Netizens find it quite ironic that an actress portraying a character who embodies freedom and democracy would show such blatant support for a group deemed categorically undemocratic by most. Crystal Liu (Liu Yifei), who is playing Mulan in Disney’s live-action remake, is now being severely censured for her apparent political beliefs. The Chinese-American actress’ recent post backing the Hong Kong police has even incited a worldwide call to #BoycottMulan.
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In the midst of Hong Kong’s turbulent political scene, Liu took a stance against the pro-democracy, anti-police brutality bloc. She posted on her Weibo account with a following of 65 million users a pro-Hong Kong police sentiment. The image shared originally came from the state-backed People’s Daily and stated in Chinese: “I support Hong Kong’s police, you can beat me up now.” It was underscored by the phrase “what a shame for Hong Kong.” The hashtag “IAlsoSupportTheHongKongPolice” was added to it with a heart emoji.
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Due to the international community’s condemnation of the police’s handling of the situation in Hong Kong, there has been a widespread backlash towards Liu. The claim that the Hong Kong police have been exercising an excessive use of force against protestors have led people to decry the actress’ statements. One viral tweet even questions how a naturalized American citizen is able to subscribe to such values:
https://twitter.com/sdnorton/status/1161971657034125312?s=20
(LOOK: 2 million people went out to protest and left the road spotless after)
As such, the movement to boycott Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan has since caught fire. The hashtag #BoycottMulan has been trending on various platforms like Twitter and Instagram over the past few days. Reasons for the boycott range from the actress’ views ‘violating the character of Mulan’ to its symbolizing support of freedom and democracy. Supporters of the boycott have taken to expressing their views on all possible platforms including their personal accounts, commenting on Liu’s Instagram page, and the official pages for the Mulan movie.
The idea for the boycott was borne and launched on Lihkg, a Reddit-style online discussion forum in Hong Kong. It proved a convenient platform to spread the idea as it’s already served as a channel for information on the leaderless protests now taking place. It has so far been able to push the organization and mobilization of such protests. While the boycott was initially conceived by Hong Kong citizens, it has since then been taken up by netizens around the world. It continues to be fueled by individuals who believe some fault even lies with Disney for unscrupulous casting.
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Users of Lihkg have found extreme disappointment with Disney for choosing an actress who “suppresses people who are fighting for democracy and freedom but curries favor from powerful authorities.”
Neither Disney nor Crystal Liu has spoken on the subject of the boycott.
Would you boycott Mulan? Let us know why or why not in the comments!
