Beijing threatens to boycott book fair if outspoken writer attends

Beijing has vowed to boycott the Frankfurt Book Fair next month if activist Dai Qing attends a symposium this weekend in Germany.

Dai, 68, a former journalist for the state-owned Guangming Daily who fiercely opposed the Three Gorges Dam project as well as being an activist for freedom of the press, said the General Administration of Press and Publication (Gapp) had rejected a formal invitation the event organiser sent two weeks ago.

'The German organiser told me to collect the letter from the administration so that I could apply for a visa, but an official, via SMS, told me that he had returned the letter to Germany because I was not on the name list,' Dai said, adding that the official did not explain what the list was.

She was invited by the German PEN Club to attend the International Symposium as a speaker on the topic of 'Literature: Crisis or Opportunity', on Sunday, and scheduled to return to Beijing immediately.

'I obey the law ... I don't carry bombs or have connections with sensitive groups in Xinjiang or Tibet . I don't understand,' Dai said. 'I expect to talk about historical investigative journalism, which is about the idea that a journalist should give readers all sides of history rather than following the official version. It's not sensitive at all.'

Dai said she was disappointed with the government.

China is the guest of honour at this year's Frankfurt Book Fair, which runs from October 14 to 18. According to the Gapp website, 17 mainland writers and their works will be promoted in the event, and 44 publishers will set up booths.