Jackie Chan clears the air on his previous 'insensitive remarks'
REPORT: TAN KEE YUN
DO YOU really feel Singaporeans lack social graces and self-respect?
This was the question on every journalist's mind yesterday afternoon when Jackie Chan greeted the local media in a mock boxing ring.
The high-adrenaline setting was apt, for the 55-year-old action superstar was in town to grace the third anniversary celebrations of California Fitness' Jackie Chan Sport at Velocity @ Novena Square.
The state-of-the-art fitness club is Jackie's second gym facility in Singapore, following his first at Bugis Junction.
But it was soon clear that no one was interested to chat about health and fitness with him. Just two weeks ago, Jackie's speech at the annual Boao Forum in Hainan had incurred the wrath of several Singaporean netizens.
He was quoted as wondering why he couldn't chew gum in Singapore, then gave his take on it: "If I let you chew gum, those people will leave them on tables and chairs. They have no self-respect at all."
In the same speech, he allegedly called Hong Kong and Taiwan "chaotic", and said that "Chinese people need to be controlled".
When the media pressed Jackie to clarify his controversial views, he smiled amiably and said: "I have nothing to clarify, it was simply taken out of context.
"The papers only give you the beginning of the story, but they don't give you the end."
Using a Chinese idiom at this juncture, he said: "The wise man knows he knows nothing, the fool thinks he knows it all."
He referred those in the Hong Kong media who stoked the controversy as "the black sheep of the media profession".
"I have always viewed journalism as a noble profession, one that is filled with integrity and passion for life.
"But then you have these bad eggs who falsify news, just to sell a couple more of their newspapers."
"Fallen into their trap"
"This time, I must say I've fallen into their trap," he said.
He stressed that those journalists who have worked with him for many years would know his character by now.
Asked if his latest film, Shinjuku Incident, had suffered at the box office as a result of his "insensitive remarks", he replied nonchalantly that "it doesn't matter".
"After all, Shinjuku Incident is an intense, dramatic film, so I had expected that it definitely wouldn't do as well as my family-oriented movies," he said.
And he stands by his speech made in Hainan. "Whatever I've said then, it was for the good of my Chinese people."
Another point that Jackie emphasised more than once during the interview: I love Singapore.
First, he spoke of how he "never fails to be awed by Singapore's beauty" the minute he arrives at Changi Airport on every visit.
Then, he said the main reason he decided to donate five antique structures from his private collection to Singapore was because the Government "does a wonderful job in heritage conservation".
"I do feel a little reluctant in giving them away," he said, with a laugh.
"But they've been displayed at my home for 20 years already, and I thought, why keep the joy of having them to myself"
"I should share it with more people! And the new university in Singapore (to be completed in 2015) would be a most ideal place."
He also praised Singapore as "clean and orderly". Going by the huge turnout at his sports club celebration, his adoration for the Lion City was returned with equal affection.
Thousands of people crammed into the corridors on all three levels at Velocity @ Novena Square, in the hope of catching a glimpse of the superstar.
When Jackie joined his fitness trainers on stage for a rumba dance workout, the crowd erupted with loud cheers and cameras snapped away.
