China has lodged a complaint with the Australian government over plans by exiled Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer to attend a film festival in Melbourne next week.

The Chinese authorities blame Mrs Kadeer, who lives in exile in the United States, for instigating ethnic riots in the northwestern Xinjiang region in early July. The Australian government has given Mrs Kadeer, a former political prisoner in China, a tourist visa so she can attend the premiere of a documentary about her life at Australia's largest film festival. Three Chinese films have been withdrawn from the festival in protest at the documentary's inclusion. Chinese hackers have also caused the festival's website to crash.

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