August 17, 2019, 01:06 AM
Chinese-American actress Liu Yifei is under fire after publicly backing the Hong Kong police on popular Chinese social media platform, Weibo.
Embroiled in Hong Kong Protests controversy
Liu, who shot to fame after she was picked for the upcoming titular role in Disney's live-action remake of Mulan in 2020, shared a post on Weibo backing the Hong Kong police.
Photo via Liu Yifei/Weibo
The post reads:
I support the Hong Kong Police. You can beat me up now.
What a shame for Hong Kong.
The post came from a trending campaign by the People's Daily in China, which has been shared by many Chinese celebrities as well.
People's Daily is the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper of record.
Hong Kong has been embroiled in protests since June 2019, sparked off by the extradition bill that was proposed this year.
The bill has been suspended, according to Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, but the battle for Hong Kong rages on.
Online fury
Many online commenters have taken to Twitter to slam Liu for her controversial statement, calling for people to boycott the actress and media magnate Disney under the hashtag #BoycottMulan.
The hashtag started trending on Aug. 16, garnering over 23,000 tweets.
Enjoying freedom and democracy in the US while suppressing Hong Kong people who are fighting for freedom and democracy. #BoycottMulan pic.twitter.com/IHbnbwJeFr
— HulyaBee (@Avenescence) August 16, 2019
mulan is supposed to support freedom from all types of oppression that's why it was my favorite childhood movie
— bts_0613 (@seungyoonie2) August 16, 2019
it's a shame that the girl who plays mulan will forever taint the character's reputation because she supports this cruelty#BoycottMulan @Disney pic.twitter.com/erD63bnVLJ
#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
https://twitter.com/paulvangentcom/status/1162234414408929280
Liu's reply
The actress seemed unfazed over the criticism, hitting back coolly at the fiery netizens:
Photo via Liu Yifei/Weibo
If we're not on the same terms, let's part ways then. (smiley face)
Why singled out?
Some may question why Liu was singled out for the online bashing, despite many Chinese international stars and prominent Hong Kong artistes also backing the Beijing government and Hong Kong police.
Liu is a naturalised American, although she was born in Wuhan, China.
This could have resulted in some feeling that she was hypocritical for supporting police brutality in Hong Kong.
https://twitter.com/sdnorton/status/1161971657034125312
As she is also the lead actress for Disney's upcoming blockbuster movie about a heroine, some may have felt that Disney has failed to keep its commitment to uphold human rights.
Cover Image via Walt Disney Company, Liu Yifei/Weibo
If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram to get the latest updates.