What is #boycottMulan?

Growing up, I was determined to be like Mulan- strong, courageous, strategic and smart. She was unapologetic in the way she decided to challenge herself and the preconceived notions of a traditional society. With a cool dragon and a lucky cricket by her side, I believe that the animated version of Mulan shaped much of many people’s childhood by bringing joy and inspiration to many. When the news broke that a live-action remake of ‘Mulan’ was in the works, I was cautiously optimistic. But as the scandals from ‘Mulan’ broke, one after the other, the optimism I had slowly dissolved.

Disney is known for creating movies, shows and theme parks that give you that “Magical Moment”. As a child, I loved Disney movies. Snuggling with my parents on the sofa and watching a ton of Disney movies, was and forever will be my good place. So to hear that there were calls to #boycottmulan, I was devastated. So here’s a very brief summary of why it is happening, and it is worth pondering over the issue: warning — Disney’s about to get political.

The scandals come in two parts:

1. Liu Yifei’s supported the Hong Kong Police during the pro-democracy protests in 2019.
2. Disney filmed parts of the movie in Xinjiang, China.

In the live-action remake of “Mulan”, Liu Yifei plays the main character Mulan. As we remember, Mulan is a brave soldier. She is fiercely independent, determined and savvy, seeking to find herself in a world where women had yet to belong in the larger society. She takes her sick fathers place to train for war in the military by disguising as a man. The Ballad of Hua Mulan, a traditional Chinese Folk story inspired the creation of ‘Mulan’.

So, why the boycott? Firstly, amid the Hong Kong Pro-democracy protests, Liu Yifei took to Weibo (the Chinese version of Twitter) to demonstrate her support for the Hong Kong Police: “I support the Hong Kong police. You can all attack me now. What a shame for Hong Kong.” Many have called it ironic that Liu, an American-Chinese, would support the suppression of a protest to suppression.

What’s up with the Hong Kong Police? Two Words: Police Brutality
The Hong Kong Police uses excessive force against civilians to control the protests that have been ongoing since April of 2019. From pushing a pregnant woman on the street to firing tear gas at civilians, excessive force used to obtain law and order.

Why the protests? The introduction of an extradition bill caused many to protest against the bill in April 2019. The extradition bill allows Hong Kong to detain and hand over suspects in wanted territories with no authorized extradition agreements to Mainland China. The protests were initially a reaction to the fear that Hong Kongers will face unfair trials and brutal treatment, undermining the judicial independence and threaten any form of opposition. The bill does not include political crimes or resistance. Still, many fear that it might be the first step to legalizing a covert way to remove political activists to mainland China.

Secondly, The movie was also partially filmed in Xinjiang, China. The region where Uighur Muslims are placed in “re-education centres”, or what some might call CAMPS. Many Human Rights groups have called this the This blew up due to the ending credits, where Disney thanked the Chinese authorities in Xinjiang.

The camps in Xinjiang province are, in President Xi Jinping’s words, an attempt to eliminate the “toxicity of religious extremism”. Passing an Anti-Extremism law in 2017, Xinjiang’s local government banned men from growing long beards and women from wearing veils. The detainees are forced to pledge their allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and to reject Islam. Here are some of the things reported to be going on in the camps:

1. Prison-like conditions with constant surveillance
2. Interrogations with the use of torture
3. Sexual Abuse (They force women to have abortions or to have contraceptive devices. They rape/ sexually abuse both men and women.)
4. They are suppressing the reproduction of minorities to tighten control.
5. Disruption of families (Children are separated from their parents and sent to state-run orphanages)

I had conversations with my mother on this, and she repeatedly questioned the validity of the evidence provided about the suppression of Uighur Muslims. Even if there are no irrevocable evidence of China’s camps and suppression of Uighur Muslims, if there is the slightest possibility of it happening and we are aware of it, we should do our best to raise awareness by boycotting and question parties involved. It’s the least we could do.

The bottom line?

1. Police Brutality and Repression of Uighurs cannot be acceptable by today’s standards.
2. 2. Critics fear that with Liu Yifei as a “role-model” and the use of Xinjiang, will enable repression and play a complicit role in the cultural erosion of minorities.
3. What is happening to the Uighur Muslims (plummetting birth rates and the use of contraception and abortions to suppress the reproduction of a particular group) matches the legal definitions of Genocide.
4. They are not making better choices for the movie’s location.

Pro-Democracy activists from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and many other countries have since called for the boycott of ‘Mulan’, to hold parties involved accountable. We must encourage companies, especially those claim to support the inalienable rights of humanity and those that support HUMAN rights, to DO BETTER.

To be clear, I do not encourage “cancel culture”. I do believe in reaching out and having healthy discussions about our difference in opinions. For all it’s worth, I think that the Left has become too “woke” for our good, and factionalism and hostility within the Left itself are hurting and disrupting our cause more than it is helping us. If we perceive ourselves to “know better” or to be the “right” ones, and dismissing even the slightest of difference in opinion, that is not advocacy. That is condescending and giving the Right evidence that we are indeed snobby, elitist and “radical”. But, I do believe in holding parties involved accountable for their actions.

I guess Disney should have gotten Grandmother Fa’s lucky cricket after all.

Sources: PBS Newshour, New York Times, Associated Press, The Washington Post, Council on Foreign Relations, Wikipedia, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International