Jackie Chan is known for several things: being one of the best stuntmen/actors ever in the history of film; being one of the richest entertainers ever to come out of Hong Kong or mainland China; and lastly, for being a favorite of Beijing’s ruling class, because of his pro-authoritarian-government statements and views. He has been critical of Taiwan’s government for years, and has often been at odds with the parts of Taiwan’s and China’s population that are striving for democratic reforms.

Jackie’s latest comments have created another storm. While Jackie was attending a forum in Hainan (in which China’s prime minister Wen Jiabao was in attendance), Jackie claimed “I’m not sure if it is good to have freedom or not… I’m really confused now. If you are too free, you are like the way Hong Kong is now. It’s very chaotic. Taiwan is also chaotic… I’m gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we are not being controlled, we’ll just do what we want.” Yikes. Of course, the Chinese audience applauded. But now some prominent activists are taking issue – as they should.

Jackie Chan has triggered controversy by claiming Chinese people are so chaotic they need to be firmly controlled by the government.

The actor told a forum on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, whose attendees included Wen Jiabao, the Chinese prime minister, he was not sure “freedom” was necessary.

Chan, 55, whose latest movie, Shinjuku incident, was banned in China, was asked about censorship and restriction on the mainland. He expanded his comments to discuss Chinese society in general.

“I’m not sure if it is good to have freedom or not,” he said. “I’m really confused now. If you are too free, you are like the way Hong Kong is now. It’s very chaotic. Taiwan is also chaotic.”

He added: “I’m gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we are not being controlled, we’ll just do what we want.”

His comments were applauded by the Chinese audience, but triggered fury in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Leung Kwok-hung, a pro-democracy MP in Hong Kong, said: “He has insulted the Chinese people. Chinese people are not pets. Chinese society needs a democratic system to protect human rights and rule of law.”

Albert Ho, another MP, said Mr Chan was “racist” and added: “People around the world are running their own countries. Why can’t the Chinese do the same?”

Mr Chan is a favourite of the authorities in Beijing, and performed in both the opening and closing ceremonies of the Summer Olympics. He is also the vice chairman of the China Film Association, a key industry group.

However, he lost some of his goodwill among the audience when he criticised the quality of Chinese-made goods.

“If I need to buy a television, I would definitely buy a Japanese television,” he said. “A Chinese television might explode.”

[From The Telegraph]

In interviews or profiles, I always like Jackie Chan, even though I’m totally ambivalent about his films. I respect his stunt work and the career he’s forged through decades of work, blood, sweat, tears and many, many broken bones. He’s very active in many charities, and he’s given away millions of dollars, mostly to children’s causes. His broad success around the world should be and is admired, considering he’s one of the very few Asian actors to achieve it. Obviously, he’s entitled to his opinion. But it seems like the proponents of democratic reform in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong have a much better case – to me, at least.

Here’s Jackie Chan at the press conference for the film ‘Soldier and General’ in Beijing on April 2nd. Images thanks to WENN.com .