How #BoycottMulan became a global phenomenon
Fans of Mulan, the much loved Disney animation classic, were delighted to hear the creation of a live-action movie back in 2015. But in the years that approached its release, the movie became crippled with controversy and a global #BoycottMulan campaign.
The coronavirus pandemic compromised its release in cinemas in the US and Europe and instead went straight to the Disney Plus streaming site with a cost. It did hit the cinemas in China, but it was not as successful as Disney expected. It debuted $23 million in the box office, not a great start if compared to the $200 production price tag. The controversies spiralled from the Mulan actress publicly supporting police brutality in Hong Kong to historical inaccuracies of the movie. But the epicentre of the dispute relies upon the fact that the filming took place in the Chinese region of Xinjiang, which has been at the boiling point of international concern due to the so-called “re-education camps” for the Uighur Muslim community. Was Disney willing to turn a blind eye to human rights violations to make a best selling movie?
But you might be wondering: what are the facts on this issue?, and what is the real connection between Disney and Xinjiang? The facts have shocked the world and gathered international attention, with Secretary-General of Amnesty International, Kumi Naidoo stating:
“There are many causes for serious concern about the state of human rights in China, but the egregious scale and severity of the situation in Xinjiang demands urgent global attention as more and more predominantly Muslim minorities are unlawfully detained.”
So what is the controversy with Xinjiang?
Xinjiang is a Chinese autonomous region, and its 25 million inhabitants form ethnic minorities who practice Islam. The Uighur and other local communities are ethnically, linguistically and culturally more similar to some Central Asian nation-states than to China where Buddhism and Han progeny triumphs (Wang 2020). Several leaked documents and footage over the past few years have shown that these groups, mainly the Uighur, are subjected to intense surveillance, and also locked up in re-education camps that resemble high-security prisons. They are experiencing political indoctrination, torture, sexual abuse, and mass-brainwashing at the hands of the local authorities. Estimation of the number of detainees varies from one to three million according to Amnesty International and the United Nations, respectively. Outside the camps, women are even forced to sterilisation, have abortions and use birth control to diminish the birth rate of Uighurs to curb its Muslim population whilst encouraging the country’s Han majority to conceive more children.
These unlawful circumstances are causing an intense flux of refugees in Central Asia which has created a massive increase in desperate asylum and refugee status requests across Europe to have refuge in European countries. Nevertheless, the vast majority do not get granted the longed-for status due to strict and mainly unfair European immigration policies. China is violating the core values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by discriminating and not giving equality and dignity to all human beings.
The Chinese Communist Party constantly reiterates that these camps merely offer voluntary education and training (BBC 2019), and Chinese officials play the victim and offended card when addressing the situation. Watch the video below in full to see footage of the Muslim community being detained and shackled to be moved to the camps and see how China's Ambassador to the UK denies the facts and actually goes as far to say that Xinjiang is a beautiful area.. we did not want to know that.
However, there is no way possible to sugarcoat these extreme practices. Beijing believes that Islam and violent extremism are intertwined, and that re-education camps are a delightful approach to tackle such extremism. Nonetheless, banning expressions of faith should not even be a method to consider, let alone implement. It looks like the modern version of Nazi camps and modus operandi to impose specific behaviour and rules in an authoritarian manner.
Amnesty International’s research finds that China’s surveillance state makes it easy to track down individuals that might come under suspicion hence unleashing waves of mass arbitrary detentions. They do this by "routine monitoring of messages sent on social media apps like WeChat, which does not use end-to-end encryption" (Amnesty International 2018). An example of this persecution, Merdan Ghappar moved to Xinjiang to pursue a modelled career and ended up in a re-education camp (Sudworth 2020). He revealed in text messages,
"I saw 50 to 60 people detained in a small room no bigger than 50 square metres, men on the right, women on the left.”
"Everyone was wearing a so-called 'four-piece-suit', a black head sack, handcuffs, leg shackles and an iron chain connecting the cuffs to the shackles."
But where does Disney come into all of this?
Upon the release of the film on streaming service Disney+, it was found that the studio offers “special thanks” in the credits to eight government entities in Xinjiang (Madani 2020). One agency credited at the end of the movie is the Turpan Municipal Bureau of Public Security, which has links to the notorious re-education camps in the province. Disney is indirectly showing its admiration to a government holding 1-3 million detainees due to their beliefs, and persecuting millions of others with intimidating practices (Albert 2018).
With Mulan embodying freedom and bravery, it seems very hypocritical by Disney to tell a story of hope in a place of hopelessness. This issue has received international discussion and condemnation, so for a big corporation like Disney to actively support the Chinese Communist Party and controversial Xinjiang areas has led to a global campaign of #BoycottMulan.
There is little action holding Beijing accountable for these violations of human rights as nation-states and leader figures only release statements urging China to respect minorities. But, overall, Chinese behaviour is barely receiving any punishment. In July 2019, 22 democratic countries sent a letter to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights calling on China to end these policies (Westcott & Shelley 2019) but, shockingly, 37 other countries (Berlinger 2019) submitted another statement supporting the Chinese government.
