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エピソード２７の ”Mulan Controversy“を リーディング＆リスニング。
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映画ムーランについての論争
コロナウイルス、西洋諸国との貿易論争、香港国家安全維持法、中国・新疆自治政府（ウイグル族）などいろいろな問題を抱えている中国が本当の論争の主題。
Introductionの内容
There’s been a lot of controversy over Disney’s new film, Mulan – a live-action remake of its 1998 cartoon which was based on Chinese folklore. Some people are calling on fans to boycott the film because of where it was filmed and the lead actor’s comments about Hong Kong. We find how political tensions between China and Western countries are affecting the release of a kids’ film.
ディズニーの新しい映画、ムーランについては多くの論争があります。これは、中国の民間伝承に基づいた1998年の漫画の実写版です。 一部の人々は、その映画が撮影された場所と主演俳優の香港についてのコメントのために、ファンに映画をボイコットするよう訴えています。 中国と西欧諸国の間の政治的緊張が子供向け映画の公開にどのように影響しているかがわかります。
MULAN 2020: Do you know why the phoenix sits at the right hand of the emperor? She is his guardian. His protector.
It’s one of the most highly anticipated movie of the year, Disney’s live action remake of Mulan. 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.
AMELIA, REPORTER: Now Mulan’s been released to stream and while many people around the world are stoked to sit down to watch it; others say we shouldn’t be watching this movie at all.
There’ve 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.
DONALD TRUMP, US PRESIDENT: It came out of China. It went to Europe. It went all over the world. They could have stopped it.
Trade arguments.
JOURNALIST: All these laws are about China are they not?
SCOTT MORRISON, PRIME MINISTER: These laws are about Australia’s sovereign national interests.
And Hong Kong. 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 protestors; others came out in support of China’s government and the police, including 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.
AMELIA, REPORTER: And there’s another problem that some people have with the movie – where it was filmed.
Parts of the movie were shot in the Xinjiang region of China and many people have spotted that Mulan’s credits says 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 Uyghur 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 Uyghur people and the Chinese government. There’s also been violence and, after big riots and some of acts of terrorism which China blamed on Uyghur people, it started what it called a “security crackdown”. Human rights groups say a million or more Uyghur 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, Uyghur people all over the world, including here in Australia, say they’ve stopped being able to communicate with their family or friends.
MEYASSAR ABLAT, UYGHUR PERSON: My father in law, he was put in those concentration camps along with his three sons.
AMELIA, REPORTER: You might be thinking “All this stuff is a long way from a Disney movie”, right? And some people agree.
Some reckon the film makers 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 movie-goers) 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 this movie ends.
