The highly anticipated live action reboot of the beloved Disney classic Mulan has turned highly controversial yet again as the film is now attracting more negative attention after thanking an Xinjiang agency within the movie’s credits.
Disney has publicly thanked multiple Chinese government agencies for their contributions to create Mulan within the film’s credits, including an agency has been accused of human rights misconduct in Xinjiang. The agency, the Turpan Public Security Bureau, is considered to be responsible for the imprisonment and mass ‘re-education’ of approximately two million Muslim-majority Uyghurs and Turkic minorities according to the US State Department’s estimates.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has denied the existence of said concentration camps, and claims that established facilities are utilized for counter-terrorism efforts and de-radicalization in what they refer to as “vocational skill education and training centers”. However, evidence of genocide has been released from within the region that includes longterm imprisonment, abuse, mass birth control, etc.
Many human rights advocates are now pressuring the Disney company to share agreements that may have been made with the Chinese government regarding the locations filming may have taken place.
However, this is not the first politically related story linked to the film’s release. Many fans called for a boycott of the film last year after its star, Liu Yifei, voiced her support for the Hong Kong police after the department was accused of using excessive violence against protestors in September of 2019.
As if the release of this information was not problematic enough for Disney, fans who have been anxiously awaiting the premiere of the new Mulan via the Disney+ streaming service may have to wait even longer to watch the film. Fans were notified shortly after the announcement of the premiere date (September 4th) that their $6.99/month subscriptions would not suffice to view the initial debut of the movie to the streaming channel, and that they would have to pay an additional $30 for premiere access. If fans do not wish to view it upon initial release through this payment, they must wait an additional three month when it is released to all subscribers in December. The film has already been delayed six months from its original release date set for March of 2020 due to the closing of movie theaters amid COVID-19.
