Disney’s remake of Mulan draws criticism for filming in China’s restive Xinjiang region

Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan comes under fire for filming in Xinjiang, the site where the government is reportedly detaining over a million people, mostly Uighur (Uyghur) Muslims

As noted by novelist Jeanette Ng in a tweet on September 7, the credits in Mulan show a “Special Thanks” to the “Publicity Department of CPC Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Committee,” the wing of the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s Xianjang government, where it’s been estimated that over a million Uyghur Muslims have been forced into re-education camps.

As the criticism grew, it led to thousands of retweets saying that supporting Mulan is tantamount to being complicit in these human rights violations. Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong and internet users in Taiwan and Thailand are among those who promoted hashtags “#BoycottMulan” and “#BanMulan” on Twitter.

Wong, tweeted: “When you watch #Mulan … you’re also potentially complicit in the mass incarceration of Muslim Uyghurs.”

But this is not the first time Disney has faced backlash. Mulan’s leading actress, Yifei Liu, in August 2019 expressed her support for China’s crackdown on human freedoms in Hong Kong.. “I support the Hong Kong police. You can all attack me now. What a shame for Hong Kong,” she posted on the Chinese blogging site Weibo.