Hawley scolds Disney for filming ‘Mulan’ in Chinese region home to ‘concentration camps’

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) slammed Disney for its filming of parts of its new movie “Mulan” in a Chinese province allegedly home to “concentration camps” holding Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities.

“There was a time when Beijing might have been satisfied with enslaving Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities, even as it tortured them into abandoning their beliefs and swearing loyalty to the party,” Hawley wrote in a letter to Disney CEO Robert Chapek. “But that is no longer the case. Now Beijing appears intent on destroying the Uighur people. And it has rolled out a sophisticated campaign to do just that, including by systematically sterilizing Uighur women and aborting their children.”

“Mulan” was filmed in Xinjiang, the native province of the Uighurs and home to more than 1 million people held in “reeducation camps,” according to several international human rights groups. In the closing credits, producers give “special thanks” to Chinese officials who allowed parts of the movie to be filmed in Xinjiang.

“How exactly does giving ‘special thanks’ to the officials responsible for imprisoning, torturing, and forcibly sterilizing millions of people because of their ethnicities and beliefs align with your supposed commitment to promoting human dignity and respecting human rights?” Hawley asked in his letter. “How does glorifying the Chinese authorities perpetrating abuses in Xinjiang provide comfort, inspiration, and opportunity to Uighur children—including those who were never born because the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] forced their mothers to abort them? Disney’s actions here cross the line from complacency into complicity.”

Hawley also asked if Disney will donate any of the profits from Mulan to nongovernmental organizations “dedicated to fighting human trafficking and the other atrocities underway in Xinjiang.” 

“For nearly a century, Disney has told stories, produced films, and built theme parks that inspired us, brought us together, and showed us the very best of what America had to offer the world. Your decision to uncritically approve this film’s release rather than apologizing to those harmed by Disney’s actions is reprehensible. Your decision to put profit over principle, to not just ignore the CCP’s genocide and other atrocities but to aid and abet them, is an affront to American values,” he added.

“Mulan,” which made $33.5 million in its first weekend on Disney+, the company’s popular streaming service, is a live-action remake of its original 1998 animated film.

Chinese government officials have not commented publicly on Hawley’s letter.