The Chinese government has ordered major media outlets in China to not cover the release of Walt Disney's "Mulan." Authorities ordered the ban as controversy broke out over the film's links with China's Xinjiang region, where China is committing mass human rights abuses against the Uighur minority population and others, Reuters reports today.
This is all a big bummer for Disney, which performed backflips to make the movie appeal to audiences in China. The $200 million production features Chinese-born stars Jet Li, Gong Li, Donnie Yen, and Liu Yifei, and tested well with Chinese audiences.
Excerpt from Reuters:
Three sources told Reuters media outlets had received the notice, two of whom said it was sent by the Cyberspace Administration of China. A fourth source at a major Chinese newspaper said he received a text message with a similar order from a senior colleague.
No reason was given in the notice, but the sources said they believed it was because of the overseas backlash over the film's links to Xinjiang.
Neither the Cyberspace Administration or Disney immediately responded to requests for comment.
Partly shot in Xinjiang, Mulan's credits included thanks to the authorities there, which prompted calls overseas for a boycott of the movie. China's clampdown on ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang has been criticised by some governments, including the United States, and human rights groups.
Read more at Reuters: China bars media coverage of Disney's 'Mulan' after Xinjiang backlash – sources
