Mulan draws fire over filming in China's controversial Xinjiang province

The controversy surrounding Disney's live-action remake of Mulan has stepped up, after it emerged that some of the movie has been shot in China’s controversial Xinjiang province.

The province, in the north-east of the country, is where the China is being accused of detaining Uighur Muslims in so-called 're-education' camps.

However, despite international condemnation of the mass detentions, Disney has offered ‘special thanks’ to several government bodies in the region in the film’s credits.

Among them is the ‘publicity department of CPC (Communist Party of China) Xinjiang Uighur Autonomy Region Committee', which produces propaganda and messaging for the region.

Read more: Is Mulan based on a true story?

Uighurs who have been subject to the extra-judicial detainment have been forced into labour, indoctrination programs and forced sterilisation, according to reports.

Yahoo Movies UK has contacted Disney for comment, and while it is yet to directly address the matter, the film has already become the subject of protest.

The #BoycottMulan movement on social media is already gathering support from pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand.

One prominent activist in Hong Kong, Joshua Wong, took to Twitter to take aim at both the Chinese Communist Party and actress Liu Yifei, who plays Mulan in the movie.

“Because Disney kowtows to Beijing, and because Liu Yifei openly and proudly endorses police brutality in Hong Kong, I urge everyone who believes in human rights to #BoycottMulan,” he said.

Liu hit headlines last summer, after the Chinese-born US actress showed support for the Hong Kong police who were cracking down on anti-Chinese protesters.

In August, 2019, she shared a post on the Chinese social media service Weibo from pro-government media, which read: “I support Hong Kong's police, you can beat me up now. What a shame for Hong Kong.”

She then affirmed: “I also support Hong Kong’s police.”

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At the time of the message, many called for an early boycott of the movie.

Following the furore, she told The Hollywood Reporter: “I think it's obviously a very complicated situation, and I'm not an expert. I just really hope this gets resolved soon... I think it's just a very sensitive situation.”

Disney's chairman Alan Horn also briefly referenced the row back in February, saying: “My feeling is, free speech is an important component of society, certainly, and folks ought to be able to say what they want to say.

“I can’t speak for what Liu says in China – we didn’t know about it, what she was going to say – and that’s up to them.”

The movie is currently available via premium streaming on Disney+.