CNN host Jake Tapper criticized Disney for thanking Chinese authorities in the credits of the new live-action film Mulan.
Tapper noted that parts of the film were recorded in Xinjiang, the province where the Chinese Communist Party has allegedly incarcerated 2 million Uighur Muslims in “reeducation camps” in which American officials believe the inmates are being tortured. He condemned the company for filming in Xinjiang and for thanking Chinese law enforcement in that region during the credits of the film.
“Not only did Disney film this movie, Mulan, in the epicenter of the part of China where the U.S. State Department estimates the Chinese government has detained as many as 2 million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups in internment camps, places China claims are for reeducation and job training, but the U.S. government says that they are subjecting Uighurs to torture and cruel and inhumane treatment,” Tapper said on Sunday.
“But not only did they film Mulan there, Disney also thanks a local police department in their credits, a police department that was sanctioned by the U.S. government for its role in running these concentration camps,” he added.
Disney’s chief financial officer, Christine McCarthy, said it is standard for films to thank local law enforcement and admitted that the company’s decision to film in Xinjiang has “generated a lot of issues” because of the backlash. Tapper said the backlash is warranted.
“The big problem is Disney thanking people accused of committing genocide,” Tapper said.
Several lawmakers have condemned Disney’s work with China, saying it was “profoundly disturbing” that Disney thanked the officials in Xinjiang while they are operating internment camps.
