Chinese actress and US citizen Liu Yifei – who stars as Mulan in the upcoming namesake Disney film – is facing strong backlash from social media users in Hong Kong after expressing support of the Hong Kong police last weekend on Weibo. Her post – originally written in Chinese – said: "I support the Hong Kong police too. You can all attack me now. What a shame for Hong Kong."
Her post was in response to the assault of Fu Guohao, a reporter for a state-run Chinese newspaper, who was attacked by protestors during a demonstration at the Hong Kong airport on Tuesday night. The incident proved a major PR setback for the pro-democracy movement, and Guohao went on to become a meme in mainland China, hailed as a hero.
Since Liu’s post was circulated on Chinese media, Hong Kong protestors took their wrath to social media, slamming the star using the #BoycottMulan hashtag.
This makes #BoycottMulan even more important for people who want to do something about China’s export of authoritarianism. Shame brands that value the China market over actual values. https://t.co/zguM1VbIVR
— Frankie Huang (@ourobororoboruo) August 18, 2019
One user said: "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?"
Another user said: "Liu Yifei is a US citizen enjoying liberty and freedom that the protestors are fighting for now."
Disney has not yet made a statement on the matter.
