Despite simmering tensions with the United States, the Chinese government is using the property of one of America’s biggest corporations to push a very political message.
Variety has an extensive article showcasing how many, many state-sponsored bots and networks are using Mulan and its star, Crystal Yifei Liu, as a way to combat major protests in Hong Kong. Liu has become center piece to a misinformation campaign that mischaracterizes the ideals behind Mulan, leading to the Disney star becoming something of a bastardized folk hero to those who support the state and blame the chaos in Hong Kong on the hundreds of thousands of protestors taking to the streets. The dishonest campaign spear-headed by the government is being quickly disassembled by websites like Twitter and Facebook but is still spreading and promises to be a headache for Disney as marketing for Mulan ramps up.
This all started when Liu threw her support behind Hong Kong police, causing an absolute uproar with the citizens protesting police brutality. Millions called for a boycott of Mulan and the star. But things became more complicated when China decided to use Liu as the face of the anti-protest movement. Suddenly countless bots sprang up on social media, using Lui’s image and promotional material for Mulan as a rallying cry to fight back against protestors. This isn’t dissimilar to tactics China has used before, they are very adept at inserting their biased message into social media (well, the limited social media that is allowed in China and Hong Kong) and state-sponsored television. Now the internet and TV in China is flooded with pictures of Liu and hashtags supporting the government.
This is nothing but a mess for Disney, who is desperate to court Chinese audiences and push its Mulan live-action adaptation. While they will be hesitant to come out against the Chinese government, they can’t let their character and star be used as a weapon against people crying out for fair treatment by police. You would think Disney would step forward and speak out against their property and rising star being used as propaganda but, then again, they don’t want to ruffle feathers with the Chinese government because China is such an important, emerging market for movies. So for now they are just staying quiet so they don’t hurt their bottom line or encourage violence against protestors. Ah, capitalism!
The entire affair, from Liu’s tone-deaf support of police tactics to China’s tricky decision to capitalize on it, puts a damper on what should and could have been a huge success for Disney in China and Hong Kong. It’s a shame because the story of Mulan is worth telling and should be seen by young girls looking for a heroine. But now the entire film will be bogged down by baggage. Disney’s PR department can’t be too happy about engaging in geopolitics.