#BoycottMulan trends as film thanks province responsible for detaining Muslims

Glitz

TBS Report
08 September, 2020, 01:20 pm
Last modified: 08 September, 2020, 01:24 pm
The Xinjiang province at question here has long been under fire for alleged detainment of 1 million Uyghur Muslims

Disney's live-action Mulan adaptation is finally getting its much-awaited screen and Disney+ release. However, the film is faced with massive backlash surrounding its production and involvement.

#BoycottMulan has been a growing movement for some time now. It first started when lead actress, Liu Yifei showed support for the Hong Kong police; the police have been routinely criticized for their oppressive measures dealing with pro-democracy protesters, reported by Hollywood Reporter.

The boycott movement is gaining more traction after it was recently revealed that the film was shot in the Xinjiang province in China.

The province has long been on the radar of the world, as it's the home of the persecuted Muslim minority, the Uyghurs. It's been alleged almost 1 million Uyghur Muslims have been detained in the region and sent to "re-education camps".

More than the filming itself what has incited more anger is the fact that Disney's Mulan thanked the Chinese government agencies involved in the alleged abuse.

Especially, Mulan's credit sequence thanked the "publicity department of CPC Xinjiang Uighur Autonomy Region Committee," it's the Chinese Communist Party agency reportedly responsible for producing and managing state propaganda efforts in the Xinjiang region.

Hong Kong's pro-democracy advocate Joshua Wong tweeted, "It just keeps getting worse! Now, when you watch #Mulan, not only are you turning a blind eye to police brutality and racial injustice (due to what the lead actors stand for), you're also potentially complicit in the mass incarceration of Muslim Uyghurs. #BoycottMulan."

After these links between the film and the Uyghur detainment in China has been established, the #BoycottMulan movement has rapidly spread in several other countries. Most notably-Taiwan and in Thailand.

As it stands now, the growing controversy surrounding Disney's Mulan is far from over.

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