Hollywood director STEVEN SPIELBERG has appealed to Chinese President HU JINTAO to use his nation’s influence in Sudan to put a stop to the genocide in the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan.

In a 15 November letter to Hu released on Thursday (13Dec07) - Spielberg’s second missive this year - the filmmaker remarks the near-five-year conflict in the African nation has deteriorated since his last correspondence.

He writes, "So I write to you now with a renewed sense of urgency in the hope that China will redouble its efforts to pressure Sudan to join in a fair peace agreement and, at last, bring an end to the genocide.
"China’s economic, military and diplomatic ties to the government of Sudan continue to provide you with the influence and the obligation to press for change. Without China’s insistence, I fear Sudan will simply ‘wait out the clock’. I believe the decisive hour for Darfur is now. The world needs China to lead here. So many lives are at stake.

Spielberg - who is the artistic director for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing came under criticism earlier this year (Mar07) from actress/activist Mia Farrow for not using his involvement with the global event to speak out about the humanitarian crisis.

The armed conflict between the Arab-dominated militia group the Janjaweed and African rebels has resulted in 200,000 casualties and 2.5 million being forced from their homes since it began in 2003.