Jackie Chan's awkward position, and the controversy within a controversy

This is the video of Jackie Chan's recent comments about Chinese people needing to be 'controlled' that sparked such an angry response from many Chinese commentators. His comments were made during an interview about mainland media regulation.

In case you hadn't heard, Yahoo News (and others) have reported that:

A group of mainland Chinese academics and media professionals wrote an open letter calling Chan the "spoiled brat" of the Chinese race.

"You are born in Hong Kong, a free Hong Kong which provides you with excellent conditions to become an internationally renowned martial arts star," the letter said.

"You are now the cream of the crop, and yet you don't know the importance of freedom."

There have even been calls for boycotts of Chan's movies and concerts. The main part of what Chan said that caused such anger was:

In these ten years -I grew up in Hong Kong- I slowly felt, I don't know how much freedom we should have. Too much freedom and we'll be like Hong Kong right now, very chaotic. Or become like Taiwan, also very chaotic. I slowly feel like we Chinese needs to controlled. If we're not being controlled, we'll just do what we want.

If we don't control things, we'll do things as we wish. Why can't I eat gum in Singapore? You would think that not being allowed to eat gum is correct. If I give you gum, some people might take the gum and stick it on tables, put it on chairs without self-respect."

It is hard to read such comments and not see them as being critical of Hong Kong, so I think the anger of people in the SAR is understandable.

But that initial controversy has spawned its own controversies with Chinese bloggers claiming Chan's words have been misinterpreted, with some even claiming that it is an evil Western conspiracy.

CN Reviews claims the furore is the fault of the evil 'Western media'

"Westerners look like they’re frothing at the bits to use anything they can to paint China in a negative political light: “Oh look, even lovable kung-fu funny-man Jackie Chan has betrayed his own, selling out both himself and his kind to the evil Communist regime!” To which the Western masses reply in unison: “Gasp!”"

That's an extreme reaction, I think. Chan's comments were indeed critical of Hong Kong, or 'his own', the place that made him a star. And I think most people would accept that Chinese entertainment figures are indeed very careful not to upset Chinese authorities in the interests of their career. I don't think that's a crazy invention of the Western media.

EastSouthWestNorth chose to interpret Chan's words differently, coming up with a translation that doesn't use the inflammatory word 'control':

If there is too much freedom, it becomes like Hong Kong today ... very chaotic ... furthermore, it becomes like Taiwan ... it is also very chaotic ... eh ... I have slowly come to realize that we the Chinese people need regulation ... If there is no regulation and we suddenly opened up, we can do whatever we want.

Even if that is a grammatically correct translation (and I'm not the one to judge that), I'm not sure if the meaning is exactly right as Chan actually talks about personal freedoms and behaviour before and after the quote in question - not the sort of things usually referred to in English as 'regulation'.

cfensi blog also chose to translate the line differently as:

"I slowly feel like we Chinese needs to control. If we don't control things, we'll do things as we wish."

i.e. not 'be controlled', but to do the controlling.

What seems to have been missed in all the analysis is that however you translate the comments, the point he is making is basically the same when you look at the entire speech.

I would suggest that what Chan actually meant in his off-the-cuff remark was that Chinese people need rule of law. If we don't have rule of law, we'll do things as we wish. I base that on the fact that he talks about freedoms in Hong Kong immediately before, and laws in Singapore immediately after the comment in question. Is that simple statement something many of us would dispute?

My take on this whole thing is that for Chan, being asked about Chinese media regulation put him in an uncomfortable spot because he recently had a movie banned in China for being too violent. The journalist may have been hoping the actor would make a comment about his own movie being denied a release but Chan chose (perhaps diplomatically) not to do that and instead broadened his answer to make a generalised statement that ended up being in favour of control (or regulation).

To me, it seems he was just performing a difficult balancing act whilst in an awkward position - something Jackie Chan is very used to doing!

Related: The journalist who asked the original question responds

Sort out this Gurkha veterans mess

It's shocking and baffling how the British government can dither, delay and prevent granting older Gurkha veterans the right to resettle in Britain. There ought to be no question that these Nepalese soldiers who were prepared to put their lives on the line fighting in the British Army, not in defence of their own homeland but in British military campaigns, should be granted the right to live here if they so choose.

Gurkhas who retired after 1997 do have the right to resettle the UK but Gurkhas who stopped serving before that date do not. This is what the current campaign is fighting for.

Some interesting figures:

Maximum number of Gurkhas that might want to be resettled in the UK (includes every Gurkha claiming a pension plus 2 dependents each): 75,000

Estimated number of illegal immigrants in the UK: 725,000.

The disputed, worst-case scenario cost of resettling Gurkhas cited by Gordon Brown: £1.4billion.

