You are here » »

Jackie Chan: Too much freedom not a good thing

2 comments | Post Comment

Email Print Text Size:

Jackie Chan

Broken finger can't stop Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan impressed with Jaden Smith

Jackie Chan defends China comments

Jackie Chan film too violent for China

Martial arts movie opens number 1 at the box office

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 7:57p.m.

Action star Jackie Chan grew up in Hong Kong's freewheeling society, but he said Saturday that too much freedom isn't good and he's starting to think "we Chinese need to be controlled."

Chan's comments drew applause from an audience of business leaders on China's southern island province of Hainan.

The 55-year-old Hong Kong actor was participating in a panel at the annual Boao Forum on Saturday when he was asked to discuss censorship and restrictions on filmmakers in China. He expanded his comments to include society in general.

"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."

Comments [2]

ILov eHK

20 Apr 2009 1:20a.m.

Shame on Jackie Chan - an uneducated selfish hypocrite.

Steve

18 Apr 2009 9:48p.m.

Heaven forbid that anybody be left to do what they want without someone being there to interfere.
In the nineteen thirties, the Chinese were very concerned about opium. They had mass executions of anybody remotely connected to opium in some communities. Many thousands were simply despatched, shot point blank with a pistol round through the back of the head (i've seen some archive footage...) I don't really know what the Chinese do to the druggies in their communities now, but America has the most people in jail in the world per capita than anyone else, then come the controlled Chinese earning second spot, and little ol' New Zealand takes third. Punching above our weight in the social aspect of moral concern since the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1927.
At one end of the debate are those who will kill you if they catch you, at the other are those who hand drugs out in the playground. The solution to this problem is somewhere in the middle, we need a degree of controlled availability, some form of functional regulation for the supply and demand of currently illegal drug products.