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"The Three-Body Problem" and two sequels were
written by Chinese author Liu Cixin. Netflix announced earlier
this month that it was turning the books into a live-action,
English-language TV series led by D.B Weiss and David Benioff,
the creators of HBO megahit "Game of Thrones." Liu serves as a
consulting producer on the project.
In a letter to Netflix, the senators pointed to comments by Liu
to the New Yorker magazine in 2019 about China's clampdown on
ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims in the Xinjiang region.
"If anything, the government is helping their economy and trying
to lift them out of poverty," Liu said. "If you were to loosen
up the country a bit, the consequences would be terrifying."
The United States and human rights groups have criticized
China's treatment of the Uighurs. China’s foreign ministry has
repeatedly denied the existence of internment camps in Xinjiang,
calling the facilities vocational and educational institutions
and accusing what it calls anti-China forces of smearing its
Xinjiang policy.
Walt Disney Co <DIS.N> was criticized by U.S. lawmakers recently
for filming parts of "Mulan" in Xinjiang.
In the letter to Netflix, senators led by Marsha Blackburn of
Tennessee said the company's decision to adapt Liu's work
amounted to "normalization" of the Chinese government's
"crimes."
"In the face of such atrocities in (Xinjiang), there no longer
exist corporate decisions of complacency, only complicity," they
wrote.
The senators asked Netflix to "seriously reconsider the
implications of providing a platform to Mr. Liu in producing
this project."
Netflix had no immediate comment.
The Netflix streaming service is available in more than 190
countries but does not operate in China.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Tom Brown)
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