According to reports, Disney cut a kissing scene from its upcoming Chinese release of ‘Mulan,’ because Chinese censors demanded the change.
The original cut of the film included a romantic scene in which the lead character Mulan (Liu Yifei) shared a kiss with her love interest, Chen Honghui (Yoson An).
But Chinese officials reportedly told Disney that the scene “doesn’t feel right to the Chinese people,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.
“It was very beautiful, but the China office went, ‘No, you can’t, that doesn’t feel right to the Chinese people.’ So we took it out.” director Niki Caro told the paper.
Hollywood has for many decades railed against censorship in the U.S., claiming that it is a strike both against a filmmaker’s First Amendment rights, not to mention his artistic integrity.
Hollywood fought against the famed Hays Code, which was instituted after a 1915 court ruling that held that movies were not protected as free speech. The industry finally won when the censorship battle when it all officially ended in 1968.
But now, it appears that Hollywood is jumping immediately to the self-censorship when cuts are demanded by China, one of Hollywood’s biggest markets.
As to Mulan, the film had already irked Chinese officials when star Liu Yifei announced support for the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong.
The rising star took to China’s version of Twitter last year saying, “I support the Hong Kong police; you can beat me up now. What a shame for Hong Kong” and adding the hashtag “#IAlsoSupportTheHongKongPolice.”
Some in China called for a boycott of the film over Yifei statement.
However, eventually, the controversy blew over.
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