A Chinese artist, Guo Jianming, faced punishment from authorities in Urumqi for filming a Uyghur girl playing the tambur.
During visits to East Turkistan last year and early this year, Guo captured the region’s stunning landscapes and vibrant Uyghur music and art culture on video. Authorities accused him of violating China’s “Film Industry Promotion Law,” a rarely enforced regulation introduced years ago.
According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), Urumqi’s Culture and Tourism Administration charged Guo with “unauthorized filmmaking,” imposing a 75,000 yuan fine and seizing his equipment and footage. The administration cited a breach of Article 13 of the 2017 law, marking the first time it has been enforced nationwide. The focal point of the penalty was Guo’s video featuring a Uyghur girl playing the tambur.
On Wednesday interview with RFA, Guo defended his work, stating, “My videos were a personal creative project, not commercial filmmaking. They were meant to preserve artistic moments. One clip showed a Uyghur girl playing the tambur, and the authorities used it against me. This law doesn’t apply to personal recordings—they’ve misinterpreted it.” Guo stressed that his goal was to document the region’s unique artistry and scenery, not to produce a commercial film.
Guo’s lawyer, Li Shoubing, challenged the administration in a letter, calling the case unprecedented in the law’s seven-year history. He argued that the law governs organized film production, not individual recordings, and accused the administration of overstepping its authority. Li demanded the return of Guo’s equipment and the cancellation of the fine.
The Chinese government has reportedly kept Guo under scrutiny for years. In November 2022, he was detained for 15 days after supporting protests against strict Covid lockdown measures. The demonstrations followed a tragic fire in an Urumqi building, where over 40 Uyghurs perished, trapped by stringent quarantine rules.
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