Yesterday, Disney’s live-action adaptation of Mulan was finally released after several delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was released via $30 Premier Access on Disney+, but will be available for no additional fee on the platform come December. Calls to boycott the film are trending once again due to remarks previously made by the film’s star, Liu Yifei.
In August 2019, Liu Yifei posted on Weibo, a Twitter-like Chinese social media platform, the following quote by Fu Guohao, a reporter for the Communist Party-run Global Times: “I support the Hong Kong police. You can all attack me now.” Liu then confirmed she agreed with the quote by stating, “I also support the Hong Kong police.”
This was in response to the protests happening in Hong Kong, which began in March 2019 as peaceful demonstrations and have escalated since then due to clashes with Hong Kong police. Not dissimilar to the recent Black Lives Matter protests in the USA, the Hong Kong protestors are resisting police brutality as well as the suppressive nature of the mainland Chinese government.
Liu’s comment sparked the #BoycottMulan hashtag on various social media platforms, but mainly Twitter, which is banned in China. Her comments have lead many to say that she supports police brutality and is anti-democracy and anti-freedom. Stand With Hong Kong tweeted “There is no honour in supporting an authoritarian regime.”
The Los Angeles Times have reached out to Disney for comment regarding the boycott but received no response.
Liu was born in China but immigrated to the United States at 10 years old. She became a USA citizen, but moved back to China to pursue her acting career at 15 years old.
#BoycottMulan has trended with each piece of news regarding the film’s release and has continued to spark discussion on Twitter this weekend.
Heard it wasn’t very good anyways, it’s a shame they didn’t go with Ming-Na Wen, she’s been amazing in Shield and is the original Mulan. I think Mulan could be a good film with an adult woman as the lead.
This is stupid. She comes from a country where they can literally arrest you for saying the wrong thing. They don’t have freedom of speech there. Maybe she was just trying to protect herself.
Disney should take that into their consideration. Maybe hire an Asian American actress with Chinese heritage? Ming-Na Wen comes to mind. They also had their choice of Taiwanese (Republic or China) actresses.
That’s rubbish. She could have just kept her silence.
Not dissimilar to the protests in the United States? You’re seriously comparing between protests in America to protests against a dictatorship???? Wow.
I look forward to the follow up article that provides a detailed, statistical analysis of the success of this boycott.
I will be buy this movie it was a great movie will support our police there good ones and bad ones
She is supporting Hong Kong’s police, not the USA’s. The Hong Kong Police are taking away their democracy.
I just watch Mulan on the 4th September 2020. I liked the movie. Liu Yifei is a very good actress. I will continue to watch any of her movies and dramas.