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Pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, Korea and Thailand have renewed their calls to boycott Disney’s live action “Mulan.” The film was released for $ 30 on Disney Plus on Friday, reviving outrage over a social media post shared by the film’s star, Liu Yifei, expressing her support for the Hong Kong police.
Prominent Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong tweeted on Friday: “Disney bows to Beijing, and as Liu Yifei openly and proudly supports police brutality in Hong Kong, I urge all who believe in human rights to #BoycottMulan.“
At the time of writing, Wong’s post had 11,000 retweets and 16,000 likes. Since the start of the controversy in August last year, the #BoycottMulan movement has spread to Korea and Thailand, where activists have organized protests and held up posters reading #BanMulan, according to Fortune.
On Friday, the hashtag #BoycottMulan was trending in the US.
–Joshua Wong 黄 之 锋 😷 (@joshuawongcf) September 4, 2020
In August 2019, when pro-democracy protests rocked Hong Kong, Liu Yifei shared an image that read: “I support the Hong Kong police. Everyone can attack me now. Shame on Hong Kong,” on popular media. social. Weibo platform. The post angered many pro-democracy protesters, who said the Hong Kong police crackdown on protesters against a new extradition law was draconian. Hong Kong police responded to the protesters with “arbitrary arrests, brutal beatings and torture,” according to a report by Amnesty International.
In July, Yifei addressed the controversy, saying “I think it’s obviously a very complicated situation and I’m not an expert,” in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “I really hope this is resolved soon … I think it is a very delicate situation.”
But while the protests could affect audiences in Hong Kong, Thailand and Korea, Disney is courting audiences in mainland China, where the film will open in theaters on September 11, according to Fortune. Mulan’s team cast popular Chinese actors, tested the film with Chinese audiences, and ensured that Chinese authorities approved the script, in an attempt to get a slice of mainland China’s $ 9 billion box office revenue.
The boycott calls are the latest in a series of challenges for the film’s release. Mulan, which had a budget of $ 200 million, was originally scheduled to open in theaters on March 27 and has been delayed multiple times due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Without an agreement in the US to bring the film to theaters, the China market represents the film’s largest audience.
Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the controversy.
On Friday, the film was available for purchase to 60 million Disney + subscribers, who can pay $ 30 (in addition to their monthly subscription of $ 7) to view the film. The movie will be available for free to Disney Plus subscribers starting December 4.
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