In case you didn’t know, Jackie Chan is Chinese. He was born in British Hong Kong, but lives in China, which is a Communist country, and often makes speeches to crowds of Chinese people who are either Communists or pretending to support Communism so they don’t get thrown in jail.
I feel the need to point out these very obvious facts because the American media is highly publicizing some comments the action star made during a speech at a forum in Hainan province this weekend.
“I’m not sure if it’s good to have freedom or not,” Chan 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.”
Chan added: “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.”
While many people might find those comments disappointing, they shouldn’t find them shocking. Living in China means that you just might possibly believe in Communism, or at least have to act like you believe in it.
What I really found surprising were his comments about the quality of Chinese goods:
The action hero complained that Chinese goods still have too many quality problems. He became emotional when discussing contaminated milk powder that sickened tens of thousands of Chinese babies in the past year.
Speaking fast with his voice rising, Chan said, “If I need to buy a TV, I’ll definitely buy a Japanese TV. A Chinese TV might explode.”
Jackie Chan is telling us to not buy Chinese products anymore.
How can you not listen to Jackie Chan?
Jackie Chan doesn’t live in China. He lives in Hong Kong.
I’m going to put it out there that there’s definitely some lost in translation in there. So it’s better to take this with a pinch of salt.
I dont see what the big deal is. People can like any form of government which they choose. Im sure there are lots of pros to living in a communist country, it just seems strange to us because we are used to having a lot of freedom, but freedom comes with its own hardships. I remember watching a saudi princess on oprah and oprah asked her if she would ever like more freedom, since she couldnt even drive a car since she was a woman. She said no, since american women are allowed to do so many things they are often forced to do those things even if they dont want to such as work. I thought it was an interesting point of view. I think for the most part we are products of our environment.
I have to admit I like Jackie’s point of view. Chinese are hundreds of millions of people, if that many people don’t get controlled to some level – there will be nothing but chaos. He is truthful also speaking of the chinese goods quality. I don’t think it’s making it so wrong to say just because he is chinese himself. You don’t always have to be blinded by your own national pride.
~LIA~
Well said, Lia. Shame on you Kelly.
You are so right Lia!! I’m Chinese and I was born and live in Macao- the former Portuguese colony. HK and Macao are quite different from the mainland China, people here do not need to be either Communists or pretending to support Communism and we have more freedom!
Kelly, I think you need to get your records straight before posting political comments. First, although China is still being called a Communist country, most of its business activities have become capitalistic in nature. Second, not everyone in China is a Communist or pretends to be one. Third, you don’t get thrown in prison if you don’t believe in or pretend to believe in Communism. Fourth, what’s wrong with his comments about Chinese goods? He’s telling the truth. This post is just plain wrong, Kelly.
And fifth, there is nothing wrong with being a communist. (In fact, it’s is the perfomance of capitalism which should probably be questioned in light of the current economic collapse.) Freedom and equality have difficulty co-existing and depending on your preference for one, you must compromise on the other, and I think that is the point Jackie was trying to make.
why are you guys comparing capitalism and communism? you should be comparing communism and democracy. capitalism is not a government regime.
Communism is a social-economic structure that promotes common ownership. The opposite of communism is not democracy.
I live in Hong Kong and have been to China many times.. I don’t know where your information is coming from, Outragerous, but sadly people in China actually DO get thrown in prison if they oppose the government. It’s called a totalitarian state. Many people might believe that this kind of thing doesn’t happen in China anymore because, oddly enough, the Chinese government doesn’t advertise it.
Jackie Chan lives in Hong Kong but he is entitled to his political opinion, just as everyone else is. But I personally don’t agree with him that Hong Kong is “very chaotic”.
He has a point, freedom does have it’s down side. America has turned into the Roman empire. We allowed our moral standards to fall by the way side and we’re paying the price for it with our declining culture and economy. Just look at the filth on the tv, it’s embarassing that this is what is representing our country to the world. You won’t see such garbage on Chinese tv. And our public schools are the worst in the western world, teachers are too busy teaching condoms on bananas instead of teaching advanced math and science.
