Jackie Chan, a martial arts film star, was criticized Thursday by advocates of democracy in Hong Kong, his hometown, for statements made to a Chinese magazine, as the actor was in favor of restricting the right to manifest. Any interference with freedom of expression generates strong reactions in Hong Kong, a former British colony returned to China in 1997. Hong Kong holds a status of autonomy guaranteeing the exercise of democratic rights, unknown in communist mainland China.
“Hong Kong has become a city of protesters. The world used to say that such things happen only in South Korea. Now they spread to Hong Kong,” said Jackie Chan for a newspaper in Canton Province, Southern People Weekly which is controlled by the Communist party. “People are protesting against Chinese leaders and to many other things, they scold China… protest anything. There should be regulations on what and cannot be protested,” said the actor, whose words were taken by the Anglophone Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post.
“This is a disaster,” reacted indignantly, Cyd Ho, Democrat MP, pointing out that Jackie Chan has built his career in Hong Kong just by taking advantage of the freedom enjoyed by the Chinese territory. “He became rich and famous just because Hong Kong is a free city, which gave him the opportunity to climb the social ladder. These opportunities should benefit everyone,” added the Chinese politician.
In 2009, the Chinese star has sparked another controversy, having said that excessive political freedoms could lead to chaos, “as in Taiwan,” a haven for Chinese nationalists during the civil war.
Jackie Chan is one of the best known and most beloved actors born in Hong Kong and managed to build a successful career in martial arts movies. In 2002, he won a lifetime achievement Taurus award from the World Stunt Awards and the same year he got a star on the Walk of Fame. He also won an MTV Movie Award for lifetime achievement in 1995, and two MTV Movie Awards for his performances in the first and second part of the series “Rush Hour”. In 1999, he was named actor of the year at the Hollywood Film Festival.
The list of films in which he starred includes “The Tuxedo” “Around the World in 80 Days”, “Rush Hour” series, “The Spy Next Door,” “The Karate Kid” and the voice of Master Monkey in the series “Kung Fu Panda”.
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