|
 Hong Kong democracy activist
Joshua Wong and internet users in Taiwan and
Thailand are among those who promoted hashtags
"#BoycottMulan" and "#BanMulan" on Twitter,
following this month's launch of the film on
Disney's streaming platform.
It will also be shown in cinemas in China - an
increasingly important market for Hollywood
studios - from Sept 11.
Criticism of the live-action remake of a 1998
animated version began last year when Mulan's
star, mainland Chinese-born actress Liu Yifei,
expressed support on social media for police in
Hong Kong, which was roiled at the time by
anti-government unrest.
Liu did not immediately respond to a request for
comment via her account on Weibo, a popular
Chinese microblogging site.
Calls for people to boycott the film gathered
pace this week over its links to the western
region of Xinjiang, where China's clampdown on
ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims has been
criticised by some governments, including the
United States, and human rights groups.
Several state organisations in Xinjiang appeared
in the film's credits, according to social media
posts.
"In the new #Mulan, @Disney thanks the public
security bureau in Turpan, which has been
involved in the internment camps in East
Turkistan," the Munich-based World Uyghur
Congress tweeted on Monday.
Asked about the reaction to the film's Xinjiang
shooting, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian
restated Beijing's denial of the existence of
re-education camps in the region, calling
facilities there vocational and educational
institutions and accusing anti-China forces of
smearing its Xinjiang policy.
Activist Wong accused Disney of "kowtowing" to
China, citing Liu and another actor's support
for Hong Kong police and the movie's credits
mentioning state organisations in Xinjiang.
[to top of second column]
|
 "We urge people around the
world to boycott the new Mulan movie," he told
Reuters on Tuesday. Disney did
not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
The movie, reported to have cost $200 million to
produce, had been scheduled to reach theaters in
March, but its release was delayed by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Last month, Disney said Mulan would skip most
theaters and go directly to its Disney+
platform.
However, it is set to premiere in Chinese
cinemas from Friday, and the studio hopes it
will do better than the animated version more
than 20 years ago.
That release was delayed after Disney's
relations with China soured over "Kundun," its
1997 movie based on the life of the exiled Dalai
Lama, whom China has branded a dangerous
separatist.
In February, director Niki Caro told The
Hollywood Reporter that Disney had tested the
film with Chinese audiences, removing a kissing
scene between Mulan and her love interest after
feedback from its Chinese executives.
(Reporting by Brenda Goh in Shanghai, Chayut
Setboonsarng in Bangkok, Yoyo Chow, Aleksander
Solum and Marius Zaharia in Hong Kong, Chen Lin
in Singapore, Heekyong Yang in Seoul, Phuong
Nguyen in Hanoi, Ben Blanchard in Taipei, Cate
Cadell in Beijing and the Shanghai newsroom;
Editing by Tony Munroe and Mike Collett-White)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