True true true, Jennifer.
However Kelly I liked you a whole lot but the inaccuracies in this post are alarming. :(
I’m not sure what’s funnier, Kelly trying to pretend she follows international news, or people on a gossip site debating political philosophy. Kelly, sweetie, when you’re being vicious and misogynistic about dumb celebs, you at least come across as informed.
I’m sorry, but a middle-schooler just might know more about this topic than you, Kelly. I generally enjoy yours posts and I’m never been one to “bash the newbie” as others have loved to do since Wendie and Soleil came on board. Maybe research other than Jackie Chan’s comments and Western stereotypes can help you be more informed?
i just gotta say, you evil beeters should be proud to be part of a *gossip* blog with such intelligent readers and well thought out comments.
also, i would post more comments, but it takes foreverrrrr after i click submit a few times to even get a “duplicate comment” response. i don’t even know if my stuff is being published. is happens all the time here. fyi, cause not sure if this is a technical problem on here..
anybody who did a “shame on kelly” needs to reread the post. She did not put her own opinion on what he said up there. She was just reporting his comments. How the hell do you know what she thinks about communism?
you guys should look before you jump
So I guess Kelly did NOT say the following?
“… to crowds of Chinese people who are either Communists or pretending to support Communism so they don’t get thrown in jail.”
“What I really found surprising were his comments about the quality of Chinese goods.”
Those were HER comments, buddy.
with the first part…. well…… that’s true. China is a communist state, and they tend to silence/arrest those who speak out about the government. This isn’t anything new.
the second part….. um what? She thought what he said was surprising? …… so what? you’re right though. Kelly said that she thought his statement was surprising… but what?
Again, not everyone in China believes in or pretends to believe in communism and people don’t get thrown in jail for just not believing in or pretending to believe in communism. Are there cases where outspoken people were put in jail. Definitely. Does that apply to EVERYONE? No. Kelly’s comments are just wrong.
Are you saying Kelly DID NOT say the following?
“… to crowds of Chinese people who are either Communists or pretending to support Communism so they don’t get thrown in jail.”
“Living in China means that you just might possibly believe in Communism, or at least have to act like you believe in it.”
“What I really found surprising were his comments about the quality of Chinese goods”
Those were HER comments, buddy.
Kelly is actually quite correct in her surprise regarding Chan’s support for Japanese goods.
If you read Chinese, go on any popular Chinese forum and you’ll see them dissing/boycotting Japanese goods.
Since the Chinese population is so big, it is a common view(?) that if ALL Chinese boycotted Japanese goods (and purchased national goods) the Japanese economy would collapse.
Chinese boycott Japanese good for a totally different reason. What Jackie Chan said was he preferred Japanese goods because they are of higher quality. Most Chinese, at least Mainland Chinese, boycott Japanese goods because of the Sino-Japanese War (i.e., Japan’s invasion of China and use of chemical and bacteriological weapons on Chinese civilians). Jackie Chan was born and raised in Hong Kong. You cannot expect him to have the same sentiment as Mainland Chinese.
As you have mentioned, if ALL Chinese boycotted Japanese goods, the Japanese economy would collapsed. Since the Japanese economy hasn’t collapsed, can we assume that NOT ALL Chinese boycott Japanese goods? So what’s so surprising that Jackie Chan prefers Japanese goods?
I didn’t even know that some Chinese were boycotting Japanese products. Learn something new every day! Thanks.
I didn’t want to bring up the Sino-Jap War and Nanjing massacre in my previous comment because this would mean discussing the general sentiment of Chinese public. Due to the war and the lack of apology from the Japanese side, the Chinese are not supportive of anything/statement made by the Japanese. You cannot deny that the Chinese feel that, with their population they can piss on Japan and drown the country. And please note that, this is an INCLINATION, I have not in anyway claimed that the Japanese economy WILL collapse by Chinese boycott.