The U.S is the only country that has imposed sanctions as diplomatic means to China over these atrocities (BBC 2020a). Since no other foreign governmental and institutional body is backing the American instance, time has come for civil involvement on this issue. From writing to politicians to protesting, there are many ways to be involved. But the simplest, and one of the most efficient ways of condemning ethnic and religious discrimination is reconsidering watching the movie Mulan.
And what about Hong Kong?
Another pressing international concern regarding China, is it’s clamp-down on Hong Kong, with its most recent National Security Law infringing Hongkongers human rights (BBC 2020b). Mulan actress Yifei Liu expressed support for police brutality against pro-democracy protests. She wrote in the Chinese media platform Weibo “I support the Hong Kong police. You can beat me now. What a shame for Hong Kong" (Bradley 2019)
Perhaps a throw-away comment by the actress, or her deep-rooted beliefs, being the star of the movie, it added fuel to the fire to the campaign, with Hong Kong activists stressing a boycott of the movie.
The last four generations have grown consuming a high amount of Disney content. Disney has been a big part of our childhood; and, ironically, Mulan has always been a favourite. These movies have taught us the value of love, courage, friendship, family, and respect for diversity. Nonetheless, it is highly disturbing to realise that this company is indirectly supporting inhumane actions of an authoritarian regime, and pushing away the values it stands for by ignoring this issue. But, not addressing these events in the current global scenario is very dangerous. This Disney demeanour makes us wonder where the morality of Disney relies upon. We only can find two possible explanations: Disney does not value ethical morals or that filming Mulan in Xinjiang was always about $$$ and expanding the business. Neither alternative is justifiable.
You will consistently notice through this blog that we are supporters of activism and any type of advocacy. An ordinary single voice cannot do much, but the sum of countless voices can speak volumes and surely make change more probable. The world is witnessing an ethnic cleansing and Muslim crackdown but, what can we do? We, as consumers of Disney content, have the power to call out the Chinese regime and to condemn undemocratic practices against human beings.
Disney needs to understand that they are representing more than a company, but the United States and the democratic and liberal values of the West, and it also has a social responsibility. This bilateral relationship involves funding, cooperation and assistance, and it must urgently resume to publicly demonstrate that profit does not come before the correct compliance of human rights laws. As U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn states, you cannot shake hands and create a business deal with the same authorities who go after the Uyghur community.
We doubtlessly support activists and organisations going to the extra mile to condemn Disney’s full-blown wink to authoritarianism but, hopefully, the ongoing global action #BoycottMulan to raise awareness of this matter will contribute to making this unacceptable behaviour more visible. We have to detach ourselves from the magical vision we all have of Disney and come to terms with the fact that the company is not angelical anymore. Buy and consume products that align with your values. Always. Which raises the question, will you be carrying out #BoycottMulan?
Bibliography
Albert, E. (2018). The State Of Religion In China. [online] Council on Foreign Relations. Available at: <https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/religionchina#:~:text=Chinese%20Buddhism%20and%20Folk%20Religions&text=Though%20Buddhism%20originated%20in%20India,the%20country's%20largest%20institutionalized%20religion>
Amnesty.org (2018). Up To One Million Detained In China’S Mass “Re-Education” Drive. [online] Available at: <https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/09/china-up-to-one-million-detained/>
BBC News (2019). Data Leak Details China's 'Brainwashing System'. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-50511063>
BBC News (2020a). US Bars Xinjiang Exports Over China Rights Abuses. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54155809>
BBC News (2020b). China's New Law: Why Is Hong Kong Worried?. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-52765838>
Berlinger, J. (2019). North Korea, Syria And Myanmar Among Countries Defending China's Actions In Xinjiang. [online] CNN. Available at: <https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/15/asia/united-nations-letter-xinjiang-intl-hnk/index.html>
Bradley, L. (2019). Mulan Actress Voices Support For Hong Kong Police Amid Protests, Sparks Boycott Calls. [online] Vanity Fair. Available at: <https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/08/mulan-boycott-liu-yifei-hong-kong-protests-police>
Madani, D. (2020). Disney Faces More 'Mulan' Backlash After Film Thanks Xinjiang Officials In Credits. [online] NBC News. Available at: <https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/disney-faces-more-mulan-backlash-after-film-thanks-xinjiang-government-n1239679>
Sudworth, J. (2020). Uighur Model Sends Rare Video From Chinese Detention. [online] BBC News. Available at: <https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-53650246>
Wang, M. (2020). More Evidence Of China’S Horrific Abuses In Xinjiang. [online] Human Rights Watch. Available at: <https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/02/20/more-evidence-chinas-horrific-abuses-xinjiang>
Westcott, B. and Shelley, J. (2019). 22 Countries Sign Letter Calling On China To Close Xinjiang Uyghur Camps. [online] CNN. Available at: <https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/11/asia/xinjiang-uyghur-un-letter-intl-hnk/index.html>
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