#BoycottMulan trends as actress Liu Yifei's post supporting 'police brutality' in Hong Kong resurfaces
#BoycottMulan has been trending since last week, as the hashtag demonstrated Thai citizens' solidarity with Hong Kong protests and opposition to comments made by 'Mulan' actress Liu Yifei who endorsed the Hong Kong Police Force and their actions last year.
The fury erupted last year when Yifei shared a post that stated, "I support the Hong Kong police. You can all attack me now." The hashtag was resurrected in Thailand after a national security law was imposed this week. According to the law, the Beijing government has the power to investigate, prosecute and punish any form of dissidence in Hong Kong. Furthermore, the central government will create its own police force, called the Office for Safeguarding National Security. This security organization's work "shall not be disclosed to the public" and "decisions by the Committee shall not be amenable to judicial review".
Hong Kong's Chief Executive, Carrie Lam stated, "I am confident that after the implementation of the national security law, the social unrest which has troubled Hong Kong people for nearly a year will be eased and stability will be restored, thereby enabling Hong Kong to start anew, focus on economic development and improve people's livelihood." However, the implications of how long life imprisonment would be were left vague and can range all the way upto life in prison.
People on Twitter began to boycott 'Mulan' and wrote, "An American Chinese actress who has 65 million followers on Weibo (Chinese social media platform) supports police brutality in Hong Kong. Her new movie #mulan is about to release in theatres. I am not going to watch #mulanmovie #boycottmulan," a fan tweeted. "As excited as I was for this film, I will be part of #BoycottMulan. It’s the least I can do for a good fight in Hong Kong. I encourage anyone else to boycott too," another wrote.
What made it worse was that co-star Donnie Yen seemed to have supported Beijing's move. One user wrote that the entire cast supported the CCP party. "First #Mulan's lead actor #LiuYifei supported #HongKongPoliceBrutality Now co-star #DonnieYen is celebrating #Beijing's tyrannical rule over #HongKong This is disgraceful! Does the entire cast support the #CCP?"
"I will never watch this movie, all the more reason to #BoycottMulan, world!!! If you support #HumanRights and #Democracy please #BoycottMulan!" another wrote. "#BoycottMulan is the easiest way to voice against #policebrutality. As it is supported by their main actor," another tweeted. Meanwhile, the release of 'Mulan' remains uncertain. The film was meant to release at the end of July, but due to the surge in coronavirus cases in the US, its fate remains unknown.