In 1989, Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan performed at a pro-democracy concert in support of the student protests in Tiananmen Square. But after Hong Kong was handed over to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1997, he soon conveniently discovered his love for the Communist Party.

On July 9, Jackie Chan heaped praise on the Chinese Communist Party during an interview with the Chinese news platform M Video News (M视频News), going so far as to claim that he wants to join the party.

“When I’m abroad I often say I’m proud of being Chinese,” he said. “I am honoured to be Chinese. But I envy you who are [Chinese Communist] Party members. I think the Communist Party is truly great. What the Party says, what they promised, they have accomplished not in a hundred years, but in a few decades. I want to be a Party member” (我在外國常常講 ‘Proud of be Chinese’，我很榮幸成為一個中國人，但我也很羨慕你們是黨員，就覺得共產黨實在太偉大了，黨講的話、他們承諾的東西，不用百年，幾十年後一定會實現。我要做黨員).

According to media reports, Chan made the remarks at an event in Beijing organized by the state-run China Film Association (中国电影家协会) to discuss the speech given by president Xi Jinping on the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party.

On June 28, Jackie Chan performed in a propaganda opera in Beijing National Stadium celebrating the founding of the Communist Party.

Born in the then-British colony of Hong Kong in 1954 to a family of refugees from China, Jackie Chan pursued a career as an actor in the 1960s and became known for his acrobatic fighting style and stunts. He has been honoured with stars on the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

But in Hong Kong he is a controversial figure because of his loyalty to the Chinese Communist regime and his opposition to democracy.

“I’m not sure if it’s good to have freedom or not,” Chan said at a conference in 2009. “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 … 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.”

In 2020 Chan voiced his support for the National Security Law (NSL) imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing. The NSL has since been used to dismantle the city’s freedoms and civil liberties, shut down the largest pro-democracy media company, ban parties deemed disloyal to the Chinese Communist regime, and arrest journalists and activists.

Read: The Rise and Decline of Hong Kong – From the British Colonial Era to the Chinese Communist Takeover

Chinese Embassy in the UK Falsely Claims Hong Kong Enjoys ‘Unprecedented Freedoms’

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