U.S. Senator Josh Hawley sent a letter to Disney executives on Wednesday (Sept. 9) condemning the company for “whitewashing the still ongoing genocide of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities” during the production of the film Mulan.
In a letter sent to Disney CEO Robert Chapek, Republican Senator Hawley of Missouri said that by the time Disney Studios announced the opening of Mulan on August 13, 2018, the U.S. government and non-governmental organizations had released numerous reports of Uighurs and others being held in internment camps in Xinjiang.
He said, “But that didn’t stop Disney from going to Xinjiang to make the film, nor did it stop it from working with the Chinese officials who were directly responsible for the atrocities that took place in those internment camps.”
Senator Hawley singled out the acknowledgments at the end of Mulan for their “special thanks” to the Xinjiang Turpan Public Security Bureau and the local propaganda department of the Chinese Communist Party.
He said that “Disney’s whitewashing of the ongoing Uighur genocide” violates corporate principles.
He further wrote: “Your decision to uncritically approve the film’s release, rather than apologize to those who have been harmed by Disney’s actions, is reprehensible. Your decision to put profit over principle by not only ignoring the genocide and other atrocities committed by the Chinese Communist Party, but acting as their accomplice, is an affront to American values.”
The Republican senator demanded that Chappaquiddick answer a series of questions, including: does Disney agree that the Chinese Communist Party is responsible for the imprisonment and torture of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang? Why did they shoot some of the locations in Xinjiang? What kind of assistance did Disney receive from the Turpan Public Security Bureau and other government agencies? What kind of compensation did Disney offer them? Do you condemn the Chinese Communist Party’s “atrocities” against Uighurs and other minorities? Will Disney sever its ties with the Chinese Communist Party because of what it has done in Xinjiang and Hong Kong? Whether Mulan will be removed from Disney+ and whether profits from the film will be donated to non-governmental organizations working to combat human trafficking and other atrocities in Xinjiang.
Chinese authorities have denied setting up “internment” or “re-education” camps in Xinjiang, describing them as “vocational skills education and training centers.
Earlier this week, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian responded to the criticism by saying, “The establishment of vocational skills education and training centers in Xinjiang in accordance with the law is a useful attempt and positive exploration for the purpose of preventive counterterrorism and de-radicalization.
Hawley is one of the most aggressive members of the U.S. Congress in dealing with Beijing. After the U.S. announced sanctions against 11 senior Chinese and Hong Kong officials in August, Beijing subsequently announced sanctions against 11 U.S. citizens, including Senator Hawley.
Disney has yet to respond publicly to the wave of criticism.
Prior to the criticism of Disney for filming “Mulan” in Xinjiang and thanking Chinese propaganda and public security authorities, activists from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and elsewhere had called for a boycott of the film after mainland-born actress Liu Yifei, who played the role of Mulan, publicly supported Hong Kong police during mass protests in the city.
Following the release of the 1998 animated film Mulan, Disney produced the $200 million live-action blockbuster Mulan. Plans for a theatrical run in March of this year were postponed due to the neo-coronavirus epidemic. Mulan premieres on the recently launched Disney+ streaming service beginning September 4.
The new film was scheduled to premiere in China on September 11. China is now the world’s second-largest movie market, behind the United States.
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