China-themed park draws protesters to front door

By Mike Schneider

Associated Press Writer

March 22, 1999

Ocala Star-Banner

KISSIMMEE, Florida (AP)_ Waving a "Free Tibet" sign and a Tibetan national flag, Jack Churchward looked out of place on the quiet stretch of road behind a busy tourist strip of motels, Waffle Houses and discount shops. After walking up the road, he and two other protesters parked themselves in front of Florida Splendid China, a theme park they claim is owned by an agency of the Communist Chinese government, they spent the next several hours trying to persuade tourists to turn their cars around and go to one of Orlando's dozens of other attractions.

Protesters, like Churchward, who object to the inclusion of exhibits about ethnic minorities oppressed by the Chinese government, have for the past five years injected politics and human-rights abuse issues in the normally escapist, fantasy landscape of Orlando theme parks. "It's a propaganda theme park," said Churchward, 41, who converted to Tibetan Buddhism 13 years ago and works as an electrical engineer at an aerospace firm from Clearwater. "They came here and thought all of us Floridians were dumb, stupid hicks and that we wouldn't read and not know any better, said Churchward. coordinator of a group called Citizens Against Communist Chinese Propaganda. "I can't in good conscience not say anything." Officials at the theme park near Walt Disney World deny that Splendid China is owned by the Chinese government, claiming it is owned by a Hong Kong holding company. However, Churchward claims the company, China Travel Services H.K. Ltd., is owned by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, part of China's highest government body, the State Council of the People's Republic of China.

The theme park, which opened in December 1993, offers visitors dozens of replicas of Chinese landmarks such as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City as well as music, dance and acrobatic performances and a free dinner. When it opened, opponents began waving protest banners and flags outside its 76-acre (31-hectare) property, which was modeled after the original Splendid China in the city of Shenzhen, near Hong Kong. "We have been telling them it is a cultural theme park," said Jim Yu, a marketing representative for Splendid China."It has nothing to do with politics." The $100 million park has had troubles carving a niche in Orlando's crowded theme park market. In contrast to the flashy rides and name-brand characters that parade around Walt Disney World and Universal Studios; Splendid China is a subdued and quiet experience, geared more for adults than children. The park attracts only several hundred visitors a day, compared with the tens of thousands of people will visit the larger theme parks daily.

They also had difficulty with their own performers, many of whom come from China each year. In the first three years, dozens of those workers requested political asylum in the United States. Churchward and members of his group have repeatedly written to Splendid China's management to either remove or change exhibits on Tibet, lnner Mongolia and Xinjiang, which the Muslim minority there calls Eastern Turkestan. The Tibetans, Mongolians and Uighurs, the Muslim minority who live in Xinjiang, claim the Chinese have stolen their independence. discouraged religious traditions and used torture and mass killings to crush dissent. China, which denies the claims, fiercely opposes giving up the land where the ethnic groups reside.