| Actress Liu Yifei stars in Disney's live-action movie “Mulan.” Courtesy of Walt Disney Studio |
Disney's new live-action flick “Mulan” faces growing calls for a boycott in South Korea after its star Liu Yifei shared a controversial image on social media that critics see as her tacit support of China's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
Liu, a naturalized U.S. citizen from China, plays Mulan in the movie that will have worldwide release in March.
The image she shared on Weibo on Aug. 14 reads: “I support Hong Kong's police, you can beat me up now. What a shame for Hong Kong.”
The quote ― apparently against the protesters ― is said to have been from Fu Guohao, a Global Times reporter from mainland China, while allegedly being assaulted by protesters at Hong Kong airport on Tuesday. The image was made by the Chinese government's mouthpiece the People's Daily.
“She is enjoying freedom as an American citizen, while forcing Hong Kong people to make sacrifices,” a Korean netizen wrote. “I will not watch any of her works in the future.”
Another netizen wrote: “I don't want to see a movie starring the person who supports a police crackdown in Hong Kong.”
Similar voices are spreading on Korean websites.
| The controversial image is posted on Liu's Weibo account. Captured from Liu's Weibo account |
Disney remains silent.
Liu debuted in 2003 in the drama “The Story of a Noble Family” and rose to stardom with the remake version of “A Chinese Ghost Story” in 2011. She is the ex-girlfriend of Korean actor Song Seung-heon.