The Walt Disney Company is under scrutiny by a group of bipartisan lawmakers as a result of the end credits of the live-action Mulan, which was partially filmed in the controversial Xinjiang region of China and gives thanks to the security and propaganda agencies responsible.
What’s Happening:
- Reuters has reported that a group of bipartisan lawmakers have asked Disney CEO Bob Chapek to explain why a thank you credit is given to “The Turpan Municipal Bureau of Public Security” and the “Publicity Department of CPC Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Committee” during the end credits of the live-action Mulan.
- Parts of the film were shot in the Xinjiang region, which has recently attracted media attention for the unfair treatment of Uighurs and Muslim groups who live in the region.
- The Publicity Department of CPC Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Committee in particular has been criticised for covering up the abuses, which have included forced labor and birth suppression.
- The China Commission shared a copy of the letter sent to Disney on Twitter.
- The letter states that there was publicly available information about the atrocities committed in the region as early as July 2018, with filming taking place between August and November of that same year.
- Lawmakers are requesting a detailed response from Bob Chapek regarding the extent of Disney’s cooperation with both the Publicity Department of CPC Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Committee and the Turpan Municipal Bureau of Public Security during filming.
- Other demands include how much the filmmakers working in the film knew about the atrocities happening in the region and a list of other contracted companies involved in the production in Xinjiang.
- Disney’s Mulan was released on Disney+ Premier Access on September 4th and arrived in theaters in China on September 11th.