Do you know why phoenix sits the right hand of the emperor?
She is his guardian.
His protector.
It's one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year -
Disney's live-action remake of Mulan.
"Loyal, brave and true."
In case you don't know, it's based on a really old Chinese legend
about a young woman who takes her father's place in the army
by disguising herself as a man.
And for some people, it was really exciting to hear
about a Chinese story coming to life
with a mostly Chinese or Chinese-American cast.
Son of Hua Zhou!
Now, Mulan's been released to stream.
And while many people around the world are stoked to sit down
and watch it,
others say we shouldn't be watching this movie at all.
There have been calls to boycott Mulan,
not because it's a bad movie or anything,
but because China is the subject of a lot of controversy right now.
There's the coronavirus...
It came out of China. It went to Europe.
It went all over the world. Should have never happened.
They could have stopped it.
..trade arguments.
All these laws are about China, are they not?
No. These laws are about Australia's sovereign
national interests.
..and Hong Kong.
(SHOUTS AND GUNFIRE)
You've probably seen a bit of what's been going on there.
Big and sometimes violent protests over new laws
which would give mainland China more control over the territory,
which, while technically part of China,
has its own government and laws.
During last year's protests,
some people came out in support of the protesters.
Others came out in support of China's government and the police,
including actor Liu Yifei, aka Mulan,
who commented on Chinese social media.
While many Chinese people praised her for it,
it made Hong Kong supporters really angry
and they started the push to boycott Mulan.
And there's another problem some people have with this movie -
where it was filmed.
Parts of the movie was shot in the Xinjiang region of China.
And many people have spotted that Mulan's credits say
thanks to Chinese authorities there.
That's controversial because those same authorities have been accused
of mistreating people in Xinjiang.
You see, it's home to the Uighur people,
one of China's many different ethnic groups.
They have their own language and culture.
And unlike most Chinese people, they're Muslim.
For many years, there's been tension
between some sections of Uighur people and the Chinese government.
There's also been violence.
And after big riots and some acts of terrorism,
which China blamed on Uighur people,
it started what it called a security crackdown.
Human rights groups say a million or more Uighur people
have been locked up in so-called re-education centres,
forced to work and even harmed
all because of their ethnicity and religion.
While China denies that, Uighur people all over the world,
including here in Australia,
say they've stopped being able to communicate
with their family or friends.
My father-in-law, he was put in those concentration camps
along with his three sons.
MAN: What do we want? CROWD: Freedom!
Citizens, we are under attack from northern invaders.
You might be thinking, oh, that's a long way from a Disney movie, right?
And some people agree.
Some reckon the filmmakers aren't responsible for the politics
of the country they film in
and that there's room to respect other people's opinions.
Plus, China is a big and powerful country with a huge population
and a lot of potential moviegoers
and many industries and other countries,
including Australia and America, rely on it for business and trade.
So, while some switch off and others switch on,
it looks like the controversy around this character's home country
will keep going long after the movie ends.