Crystal Liu is the actor who plays Mulan in Disney’s live-action reboot; on Weibo, she has been publishing messages in support of the Hong Kong police, who have been brutally attacking pro-Democracy protesters and tacitly collaborating with organized crime gangs.
Her Weibo messages included “I support Hong Kong’s police, you can beat me up now” and “What a shame for Hong Kong.” She’s been using the hashtag “#IAlsoSupportTheHongKongPolice.” In China, state media outlets have made memes out of Liu’s statements and are circulating them widely.
In response, supporters of the Hong Kong protests have called for a boycott of the Mulan reboot, and #BoycottMulan is trending on multiple platforms.
The boycott was initiated by users of Lihkg, a Reddit-style online discussion forum in Hong Kong that has somewhat served as information central for the leader-less protest movement, wielding notable mobilization capability and members/readers across all ages and walks of life — including local police monitoring the posts to gather intelligence. Members of the Lihkg community have organized local protests and demonstrations and launched GoFundMe operations for overseas promotions of the movement that have raised millions.While the Hong Kong box office is tiny compared with the mammoth Chinese one, the world’s second largest, the boycott’s organizers appear to be hoping for international support for their campaign, calling for worldwide filmgoers “who support freedom and democracy” to join in.
The boycotters’ complaints were not only directed at Liu, but also at Disney. Some users of Lihkg expressed their dismay with the entertainment conglomerate for hiring someone who they believed “condones violence” and “suppresses people who are fighting for democracy and freedom but curries favor from powerful authorities,” writing that “the image of Disney will be tarnished” and “Disney, you can do better.”
Hong Kong Protestors Call for Disney Boycott After ‘Mulan’ Star Voices Support for Police Crackdown [Karen Chu and Patrick Brzeski/Hollywood Reporter]