Martial arts movie star comes out is support of LGBT rights in the US, but criticized for doing nothing for China's LGBT community
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23 April 2013 3:16 BST 6park.comAnna Leach 6park.com[iframe]"[/iframe]
[iframe]"[/iframe] 6park.comHong Kong pop star Anthony Wong has questioned martial arts movie star Jackie Chan for starring in an ad for LGBT rights in the US, but doing nothing for the community in Hong Kong (where he was born) or mainland China.
Chan garnered praise for staring in a Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) public service announcement (PSA) campaign for allies to ‘come out’ in support of LGBT rights.
But in Hong Kong Chan is known for speaking out against individual freedoms and defending China’s communist government.
In 2009 at the Boao Forum for Asia (modeled on the World Economic Forum in Davos) Chan attracted widespread criticism for saying:
‘In the 10 years after Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule, I can gradually see, I’m not sure if it’s good to have freedom or not… If you’re too free, you’re like the way Hong Kong is now. It’s very chaotic… I’m gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled.’
In December 2012, Chan said ‘Hong Kong has come a city of protest… People scold China’s leaders, or anything else they like, and protest against everything’ in an interview with Southern People Weekly.
Wong, one of Hong Kong’s only openly gay celebrities and an active LGBT rights campaigner, posted Chan’s ad on his Facebook page with the message:
‘Will Jackie do the same thing for us in HK and the mainland [China]?’
Wong’s post prompted a lively discussion.
‘This man has no problem saying hateful things and supporting an oppressive government in Hong Kong and China, yet he is jumping on the equality bandwagon in the West,’ said Billy Wong.
‘Did Jacky come out himself or was it his stunt double?… If he truly supports homosexuals, he should have joined rainbow events already. Now he’s said a few words in US press, if he does this in front of the leader of China, Mr Xi… most of us will be impressed,’ said Patty Yurn Pui Chiu.
Another commentator suggested Hong Kong’s Big Love Alliance invite Chan to join their next event. If he accepts, Chan will gain a lot of support from the LGBT community in Hong Kong and mainland China, not just in the US.
Watch Jackie Chan’s GLAAD advert here:
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