Partly due to their general dislike (hatred) of Japan, partly due to their realisation of the potential purchase power of the Chinese population, some Chinese openly diss Japanese goods. If they purchase Chinese goods then they would be counter-supporting the Japanese economy.
I think that parts of your reply are logically flawed and you’ve substantially twisted my words. And I shall not entertain you further by pointing out every little bit that has been misunderstood.
In short, from a Chinese perspective, irrespective of Chan’s HK birth, Chan is Chinese (Han by blood, Chinese by culture). If he wishes to maintain his stature in the Chinese entertainment industry, then he shouldn’t openly support Japanese goods and diss Chinese goods. He is free to have such an opinion, but it is not advisable to express it so openly.
So are you saying that even you know some of the powdered milk is contaminated and could cause fatality, people in China should still buy it because of national pride? From my read of it, that’s exactly Jackie Chan’s point. He prefers a Japanese TV set because it’s of higher quality. If he used cars as a example, I’m sure he would say German. I don’t think he was publicly favoring Japanese goods. You are twisting his words.
Also, are you saying that he should not public express his opinions on Japanese goods so that he can sell more movies in China? That sounds hypocrisy to me. I never said he was smart, though.
One more thing, since you are not Chinese, I wonder how you can speak from a Chinese perspective.
Right, let’s see… what did I mention about you being illogical and word twisting. I never said that Chinese people SHOULD buy contaminated milk.
And please note that Kelly used the word ‘surprising’ to describe Chan’s feeling towards Chinese products. I mentioned that many Chinese people actually boycott Japanese goods.
I can express what my observations of Chinese mentality irrespective of my nationality, no?
And many other Chinese don’t boycott Japanese goods. I’m not saying that you can’t express your opinions. It’s just that your opinions won’t be “from a Chinese perspective.”
Of course there are gonna be some people that deviate from the general consensus. Please kindly refer to your own comment where you claimed that Chinese boycott Japanese goods for a completely different reason.
I can still express what I regard as a Chinese perspective. Notwithstanding my nationality, I CAN make such a claim. If you have a problem with it, feel free to complain to the Journal of Sociology.
…Kelly didn’t say anything wrong…or come off as misinformed. What the hell are you guys talking about?
I don’t know Avery. I think me and you read a completely different post than everyone else. I am trying to figure out what people are mad about, but I am just confused.
China is communist? yeah, true
Chan made some comments that may sound odd to westerners, but it is not so strange when you consider who he is and who he was talking to. I agree.
China has a history of punishing those who speak out against communism? true.
And I am guessing she was mostly surprised at the last comments because they seemed to be anti-China, which is unusual considering everything else mentioned.
Why is everyone mad?
I am as perplexed as you guys are.
ps: Jackie Chan should really learn to control his tongue, Chinese ppl might start boycotting his films (as the Taiwanese have done) due to his constant (Taiwan) politics bashing.
So lets get this right: Jackie comes to a free society/country to make millions only to say that someone else shouldn’t have that right? Essentially that is what he is saying. By saying Chinese need to be controlled, he is saying “his people” should not have the right to chose like he did.
I’ve really lost a lot of respect for him. That’s doesn’t mean I won’t see any of his movies because of it. I haven’t seen any of his more recent movies because they just sucked. However, I do not respect him as much as I used to now.
Confused:
Jackie Chan is HONG KONG CHINESE. This is very different from being MAINLAND CHINESE. He was not born in a communist state, and therefore did not “choose” or “come to a free society/country to make millions”.
Kelly I see no problem with your blog, except for the incorrect information that Jackie Chan lives in mainland China. His permanent residence is in Hong Kong.
I think we can’t make any hasty decisions if we don’t really learn about China and can’t simply think about a problem whether right or wrong just based on a few words from Jackie Chan.This is too personal.And it is bettter for a person not to talk about the nation’s politics.
I am a Chinese
I fuck Jackie Chan
I am a Chinese
I fuck Jackie Chan
Chinese people need freedom, democracy, human rights
Do not need to be controlled
fuck Jackie Chan
Chinese people need democracy, freedom and human rights
Do not need to be controlled