Cost of war in Iraq in one year: £2 billion.

It should be simple and quick to sort this out: Grant older veterans the right to live here now. Many of them won't even take up the offer, they just want the dignity of having that right. Take the cost from the defence budget. And if the government feels it can no longer afford to grant Gurkha veterans this right, then just stop using them in the British Army. Simple, isn't it?

Story: Ministers in disarray as Gurkhas strike again

Red face syndrome more serious than first thought?

Photos: Various via Flickr

You know how it is: You're out with a bunch of friends (of varying ethnicity). You down a couple of drinks and someone looks at you asks "Have you been out in the sun?"

Yes, the dreaded Asian Red Face strikes again. But on a more serious note, the New York Times reports that Red Face Syndrome isn't just a cause of embarrassing photos, in some cases it might be related to an increase risk of oesophageal cancer:

The flushing response, which may be accompanied by nausea and a rapid heartbeat, is caused mainly by an inherited deficiency in an enzyme called ALDH2, a trait shared by more than a third of people of East Asian ancestry — Japanese, Chinese or Koreans. As little as half a bottle of beer can trigger the reaction.

The deficiency results in problems in metabolizing alcohol, leading to an accumulation in the body of a toxin called acetaldehyde.

People with two copies of the gene responsible have such unpleasant reactions that they are unable to consume large amounts of alcohol. This aversion actually protects them against the increased risk for cancer.

But those with only one copy can develop a tolerance to acetaldehyde and become heavy drinkers.

It seems that the most at risk group are those who used to go red very easily early in their lives but who now don't - as this suggests they have lost the 'early warning system' of going red.

As ever, the safest response for Asian drinkers would seem to be 'everything in moderation'. Keep your alcohol consumption down overall (less than 16 drinks a week) and you'll reduce the risk of cancer significantly.

The BBC Blog Diet: Hong Kong Fast Food

No doubt everyone has their favourite memories of HK fast food. My personal favourites are the char chan tengs (glass table tops, tea served in cloudy plastic beakers and vast pots of steaming beef brisket in the windows) and those ubiquitous chain cafes like Fairwood and Maxims - all fast, cheap and with varied menus.

The UK's Guardian newspaper has just published a list of some fast food outlets you may not be familiar with but which seem to be worth checking out:

Hong Kong is one of the most vibrant food capitals in the world, with a staggering 12,000 restaurants to choose from. The Michelin Guide launched here at the end of last year- a foreboding green light for celebrity chefs to open expensive gourmet restaurants. They would be missing the point: Hong Kong certainly isn't somewhere you have to spend a fortune for fabulous Chinese food.

So here is an alternative guide for budget eating out, where the quality and freshness of the food is what counts, not the decor and service.

Article: Street eats and cafe cuisine in Hong Kong

Asian-American male's annoyed message to Asian female on Craigslist

Photo: joyce_l

This Asian American male obviously got hacked off by the behaviour of an Asian girl and made his feelings known on the classified ads site Craigslist. It starts like this...

You: Asian, young(ish), cute, petite, left-of-center, cosmopolitan.

Me: The Asian guy you would never dream of giving a second glance.

Hi! I’m so sad that you were offended by my very presence at your favorite boutique coffee shop...

The full post continues here.

via Look At This

Bruce Lee vs Iron Man

This is a really well made bit of animation. I love how they have even captured Lee's trademark hand flick. Enjoy!



via Slashfilm

Frozen in Time (#4)

I found this one on Flickr. I love the wild, clashing colour scheme and the old fashioned typefaces used in the sign.

Not only does the shopfront look untouched in decades, it also seems to have been very well maintained. A sign of a careful and devoted business owner. Note the selection of carefully tended potted plants in the window too.

The classic touch is of course the net curtains, which discreetly shield Sun Hong's customers from the prying eyes of passers by. Truly Frozen in Time.

'Frozen in Time' is a bbc blog celebration of Chinese establishments that have stood the test of time and kept their original look in an age of constant revamping and updating. If you see any other 'frozen in time' Chinese establishments, drop me a line!

Campaign against bad behaviour seems to be aimed mainly at Chinese people!

Photo: Blogtrippers

Together for London is a so-called 'passenger engagement campaign' that aims to stamp out annoying, anti-social behaviour on public transport such as playing loud music, talking loudly on mobile phones, being inconsiderate other passengers and so on.

It's hard to avoid the cutesy, Sanrio-inspired posters that are plastered all over London. Whether the campaign is effective or a waste of money is debatable but every time I see one I can't help thinking - Is that character meant to be Chinese? Check out the campaign website to see more:

Together for London

Trying to tell us something, Transport for London?