In another case of open mouth, insert foot, another celebrity has said something controversial this week. First, there was Hulk Hogan admitting that he “totally understood” O.J. Simpson. Now, Jackie Chan, who was born in Hong Kong, stated that the Chinese people “need to be controlled.” I knew this one was not going to go away without an uproar, but maybe Hulk should thank him for taking a bit of the heat off of him!
Chan was at a business forum in Hainan, a southern Chinese province, when he made his remarks. He said that he felt perhaps a free society wouldn’t be the best thing for mainland China.
“I’m not sure if it’s good to have freedom or not. I’m gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we’re not being controlled, we’ll just do what we want,” Chan said. He also said, “I’m really confused now. If you’re too free, you’re like the way Hong Kong is now. It’s very chaotic. Taiwan is also chaotic.” Both Hong Kong and Taiwan are democratic.
Naturally, the officials in both Hong Kong and Taiwan are upset with these statements. Leung-Kwok-hung, a Hong Kong legislator who is pro-democracy, said that Chan insulted the Chinese people and reminded people that the Chinese “aren’t pets.” He also pointed out that China needs democracy to protect its human rights. Hong Kong lawmaker Albert Ho called the comments “racist” and said if other people in other countries could run their government, why couldn’t the Chinese?
In the past, Chan was critical of the Tiananmen Square massacre of those protesting for democracy, but he has not spoken out against the Chinese government in several years.
I have always loved Jackie Chan, but am disappointed by these statements. I wonder if this comment will have an affect on his popularity in the U.S. And, if Chan had not grown up in democratic Hong Kong, but in “controlled” China, would he even be a movie star today?