The Green Party says it will invite exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer to speak in New Zealand - just as China issued a fresh warning to other countries not to provide a platform for the woman they consider a terrorist.
Green MP Keith Locke said he had made contact with
Kadeer's World Uighur Congress over the possibility of her coming to New Zealand, but had yet to issue a formal invitation.
"China's efforts to censor Ms Kadeer and stop her explaining the issues of the Uighur people to audiences in other countries cannot be accepted," Mr Locke said.
"In actual fact, China's threats certainly make many more interested to hear what she has to say, which is why we are investigating how we can get her here."
China's warning to other countries on Thursday comes after Australia granted a visa to Ms Kadeer, a Muslim, last month despite strong objections by Beijing.
A spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman said he would not comment on whether Ms Kadeer would be granted a visa as he "generally doesn't comment on individual immigration cases".
The granting of the visa by Australia soured relations between the two countries, which was followed by the Chinese cancellation of a high-level diplomatic visit and clouded the two-way trade between Australia and its biggest export partner, worth $53 billion.
China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Jiang Yu, said on Thursday: "We hope relevant parties can recognise her true nature and not provide a stage for or facilitate her anti-China separatist activities."
The Chinese Embassy has protested against the screening of a documentary about Ms Kadeer which Maori Television broadcast this week.
It attracted only 63,000 viewers.
