NEW YORK (September 11, 2020) – Thousands of movie fans around the globe are boycotting the new live action remake of Disney’s Mulan after revelations regarding the movie’s filming and production in the Xinjiang region of China, where today more than a million ethnic Uyghurs are imprisoned in “re-education” camps.
The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) sent a letter to Disney CEO Robert “Bob” Chapek to inform him of the disastrous human rights situation in Xinjiang. The letter clarifies the role that the Turpan Municipal Bureau of Public Security, and the Chinese regime have played in violating the individual rights of this persecuted minority group.
Disney has shown support for the Black Lives Matter movement, advocating against social injustice, racial discrimination, and police brutality. Disney has embarked on a public awareness campaign about these issues, and has pledged $5 million to organizations working to rectify social injustice and racism.
“The hypocrisy of heeding these issues in one market and not another has seemingly escaped the filmmakers and producers of Mulan. Much like Black Lives Matter protesters, Uyghur activists are protesting against social injustice, systemic racism, police brutality, and widespread ethnic-religious discrimination,” said HRF president Thor Halvorssen. “Disney should be consistent in its corporate stance towards injustice.”
HRF requests that Disney consider this opportunity to positively influence human rights policy in China by breaking their silence regarding these human rights abuses and urgently consider making a public statement condemning the human rights abuses in Xinjiang as well as in Hong Kong, and donating a portion of Mulan’s proceeds to organizations that support freedom for the Uyghur and Hong Kong populations.
The Chinese dictatorial regime has a long history of committing egregious human rights violations against the Muslim population in Xinjiang, particularly the Uyghurs, under the pretense of deterring “separatism and extremism.” Whereas approximately 90% of China’s overall population is Han Chinese, in the Xinjiang region (also known as East Turkestan), the Uyghurs — a largely Muslim, Turkic ethnic minority — are the most populous ethnicity.
In addition to cracking down on Uyghurs’ freedom of expression and freedom of religion, the Chinese government has engaged in mass surveillance to control the Uyghurs, forcibly sterilized Uyghur women, forced Uyghurs into coercive labor programs, and detained an estimated 800,000 to 2 million Muslims in concentration camps. Detainees are forbidden from leaving the camps, where they are indoctrinated with Communist Party ideology and forced to renounce their culture and religion.
The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies.
For media inquiries or interview requests, please contact Natalia Ciolko at natalia.ciolko@hrf.org.