For many Disney fans, Mulan is the story of a true heroine who battles and defies expectations to save China. It is a story of family, honour, and staying true to who you are. When Disney announced their plans to create a live-action version of the beloved animation it was met with joy from the Disney community, and a hope that this new film would breathe new life into the story and pay homage to the Chinese legend.

This joy was stripped away when the starring actor was announced to be Yifei Liu. In August 2019, as political unrest in Hong Kong boiled over into protests, Liu sparked online backlash after she shared a social media post in support of the Hong Kong police force, which was under international scrutiny for alleged brutality, and added her own comment which read: 

"I support the Hong Kong police. You can all attack me now. What a shame for Hong Kong."

Immediately, people took to Twitter, which is banned in China, and encouraged people to #BoycottMulan across the world. Within a few hours, the hashtag was trending in Hong Kong and the United States. Twitter users accused the actress of supporting police brutality, and also pointed to the freedoms she enjoys as an American citizen.

Meanwhile on Weibo, the dominant social media platform in China, she received praise for her statement. The comments echoed her declaration and showed support for her and her opinion. However, it is noted that Weibo is subject to censorship, and may not have accurately represented the public response within China.

The controversy continued upon the film’s release, which was delayed due to COVID-19. Due to the global pandemic, the film bypassed the cinema and was sent straight to Disney+, Disney’s own streaming platform. 

Fans who paid the premium fee to watch the film in their own homes, noticed another human rights issue in the film’s final credits. The credits are seen to specifically thank the publicity department of CPC Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) Committee.  Xinjiang is a location of huge human rights concerns as it is reported that the Chinese government has imprisoned more than one million people in the region since 2017 and subjected those not detained to intense surveillance, religious restrictions, and forced sterilizations. The United States has sanctioned officials and blacklisted dozens of Chinese agencies linked to abuses in Xinjiang. Despite this, Disney chose to film at this location. 

A Twitter user also pointed out that despite Disney filming in Xinjiang, the subtitles throughout the film refer to this location as “Northwest China” which she asserts to be a further attempt to conceal the filming locations in order to avoid public scrutiny.  Disney did respond to these accusations and their head of finance, Christine McCarthy, released a statement saying that “the criticism is overblown and that only small portions of the film were shot in Xinjiang.” 

Disney’s comments did not satisfy the concerns of the public and people continued to tweet their outrage at Disney’s disregard for human rights and support of such inhumane regimes. On the day of the film release, Hong Kong activist and politician Joshua Wong encouraged "everyone who believes in human rights to #BoycottMulan." The tweet currently has over 28,000 retweets. 

This concern spread to the political sphere where Iain Duncan Smith, a UK Conservative MP, took to the House of Commons floor on the 8th September 2020 to declare that Disney had “shamefully appeared to turn a blind eye” to these serious human rights abuses and that it was “shameful that they seem to act as the apologists for a regime now that brooks no dissent.”  

On 11th September 2020, the U.S Lawmakers who chair the China Commission, sent a bipartisan letter to Walt Disney Co CEO Bob Chapek. The letter was enquiring about the filming in XUAR and asked for further information regarding Disney’s relationship with security and propaganda entities that are responsible for committing, and covering up, the ongoing atrocities in the XUAR. The commission published the letter to Twitter and it was retweeted by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), which monitors human rights and the rule of law and submits an annual report to President Donald Trump and Congress.

Ironically, the film was also released in China on the 11th September 2020, and earned 46 million yuan ($6.7 million) at the box office by 8 p.m. (12:00 GMT). So, whilst the world continues to voice their outrage at Disney’s reinforcement of the inhumane treatment and human rights violations of the XUAR, China appears to have looked past these issues and just enjoyed the movie.

Olivia is part of the Human Rights Pulse team. She publishes online content and manages subscriber communications as part of the Social Media and Marketing Team. Olivia is studying the BPTC LLM and hopes to soon be called to the Bar of England and Wales.

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