Hong Kong film star Jackie Chan has berated Chinese medicine, the curse of being famous and those worried about China’s influence on Hong Kong in a rather weird interview with a UK newspaper.
Talking the the Guardian in a bid to promote his latest movie Chinese Zodiac, Chan seemed to be very loose lipped and a tad manic, referring to himself repeatedly in the third person while complaining about being mobbed by his fans and the culture of his homeland.
Chan first whines about how he has to stay in the hotel while in London as people, “follow me, surround me, shout, take pictures” when he goes outside, (aw, diddums!), before affirming that it’s SO much worse in China.
“I tried to go shoe-shopping in China and the shop was surrounded by something like 20,000 people. They had to get the police special forces to create a cordon for me to run out through,” Chan told he paper. Yeah, you’re famous. We get it!
Chan then goes on to criticise many of the traditional Chinese beliefs he was brought up with, claiming he was “so dumb” to think they were real, and even (sadly) dispelling the myth of the three-inch punch.
“I believed that the moon had magical powers, until I saw the guys go and walk on it. I almost admire the businessmen who can sell you anything: ‘it’s your birthday, have some cake, it’s your party, have some champagne, you’re hurt, have some tiger bone, you’re sick, have some bear bile. Even in kung fu, they say you can hurt someone with a three-inch punch. It’s bullshit.”
When pressed about whether he thinks China will gradually withdraw freedom of expression in Hong Kong, Chan, who has been criticised in the past for suggesting Hong Kong’s freedoms are not necessarily desirable, skirted around the issue like a champ, and denied that there are any problems in the former British colony.
“Life in Hong Kong is good,” he says. “It’s the same as it was before. My friends who moved away because they were scared of what would happen in 1997 [when Hong Kong rejoined China] are returning, but they are finding that they can’t afford a house any more. They are full of regret.”
Let’s hope Mr Chan doesn’t end up full of regret over this rather off-the-wall interview!
Photo: Wikimedia
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