Jackie Chan: Chinese People Need To Be Controlled

BOAO, China — Action star Jackie Chan said Saturday he's not sure if a free society is a good thing for China and that he's starting to think "we Chinese need to be controlled."

Chan's comments drew applause from a predominantly Chinese audience of business leaders in China's southern island province of Hainan.

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

"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."

The kung fu star has not been a vocal supporter of the pro-democracy movement in his hometown of Hong Kong. Since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997, voters have not been allowed to directly elect their leader. Several massive street protests have been held to demand full democracy, but Beijing has repeatedly said Hong Kong isn't ready for it.

The theme at Saturday's panel discussion was "Tapping into Asia's Creative Industry Potential," and Chan had several opinions about innovation in China.

He said that early in his career, he lived in the shadow of the late martial arts star Bruce Lee. He said that during his first foray into Hollywood, he struggled to establish his own identity, so he returned to Hong Kong. After spending 15 years building his reputation in Asia, Chan finally got rediscovered by Hollywood, he said.

Chan said the problem with Chinese youth is that "they like other people's things. They don't like their own things." Young people need to spend more time developing their own style, he added.

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."

Comments

[FairTalk]

I have a question about how information is presented in this "news" report.

>Since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997, voters have not been allowed to directly elect their leader. <

So, did the people of Hong Kong directly elect their leaders before 1997?

Please explain this to me. Were there elections, political parties, etc?

[negogato]

No elections under the British. Hong Kong was a colony administered by British and Chinese bureaucrats – appointed colonial functionaries. Non democratic countries have trouble with corruption. With a free press in a functioning Democracy where votes are counted - you can vote the bum out. On the other hand, Ruling Party membership grants privileges which includes corruption and loyalty is far more important than competence. The same can be said for Colonial rule. Take your pick: Military Dictatorship; Tribal Strongman; Totalitarian Dictatorship; Communism; Crony Faux Democracy; Colonial Rule all breed corruption and loyal incompetence.
40years ago in the Colony of Hong Kong there was a tremendous amount of corruption which has steadily declined making the city a good place for banking and business. Honest Cops and Honest Bankers. The culture of fighting corruption continues in Hong Kong since the handover to this day. People living above their known income were and are investigated and have to prove their gains were honest. Guilt was and is presumed and you have to prove that your income was not from corruption. That may be the only way to combat bribery and influence peddling. It also meant that competent people needed to be better paid to remove the temptation. Better paid administrators and a culture of fighting corruption was what Brittan gave Hong Kong instead of established Democracy.
Hong Kong is not a chaos, Jackie.
Consider a corruption free US Senate and congress - - and how we would live in the USA.

[AN2009]

Because the CCP is all about fairness, free elections, and freedom of speech...

[AnthonyVolpe]

I don't totally agree with Jackie Chan. I value my freedom. But in a way, I do see his point. With freedom comes responsibility. Take a look at the Bush Administration (and Dick Cheney's latest commentary about Obama and Chavez) and you'll see what happens when you have too much freedom and too little responsibility.

[anthonyking]

Jackie is an opportunistic and a uncouth man without any culture or graciousness. If you understand mandarin just listen to his interview on a well known art program on Beijing TV http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaXvAB9t-s4&feature=related. It says alot about how low he can go as a person.
Most HK and Taiwan artists are now dependent on the China market for their living. Although there are tons of piracy issues - the main money is to be made on endorsements which requires building popularity with the Chinese people and establishing excellent relationship with the Chinese government - which is essential for a B-grade actor like Jackie to survive.
Just take whatever HK or Taiwan artists say about how much they support the Chinese government's policy with a pinch of salt - as most of them carry 2 passports (the other passport is probably a UK, Canadian or Australian passport). If the Chinese economy were to collapse tomorrow and the big consumer market vanish overnight - these same artists will pack their bags and move to the West!

[weihans]

Jackie:

What do you say I CONTROL you because I know better than you? Oh, wait a second, you are Australian by citizenship.

Oops... My bad, I will spare you my iron hand this time.

[TessyRenberg]

I agree whatever problems China faces should be met with a Chinese Solution, not one imposed on them. They experienced life as a colony under British Rule and changes came too suddenly with revolution. Gradually civil liberty and then workers rights should be allowed to progress. Gee where is the US on this progression? There will always be forces who want to work against this and centralize power, and avoid any restraints. China would not cooperate on exposing tax havens at the economic summit.

[Politicallyinterested]

Mr. Chan is not completely incorrect. The West thinks of China as homogeneous. However Chinese in written Chinese really refers to citizens of the political entity called China. What Western people think of as Chinese people as an ethnic group does not exist in written Chinese. What the Westerners thinks of the Chinese as an ethnic group is really the Han people in written Chinese. Chinese tradition for a few thousand years is based on an appreciation of organization and of discipline of many people and of many different ethnic groups in one country so that all can function and benefit; there is nothing controversial about that in terms of the Chinese (Han) people and of China.

