Liu Yifei, the actress who is starring as Mulan in the upcoming live-action remake of Disney’s animated film, has become the latest victim of ‘cancel culture’ – the new-found frontier of political correctness which sees angry mobs decimate celebrities for not being on board.
The 31-year-old Chinese actress, who moved to the US as a child, posted a political statement to Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, endorsing the police handling of the ongoing Hong Kong protests.
“I support the Hong Kong police, and you can beat me up now”, she wrote alongside “What a shame for Hong Kong,” captioning the post with the hashtag #Ialsosupporthongkongpolice.
Disney’s Mulan actress, Liu Yifei, supports police brutality and oppression in Hong Kong.
— sean norton 🌹 (@sdnorton) August 15, 2019
Liu is a naturalized American citizen. it must be nice. meanwhile she pisses on people fighting for democracy.
retweet please. HK doesn’t get enough support. #BoycottMulan @Disney pic.twitter.com/FpECIdutH2
The call to #BoycottMulan has swept social media platforms, while Liu’s Instagram account turned into a battleground between pro-Hong Kong and pro-Beijing camps.
“You should NOT represent Mulan,” an incensed commenter wrote. “You're supporting police brutality.”
Another said: “I think you should give up your USA passport first, you betrayed China and now back to China for RMB, shame on you.”
Honestly disappointed to hear about Liu supporting police brutality. I was actually kinda looking forward to this remake but people like her playing Mulan ultimately ruin the story #BoycottMulan pic.twitter.com/F1sXD0tzWD
— 🇵🇭AngeLaLaLa🏳️🌈 (@HahAngela12) August 16, 2019
#BoycottMulan how tone deaf do you have to be to support police brutality when you just filmed a character who is supposed to stand against oppression in its raw form? Pound sand. pic.twitter.com/Ug8pfh3JPN
— Tom S. Foolery (@foolery_s) August 16, 2019
She is living in a country with freedom of speech, yet she supports communism and brutality of police.. #BoycottMulan @Disney pic.twitter.com/Krr9ID1bGU
— 🇭🇰BtoB 💙 SHINee (@theodorahkk) August 15, 2019
There were quite a number of people who stood by her views, however.
“Mulan's duty is justice and to protect her country. Liu Yifei is right. Liu Yifei acts on behalf of justice,” one user wrote.
“Actress Liu did nothing wrong for she is defending the integrity of China just like Mulan,” argued another supporter. “She is not afraid of those rioters of Hong Kong who want to split the country, and this is the spirit of Mulan.”
#SupportMulan #supportliu yife
— Xiao iris (@xiao_iris) August 16, 2019
Mulan protects her country. Her actor liuyifei is just as brave and patriotic as mulan. pic.twitter.com/NtFdZoZDMt
The Hong Kong protests, which started in June as mostly peaceful rallies against the controversial extradition bill, have been marred by frequent clashes between protesters and police.
The bill has since been suspended, but the protest movement has evolved into something bigger and darker, and now demands broader political reforms including direct elections of the Hong Kong chief executive – the highest office in the semi-autonomous city.
Some protesters have claimed police used excessive force against them, while Beijing referred to “near-terrorist” acts while the Hong Kong leadership warned that the protests were pushing the city to the verge of a “very dangerous situation”.
The Hong Kong protests, which started off in June as largely peaceful rallies against the controversial extradition bill, have been marred by frequent clashes between protesters and police.
