Advocates are calling for a boycott of Disney’s upcoming live-action “Mulan” after the film’s star indicated support for Hong Kong’s police amid massive protests in the Chinese province.
The hashtag #BoycottMulan trended in the U.S. early Friday morning as supporters of the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong called for fans to skip the movie over actress Crystal Liu’s post on the Chinese social media platform Weibo in which she appeared to dismiss the protesters, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
{mosads}”I support Hong Kong’s police, you can beat me up now,” she reportedly wrote. “What a shame for Hong Kong.” The post also contained the hashtag #IAlsoSupportTheHongKongPolice, according to the Reporter.
The actress does not have an Instagram account and has not commented on the matter on her public Twitter account.
Protesters in Hong Kong have taken to the streets in the hundreds of thousands in recent weeks, initially over a bill that would have allowed Chinese authorities to extradite Hong Kong citizens to China to face charges in some criminal cases.
Demonstrators have remained on the streets over complaints about police brutality and other criticisms of Hong Kong’s pro-China legislative body.
John Bolton, President Trump’s national security adviser, warned Chinese authorities this week of the consequences of cracking down on the protesters amid reports that China had moved armored personnel carriers near Hong Kong’s border.
“The Chinese have to look very carefully at the steps they take because people in America remember Tiananmen Square,” he said.
“They remember the picture of the man standing in front of the line of tanks,” Bolton continued. “They remember the Statue of Liberty, they remember the voices of the Chinese people asking for freedom and democracy, and they remember the repression of the Chinese government in 1989.”