[DSun]

Please do not hang up on "Han". Chinese call themselves either "Han" or "Tang" because these 2 dynasties are the most glorious and longest in history. Chinese civilization started 4000 plus years go with Huang Emperor.

[weihans]

DSun:

I don't know what you mean by the longest dynasties. I thought the Shang was longer. I am confused about how you define "civilization." Do you even know how people measure the age of a civilization? I seriously doubt it. Check your history book before you say anything.

If a person keeps referring back to the good old days, that means he hasn't accomplished much in the present days. This rings true of a group of people.

[Politicallyinterested]

Han is the name of the main ethnic group. I hope you are aware of the differences between the Han and the other ethnic groups in China. That is something celebrated in China.

The (Han) Chinese do not have 5000 years of recorded history. The truly broadly archeologi­cally-just­ifiable dynasty at the moment is the Shang Dynasty. The claim that recorded Chinese history began with the Yellow Emperor coming down from heaven is a legend, unless you believe that he did come down from heaven and fought people with many eyes and arms. That legend was written, if I remember correctly, more than 1000 years after the fact. It is considered part of mythology and not history. You should read the story and the discussion surrounding it then. Even educated Chinese are aware of it being a part of mythology.

[pug ster]

I think we have to look at the context at what Jackie Chan is saying. He complained about the Sanlu Milk Powder incident was because of a lack of morality and absence in management that resulted in this kind of failure. Similarly, he said the Chinese TV's are junk because he thinks that Chinese manufacturers care about making money rather than making a quality product. This kind of moral vacuum is the reason why he said that Chinese people needs to be managed (and not controlled as this is not what he meant) and there should be more regulations to stop this from happening. If we have this type of regulation in the banking sector in the US, the financial meltdown would not be so severe.

What his comment got so riled up in DPP in Taiwan is that they seems to be more of an hinderance rather helping to make Taiwan better as a whole. There was little moral authority under DPP's Chen Shu Ban because we went to jail on corruption charges.

[KPinSEA]

Well, just goes to show you that kowtowing isn't dead .... Jackie just kowtowed to an authoritarian regime to maintain market share.

But you know, if you go to Hollywood (or Hong Kong) for your political wisdom, you're going to be disappointed pretty regularly.

[Cowboylove]

Everyone deserves to be free. That does not mean free to steal or defraud others. To say people cannot have freedom of expression or elect their leaders, because they may not choose wisely is an old debunked argument.

Where are people better off? In relatively free societies or in controlled societies? And if controlled societies are best, why did he come to America to make his fortune?

[Percy Chan]

I think you are misunderstanding the different uses of the word Control. While, yes control may be used in the communist sense of a closure of political, and social freedom, control can also be categorized as stricter restrictions on production and just human interaction in the form of laws. There is no country, besides perhaps Zimbabwe which has absolutely no control over their country. What i think Jackie Chan is trying to get across is that before China can fully embrace the freedoms enjoyed in Europe, Canada, and the U.S, it first needs to tighten its control over its industrial regulations. So that things like, lead paint on toys, or the contaminated milk powder do not affect the image of the Chinese society and government.
Also, i think that when he says the problem with Chinese youth is that "they like other people's things. They don't like their own things." He is very correct, because while Chinese (my own parents included) tend to look in the past for their wisdom and achievments. While i am not saying that the creation of a written language, and the creation of paper, and the compass are not feats to be proud of, really, when was the last major Chinese Advancement. So i feel that before China can enjoy the privileges of a democratic system, the chinese youth, and younger generation, needs to shed the boundaries of the old, and develop new innovation and new ideas for the future.

[Redheadwithopinions]

Wow, interesting points on his part...I never really thought about it that way. He is absolutely right about the "material" aspect of things. Chinese don't have their own technologies, they steal from others for the most part..and for some reason make them really inferior so that you have to keep buying more inferior or go get something from someone else. I rarely buy "made in china". Their political processes may raise eyebrows, but its not the politics that bothers me. Chinese lack pride in their own accomplishments as they are not their OWN accomplish­ments..the­ir stuff rides our coattails...which is their own fault..but I don't see it changing any time soon. They won't stand up for themselves more than once every decade or so..they do so then back to their little houses they go. When someone does stand up, they are jailed..no one says much about where they went. If the Chinese don't care what happens to the Chinese culture..Jackie Chan is right. One should never forget where they came from..and the chinese are ever trying to it would seem. I never did understand why either..ancient chinese history is one of the most interesting I think~!

[globality]

Let see,

They invented Writting, they had in the 6th century metals that were treated to not corrode, which we did not until the industrial revolution, printing, paper, the compass

here is a link to all discoveries and inventions by China

BTW it's not the first to get a patent that discovered it first

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_discoveries

They stood up against emperors and tryrany way before we ever did.

