Disney's live-action remake of Mulan may not be slated to come out until 2020, but people online are already calling for a boycott of the movie.
Earlier this week, Chinese actor Liu Yifei (who is also a naturalized American citizen) took to her Weibo account to make her support of the Hong Kong police force known.
Reposting a viral comment from the government-run People's Daily newspaper, Liu wrote, "I also support Hong Kong police. You can beat me up now." She also added, "what a shame for Hong Kong," alongside the hashtag #IAlsoSupportTheHongKongPolice.
Chinese actress Liu Yifei, star of upcoming Disney blockbuster Mulan, shows support for Hong Kong police on Weibo, retweeting a People’s Daily post. Weibo shows that she is an iPhone user #hongkongprotests pic.twitter.com/gfXEb3zsom
— Vivienne Chow (@VivienneChow) August 15, 2019
And while Liu's post has garnered a positive response of the state-monitored social media platform, outside of China, critics have begun denouncing the actor for supporting police brutality.
Human rights groups and the UN have already spoken out against the Hong Kong police force's heavy-handed tactics and use of excessive force against pro-democracy protestors. The protests began earlier this year following the introduction of a now-shelved draft bill that would have allowed the Chinese government to extradite people accused of crimes from Hong Kong — a move derided by activists as an end to Hong Kong's autonomy under the "one country, two systems" model. However, the protests have since blossomed into a bigger, pro-democracy movement.
As a result, the hashtag #BoycottMulan is now trending on Twitter with many condemning Liu for her support of police brutality and the suppression of democracy. As one viral tweet points out, since Liu is a US citizen, the issues the Hong Kong protestors are dealing with don't directly affect her.
"Disney's Mulan actress, Liu Yifei, supports police brutality and oppression in Hong Kong. Liu is a naturalized American citizen. it must be nice," they wrote. "Meanwhile she pisses on people fighting for democracy. retweet please. HK doesn't get enough support. #BoycottMulan @Disney."
Disney’s Mulan actress, Liu Yifei, supports police brutality and oppression in Hong Kong.
— sean norton 🌹 (@sdnorton) August 15, 2019
Liu is a naturalized American citizen. it must be nice. meanwhile she pisses on people fighting for democracy.
retweet please. HK doesn’t get enough support. #BoycottMulan @Disney pic.twitter.com/FpECIdutH2
Similarly, others have pointed out that the character of Mulan would've been diametrically opposed to the actions of the Hong Kong police force. And while Disney has yet to respond to the backlash, you can see what others online are saying about the #BoycottMulan movement, below.
The irony is that cartoon Mulan would be on the frontlines of any war fighting for democracy and free speech cause she a badass bitch #BoycottMulan pic.twitter.com/EUcV1buh4d
— Slumps (@slumpthoughts) August 16, 2019
Finding out #BoycottMulan is trending because the main actress that plays Mulan supports the Hong Kong Police,
— 🎀𝑀𝓊𝓃𝒶🎀 (@MunaNawabit1) August 16, 2019
that are hurting innocent people that are fighting for their freedom and democracy
First Mushu wasn’t in it and now this: pic.twitter.com/drfQnrNQs6
Stand with Hong Kong#BoycottMulan pic.twitter.com/MhFH7MYDFL
— ~棋~ (@hongloki) August 16, 2019
Photo via Getty
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