  • Sudan  • Darfur  • Olympic Games  • Steven Spielberg  • Mia Farrow


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other Home Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »