People are urging a boycott of the live-action remake of the Disney movie “Mulan” because it was filmed in a region of China where more than 1 million minority Uighurs are reportedly being held prisoner in concentration camps. And to add insult to injury, Disney specifically thanked several government entities in the movie end credits, including the local police and propaganda department.
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In an attempt to gain greater control over the largely autonomous region in far northwest China that is home to the Uighurs (a largely Muslim ethnic minority), China’s communist regime has sent more than 1 million Uighur men to concentration camps for “re-education.” PBS put together a decent primer on the issue.
It’s worse than just indoctrination. There are credible reports of forced sterilization. Organ harvesting. Slave labor. Ethnic majority Han men are sent to monitor the wives of those detained in the internment camps, and as part of the indoctrination they are encouraged to sleep in the same bed with the wives to “promote ethnic unity.” This is code for government-sanctioned rape.
It’s popular on the Left to say that silence is complicity. Well, Disney just filmed a movie in the region of China that is locking up minorities in concentration camps, and it even thanked government agencies involved with repression and genocide in the end credits. When you give your money to Disney, you indirectly support China’s ethnic cleansing of Uighurs. Think you would have stood up to the Nazis? Cancel your Disney+.
If boycotting Disney is too big a sacrifice, then admit that you aren’t willing to actually do a damn thing to stand up against a murderous regime that is actively engaged in ethnic cleansing, right now, in 2020.
Hypocrisy:
Disney’s willingness to look the other way in regard to China’s human rights abuses is blatantly hypocritical and shows that decisions are driven by money, not principle.
Disney’s CEO Bob Iger said in 2019 that it would be “very difficult” for the company to continue to film in Georgia if a fetal heartbeat law went into effect, because many people would not want to work in the state.
When he was directly asked by Reuters if Disney (which filmed the blockbuster movies “Black Panther” and “Avengers: Endgame” in Georgia) would keep filming in the state, Iger said, “I rather doubt we will.” Reuters reported that Iger said, “I think many people who work for us will not want to work there, and we will have to heed their wishes in that regard. Right now we are watching it very carefully.”
Georgia’s anti-abortion law was later struck down by a federal judge and never went into effect.
So for those keeping score at home: Disney had serious qualms about filming movies in Georgia due to anti-abortion legislation, yet it happily filmed a movie in a region of China that has literal concentration camps and forced sterilizations of an ethnic minority.In response to the growing “Mulan” backlash, Chinese media organizations have been banned from covering the movie, which may hurt Disney at the box office.
“Mulan” actress speaks out in support of Hong Kong police against pro-democracy protestors
Disney is also facing renewed backlash over comments made by “Mulan” actress Liu Yifei in late 2019. Yifei, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, posted a meme in support of Hong Kong police who have been aggressively cracking down on pro-democracy protestors who have been demonstrating against a new national security law China imposed on Hong Kong. The new law is widely seen as a de-facto takeover of the formerly autonomous city.
NBA bows down to China
Just like Disney, the NBA has similarly bowed down to Chinese interests. In 2019 Lebron James criticized Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey for tweeting in support of pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong, and the NBA called Morey’s tweets “regrettable.”
There are a lot of corporations that are willing to ignore atrocities because they don’t want to risk alienating China and losing access to the Chinese market. Don’t give them your money.
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