The Chinese have at least 8000 of History, and they do NOT forget for one second where they came from

Innovation in conservation and farming are allowing the Chinese to feed 20% of the worlds population with only 6% of teh worlds arable land

Also when we were wadding knee deep in our own feces of which we covered the smell with cologne they were bathing on a daily basis

[Politicallyinterested]

I agree with you that Redheadwithopinions is not correct in many ways but you more wrong than she is. The Chinese, that is the Han people, do not have 8000 years of history. I speak, write and read Mandarin pretty well if not fluently. I also am quite functional in Cantonese. The Shang Dynasty is the first dynasty that is undisputed. It is not certain whether the Xia Dynasty existed and whether it was Chinese (Han); however there are possibilities that it did exist and were Chinese. Cuneiform of the Sumerians seems to be the first true writing system. Most Western writing systems, like this one, have their providence in Egyptian hieroglyphics. I am also Greek and know Greek history well. Greek seem to be a little older than the Chinese in terms of archeological evidence. Cleanliness was a well-documented priority to the Ancient Greeks. The Ancient Greeks spent a lot of time keeping things clean, because they believed that the ancient Gods bestowed favors on those who kept things clean and pure and that dirtiness led to bad fortune. I don't know today's Egyptian culture well enough. However if they can be truly claimed to have an unbroken cultural connection to Ancient Egyptian culture, the Egyptians would be the oldest culture in the world as of now. The Sumerians had the first true civilization though @ 6,000 B.C.

[weihans]

If a person keeps referring back to the good old days, that means he hasn't got much to show for now. The same rings true of a group of people. How sad the Chinese people have to always mention the good old days when challenged about their accomplishments! It just shows that as a people, they are going downhill. In fact, the same thing can be said of individuals. For example, when I was in China, the people that cut in line or spit in public, 9 out of 10 are adults. It makes you wonder: Do the Chinese get less mature as they age when it's supposed to be the other way around?

[globality]

Here is list of inventions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_inventions

[globality]

Ni bu shi dong xi

Ni shi 250

Muguo

Xian Jian

[Jablum]

China and Chineese culture is best understood by those who live there. It is a complex society and I will not even pretend to know anything about that. It is insightful what chang said, although jaring. What I do know is that the US owes China way too much money--so we their B!!@#s, bottom line.

[eatbees]

Who cares what Jackie Chan thinks?

[ObamacratDOTus]

I do! I care what Jackie thinks. Most likely he is the most popular entertainer in the entire world AND he is a wholesome guy.

I have no idea what is the best way to govern 1.6 billion people. And I doubt you can convince me that you do. But one thing is for sure, when you have that many people you will have huge control and containment issues. You absolutely cannot allow a society of that scope to turn into the throw-away culture ours has become. Otherwise our planet would become one big garbage scow.

[Joethepauper]

But I thought "Freedom" and "Democracy" were the only ways society could function correctly! If China is worried about uprisings, I have a solution (and, unlike Jackie Chan, I'm not confused): Give the people higher wages. Give them environmental protections. Clean up the E-waste shanty towns and get those people some shoes. Give them a free press so they can learn what's going-on outside of China and also what their government is really up to. Stop censoring the internet (protecting people from words like "Democracy" and "Freedom"). Next time there is an uprising, let the people vent and stand in front of tanks if they want. Basically, stop doing everything you're doing and do the opposite. That was my advice for the past 8 years of Bush rule, but common sense doesn't translate well with some people. Let me run the world for one week! I'd be a dictator, but after that week, I'd get elected by a landslide. I'd be the most beloved dictator the world has ever known. Some people wouldn't like me because their low scores on the mandatory I.Q. tests would mean they have to move to Siberia, but they wouldn't be missed anyway.

[pug ster]

http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/chinacalling/archive/2009/04/19/the-sayings-of-premier-wen-and-jackie-chan.aspx

Oh gawd, this quote is taken out of context. Jackie Chan was chosen to talk about “Tapping into Asia’s Creative Industry Potential.” When he made this ‘Chinese needs to be controlled remark,’ he was replying about the need for Beijing to carefully regulate artistic and cultural expression. I think that this was the response to films like Kung Fu Panda and Rush hour 3 which does reflects poorly on China’s artistic and cultural expression. This off handed remark has nothing to do with the politics in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

[berrycooda]

Take a good look at America.....

Land of the free and many who are drug addicted...

He should have stated that some people need to be controlled....
There will always be a part of any society that will take advantage and
some are never taught better.

Greed ... Theft ... are two good examples...A lot of this happens and is not controlled,
even if there are laws that are supposed to protect those who are doing the right thing,
who end up being victims to those who get by with what they are doing.

[freethinking moderate]

This is almost as bad as Chan being in the new karate Kid remake by Will Smith. At least it got renamed to Kung Fu kid. Wonder which will bomb more - his remarks or that movie?

[KatDawgATL]

"Wonder which will bomb more - his remarks or that movie?"

Apparently you don't know much about Will Smith's OR Jackie Chan's movies.