The release of Disney's live-action Mulan remake revealed that production for the film partially took place in the autonomous region of Xinjiang, also known as East Turkestan. In response to this information, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), co-chaired by Republican senator Marcio Rubio and Democratic Representative Jim McGovern, recently sent a bipartisan letter to Disney CEO Robert Chapek, inquiring about the actions the company took during production of Mulan in order to complete the film and ensure its release in Chinese theaters."Disney's apparent cooperation with officials of the People's Republic of China (PRC) who are most responsible for committing atrocities--or for covering up those crimes--is profoundly disturbing," the letter began. It then listed out the local and national Chinese authorities mentioned in the credits of Mulan, as well as their individual involvement in the persecution, surveillance, mass arbitrary detention, torture and forced labor -- among other severe human rights violations -- of Uighurs and "other members of Muslim minority groups" in the region. The letter noted that these authorities and their crimes had already been listed by the U.S Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security in October 2019.RELATED: GOP Senator Suggests Disney Pull Mulan and Apologize for 'Whitewashing the Ongoing Uighur Genocide'The letter then noted that details concerning the Chinese government's actions in Xinjiang were already publicly available by July 1, 2018, thanks to reports from "major news outlets in the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, and Hong Kong," who had all reported that Beijing had detained up to one million Uighurs and minorities.

Finally, the CECC requested that Chapek provide answers for a list of 10 questions, all concerning Disney's actions in Xinjiang and its co-operation with the Chinese government. This includes any contractual agreements, the awareness of company officers and senior executives of the situation in Xinjiang, the awareness of the film's production team while researching and filming, the Walt Disney Company's use of local labor while filming in the region and actions Disney plans to take to prevent similar association with human rights abuses in the future.

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It is important to note that numerous governments and human rights organizations across the globe have recognized the oppression of the Muslim groups in Xinjiang by the Communist Party-ruled Chinese government, as well as the existence of re-education camps, though the exact number cannot be confirmed. Due to those human rights violations in and around China, the U.S government placed sanctions on a number of senior Communist Party members earlier year.

While Disney has not yet issued a formal response to the inquiries, Disney CFO Christine McCarthy recently explained that it is common knowledge that the Chinese government must grant permission in order for filming to take place in the country, and that thanking various local and national authorities is common practice. However, she added that the controversy has caused issues for Disney.