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Liu Yifei: Mulan boycott urged after star backs HK police

Carjosse

Carjosse

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From BBC:
Disney's live-action remake of the animated film Mulan is facing calls for a boycott, after its star voiced support for Hong Kong's police force.

Chinese actress Liu Yifei, a naturalised US citizen, reposted a viral pro-police comment on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

The territory has been convulsed by sometimes violent pro-democracy protests over the past 10 weeks.

Rights groups and the UN have accused the police of a heavy handed response.

Ms Liu had shared a Weibo post from the government-run Beijing newspaper People's Daily that read (in Chinese): "I also support Hong Kong police. You can beat me up now."

The post adds in English: "What a shame for Hong Kong."

The film is a remake of the 1998 animation
The quote referred to what are said to be the words of a reporter for the state newspaper Global Times, who was attacked by protesters at Hong Kong's airport earlier this week after being accused of being an undercover police agent.

Ms Liu shared the post and echoed the comment by saying: "I also support Hong Kong police."

How Disney aims to win over China with Mulan
She received widespread support on the platform, which is subject to censorship.

But on Twitter, which is banned in China, the hashtag #BoycottMulan began gaining traction.

Twitter users accused the actress of supporting police brutality, and also pointed to the freedoms she enjoys as an American citizen.
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I for one have to agree with those calling for a boycott. Of course all the major movie studios have been shamelessly pandering to the Chinese regime in recent years shoehorning in Chinese-centric content and silencing criticism. I find it extremely hypocritical for an American citizen to use their right to free speech to support abuse of the rights and violence towards those advocating for democracy and freedoms elsewhere. These are the kind of people who should never have been allowed to become citizens of any democratic nation in the first place, they clearly hold allegiance to the CCP first and foremost and are nothing but bootlickers for the regime.

What do you think? Are people justified in their anger?


To a mod: Yes, I posted this in the wrong section by accident.
 
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So I shouldn't see a movie that was put together by the combined efforts of hundreds of people because of the political views of one of them?
 
Anagram said:
So I shouldn't see a movie that was put together by the combined efforts of hundreds of people because of the political views of one of them?
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She is the main star? If you disagree with the people involved with the movie why would you want to support it and go see it?
 
Carjosse said:
She is the main star? If you disagree with the people involved with the movie why would you want to support it and go see it?
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Nikki Caro is one of the first female directors of a movie with a $100 million budget. Should nobody support that because of one person involved in the movie she directed?
 
Anagram said:
Nikki Caro is one of the first female directors of a movie with a $100 million budget. Should nobody support that because of one person involved in the movie she directed?
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I say so yeah. Why not?

Maybe she should have found a Chinese-American actor without such ties to the CCP. But that wouldn't have happened because I am willing to bet the whole movie is CCP pandering.
 
Moderator's Warning:
Moved per request
 
Carjosse said:
I say so yeah. Why not?

P.S. Could you move this to the right section please.
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Because it seems like a ridiculous thing to screw over hundreds of people's hard work because of the political views of one person, especially someone whose views weren't even known while the project was being made.
 
Anagram said:
Because it seems like a ridiculous thing to screw over hundreds of people's hard work because of the political views of one person, especially someone whose views weren't even known while the project was being made.
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As my edit now says: Maybe she should have found an ethically Chinese-American actor without such ties to the CCP to avoid potential controversy like. But that wouldn't have happened because I am willing to bet the whole movie is China and CCP pandering.

It all could have been avoided but at the very least they could condemn her but they haven't done that either.
 
Carjosse said:
As my edit now says: Maybe she should have found an ethically Chinese-American actor without such ties to the CCP to avoid potential controversy like. But that wouldn't have happened because I am willing to bet the whole movie is China and CCP pandering.

It all could have been avoided but at the very least they could condemn her but they haven't done that either.
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How far do you have to dig in to your actors' political views when making a movie? I can't find anything publicly about her CCP leanings before her comments this week? Are you supposed to make it part of the audition process?

It seems like an unfair standard to hold people to.
 
Anagram said:
How far do you have to dig in to your actors' political views when making a movie? I can't find anything publicly about her CCP leanings before her comments this week? Are you supposed to make it part of the audition process?

It seems like an unfair standard to hold people to.
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I would think avoiding controversy would be a priority. Maybe they should have cast a Taiwan or Singapore born actress instead. Though like I said they can easily issue a statement condemning the actress, they don't even have to pick sides, just condemn her for taking sides.
 
I will be boycotting it. Hollywood toes the line when it comes to not offending the authoritarian Chinese government or the portion of its brainwashed nationalistic citizens. I believe she likely voiced these views because if she hadn't the Chinese would have gone so far as to ban the movie in China, and Hollywood doesn't want to lose out on those profits or access to the Chinese market. With the new Top Gun movie they also edited the jacket to remove the Japanese and Taiwanese flags as to not offend China either. We should boycott Mulan and send a strong message to Hollywood that toeing the line with China is going to hurt them in the domestic western market. With as much political bolstering that comes out of Hollywood and the myriad self-righteous actors trying to shape US public opinion you'd think standing up to an evil authoritarian government or pushing for human rights in China should come easy. I think Jackie Chan, a native Hong Konger, had also voiced his support for the HK Police/China and against the pro-democracy protesters.
 
