Netflix has issued a agency response to the 5 Republican senators who questioned its determination to adapt “The Three-Physique Downside” sci-fi novel trilogy by Liu Cixin.
In a Sept. 24 letter, the senators, led by Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, pointed to disparaging remarks Liu had made about Uyghur Muslims in an interview final 12 months, and recommended that Netflix ought to halt its plans to adapt his books.
The streamer has stood agency in a responding letter, repeatedly pointing to the truth that “Mr. Liu is the writer of the books, not the creator of this collection.”
“Mr. Liu’s feedback will not be reflective of the views of Netflix or of the present’s creators, nor are they a part of the plot or themes of the present,” wrote Netflix vice chairman of public coverage Dean Garfield within the letter.
The corporate added that it does “not agree along with his feedback,” however went on to say that Liu’s views are “totally unrelated to his e-book or this Netflix present.”
Of their preliminary letter, the senators had accused Netflix of “complicity” over its determination to adapt Liu’s work.
“Now we have vital issues with Netflix’s determination to do enterprise with a person who’s parroting harmful CCP propaganda,” the senators wrote. “Within the face of such atrocities in (Xinjiang), there now not exist company choices of complacency, solely complicity.”
In the New Yorker interview in query, Liu pushed again on the interviewer’s questions in regards to the camps in Xinjiang, and likewise defended the Chinese language system of presidency, saying that democratization would result in chaos.
Information of the collection adaptation emerged earlier this month, coupled with the announcement that “Recreation of Thrones” producers David Benioff, D.B. Weiss can be writing alongside “The Terror” alumnus Alexander Woo, because the Netflix letter factors out.
Learn the streamer’s full response beneath:
Pricey Senators Blackburn, Scott, Cramer, Tillis, and McSally:
Thanks on your letter from September 23, and your curiosity within the upcoming Netflix collection adaptation based mostly on The Three-Physique Downside. First, we’d like to notice that Netflix doesn’t function a service in China. We deal with your questions and issues beneath:
Q: Does Netflix agree that the Chinese language Communist Celebration’s interment of 1.eight to three million Uyghurs in internment or labor camps based mostly on their ethnicity is unacceptable?
A: Completely. Because the UN Declaration of Human Rights (which China has signed) states “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
Q: With a view to keep away from any additional glorification of the CCP’s actions in opposition to the Uyghurs, or validation of the Chinese language regime and businesses accountable for such acts, what steps will Netflix take to forged a essential eye on this undertaking – to incorporate the corporate’s broader relationship with Mr. Liu?
A: Mr. Liu is the writer of the books, not the creator of this collection. Mr. Liu’s feedback will not be reflective of the views of Netflix or of the present’s creators, nor are they a part of the plot or themes of the present.
Q: Have been Netflix senior executives conscious of the statements made by Mr. Liu Cixin relating to the CCP’s genocidal acts previous to coming into into an settlement to adapt his work? If that’s the case, please define the reasoning that led Netflix to maneuver ahead with this undertaking. If not, please describe Netflix’s commonplace means of due diligence and the gaps therein that led to this oversight.
A: Mr. Liu is a Chinese language citizen dwelling in China – he’s the writer of the books, not the creator of this Netflix collection. The creators are David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the creators of Recreation of Thrones, and Alexander Woo, govt producer/author on the collection True Blood.
Q: Does Netflix have a coverage relating to coming into into contracts with public-facing people who, both publicly or privately, promote rules inconsistent with Netflix’s firm tradition and rules? If that’s the case, please define this coverage. If not, please clarify why not.
A: Netflix judges particular person initiatives on their deserves. Mr. Liu is the writer of the e-book – The Three Body Problem – not the creator of this present. We don’t agree along with his feedback, that are totally unrelated to his e-book or this Netflix present.
Sincerely,
Dean Garfield
Vice President, World Public Coverage
Netflix
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