LOS ANGELES - Walt Disney defended its cooperation with government entities accused of human-rights abuses in China's Xinjiang region, saying the company had to work with the government in order to make films there.
"These companies are not allowed to operate independently and must partner with a Chinese production company which is responsible for securing all film permits." With the pandemic keeping many people in the US and Europe out of movie theatres, the company made the film available for US$30 to subscribers of its Disney+ streaming service.
BRITISH LEGISLATORS The letter was addressed to Iain Duncan Smith, a member of the British House of Commons, and Baroness Helena Kennedy, of the House of Lords, and it came in response to their query.Disney said the film is a celebration of female empowerment, based on a 1,500-year-old Chinese poem. The scenes in Xinjiang amount to just 78 seconds, and were done to capture the region's dramatic desert scenery and the historic Silk Road.