Twitter users in Thailand are debating a campaign to ban the Disney movie Mulan.
Pro-Democracy activists from Hong Kong to Thailand highlighted a 2019 social media post by Liu Yifei, who stars as the title character, and who voiced support for Hong Kong police.
The post came as police clashed with thousands of demonstrators who opposed a controversial law that would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China from Hong Kong.
Netizens are urging people to avoid the film, which opened in cinemas in Thailand on Friday. Disney didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
After student activists called for a ban of the movie, some Twitter users were still debating yesterday the merits of such a move.
Student activist Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal on Thursday tweeted calling for a ban of Mulan. He used the hashtags #BoycottMulan and #BanMulan. His tweet has been shared almost 52,000 times and gained 13,400 likes as of yesterday.
Thai and foreign media reported that Thais had joined the "Milk Tea Alliance" in the Mulan boycott.
The hashtag #Mulan rose to 8th top Twitter trend in Thailand on Saturday.
Among the most popular tweets, @potatolord26 wrote on Friday: "It's not wrong to watch Mulan, those who ban Mulan are not wrong either. But those seeing the movie for only the entertainment reason should not find excuses to undermine the reasons for those who ban for political reasons. It does not make sense."
His tweet was retweeted 28,600 times.
Meanwhile, some users also discussed whether such boycott campaigns should be applied to all celebrities, including K-Pop stars or not.
@Kongto07 wrote, "Just to win in the main issues of [political] demands is so difficult, but it has gone so far," he said.
"It's your right to ban [them] but you must admit that those [celebrities] have their own fanclub, maybe in a larger number than you. You ban one of them you have to accept losing alliance," he added.
Many who joined the campaign complained that their acquaintances refused to join. User @_tentaro wrote, "My father still said BanMulan is silly. He knows why it is banned. I feel desperate."
However, many social media users who joined the campaign noticed that the campaign in Thailand was active only among Twitter users and not other platforms.
@Noonpoor wrote, "Ban Mulan issue is only limited in Twitter, isn't it? People in Face[book] and others live normally. There's no reaction. No news either."
On Facebook, many users posted saying they had watched Mulan. Many said they were glad they managed to watch it in a cinema.
Bangkok Critics Assembly reported 9.7 million baht takings for Mulan at the box office in Bangkok, adjacent provinces and Chiang Mai, as of Sept 4.