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Anagram said:
So I shouldn't see a movie that was put together by the combined efforts of hundreds of people because of the political views of one of them?
Click to expand...

If it was just a production person no one would care...but it was the star of the movie and that changes the equation quite a bit.
 
Anagram said:
Because it seems like a ridiculous thing to screw over hundreds of people's hard work because of the political views of one person, especially someone whose views weren't even known while the project was being made.
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What difference does it make, they still got paid and have probably moved on to the next project? I worked on a lot of shows that got canceled, too. Anyway, the movie will likely still be released, just not with the big fanfare they were hoping for.
 
Anagram said:
Because it seems like a ridiculous thing to screw over hundreds of people's hard work because of the political views of one person, especially someone whose views weren't even known while the project was being made.
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have to throw the baby out with the bath water with this crowd.
 
Anagram said:
Because it seems like a ridiculous thing to screw over hundreds of people's hard work because of the political views of one person, especially someone whose views weren't even known while the project was being made.
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Most of the people involved have already been paid everything they're going to get paid.
 
Carjosse said:
I would think avoiding controversy would be a priority. Maybe they should have cast a Taiwan or Singapore born actress instead. Though like I said they can easily issue a statement condemning the actress, they don't even have to pick sides, just condemn her for taking sides.
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I'm not sure that her post was so outrageous. She's supporting police, which is not that controversial. After all, it's the government, not police, that is ****ting all over human and civil rights. The police are just the enforcement tool of the government and do what they're told to do.
 
digsbe said:
I will be boycotting it. Hollywood toes the line when it comes to not offending the authoritarian Chinese government or the portion of its brainwashed nationalistic citizens. I believe she likely voiced these views because if she hadn't the Chinese would have gone so far as to ban the movie in China, and Hollywood doesn't want to lose out on those profits or access to the Chinese market. With the new Top Gun movie they also edited the jacket to remove the Japanese and Taiwanese flags as to not offend China either. We should boycott Mulan and send a strong message to Hollywood that toeing the line with China is going to hurt them in the domestic western market. With as much political bolstering that comes out of Hollywood and the myriad self-righteous actors trying to shape US public opinion you'd think standing up to an evil authoritarian government or pushing for human rights in China should come easy. I think Jackie Chan, a native Hong Konger, had also voiced his support for the HK Police/China and against the pro-democracy protesters.
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Supporting law enforcement and supporting the protesters are not mutually exclusive.
 
Carjosse said:
She is the main star? If you disagree with the people involved with the movie why would you want to support it and go see it?
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Because there would be like no movies left to see.
 
RedSunRising said:
I'm not sure that her post was so outrageous. She's supporting police, which is not that controversial. After all, it's the government, not police, that is ****ting all over human and civil rights. The police are just the enforcement tool of the government and do what they're told to do.
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It is very controversial considering the police are brutally beating peaceful protesters and allying with criminals to do so. She clearly supports the government crackdown, she is a bootlicker for the regime. Her grandfather is a very influential person in mainland China.
 
Carjosse said:
So you have no moral lines in the sand at all?
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When it comes to watching movies? I wouldn't subject myself to Nazi propaganda films, so there's a line somewhere, but I certainly see no reason to boycott a film because I disagree with a political position held by the main actor. Arguements and facts are a much better solution than boycotts.
 
Taylor said:
When it comes to watching movies? I wouldn't subject myself to Nazi propaganda films, so there's a line somewhere, but I certainly see no reason to boycott a film because I disagree with a political position held by the main actor. Arguements and facts are a much better solution than boycotts.
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But CCP-propaganda is fine? Would you watch a movie if the main actor pledged support for Nazism and Neo-Nazis?
 
Carjosse said:
But CCP-propaganda is fine? Would you watch a movie if the main actor pledged support for Nazism and Neo-Nazis?
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Depends on how good the movie was. Triumph of the Will is worth watching to understand how it pioneered modern cinematography techniques. But it's also a Nazi Propaganda film.
 
Carjosse said:
From BBC:


I for one have to agree with those calling for a boycott. Of course all the major movie studios have been shamelessly pandering to the Chinese regime in recent years shoehorning in Chinese-centric content and silencing criticism. I find it extremely hypocritical for an American citizen to use their right to free speech to support abuse of the rights and violence towards those advocating for democracy and freedoms elsewhere. These are the kind of people who should never have been allowed to become citizens of any democratic nation in the first place, they clearly hold allegiance to the CCP first and foremost and are nothing but bootlickers for the regime.

What do you think? Are people justified in their anger?


To a mod: Yes, I posted this in the wrong section by accident.
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Well, here’s the reality. Hong Kong was taken from China during the period the Chinese call the “Century of Shame.” It was finally retuned to Chinese control in 1997. Do not mistake autonomy for independence. The rank hypocrisy of the West in this matter is astounding.
 
RedSunRising said:
I'm not sure that her post was so outrageous. She's supporting police, which is not that controversial. After all, it's the government, not police, that is ****ting all over human and civil rights. The police are just the enforcement tool of the government and do what they're told to do.
Click to expand...

the problem is that the actress is specifically supporting the Hong Kong city police, which clashed with the protesters in Hong Kong city back in June and had injured hundreds of people in that protest.

It’s no surprise that The protesters would find this actresses support of the police to be offensive.
 
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