The Globe and Mail

Beijing – Jackie Chan, yes he of Rush Hour and Kung Fu Panda fame, has waded into the great debate over the political future of 1.3 billion people, telling a conference in south China that “we Chinese need to be controlled.”

Speaking Saturday to business leaders on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, Chan ranged well off the conference topic – “Tapping into Asia's Creative Industry Potential” – and opined that without control (ostensibly the sort currently provided by the Communist Party of China) the country would descend into chaos.

“I'm not sure if it's good to have freedom or not,” he said in response to an audience question about censorship in the film industry. “If you're too free, you're like the way Hong Kong is now. It's very chaotic. Taiwan is also chaotic.”

Then came the kung fu master's coup de grace: “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.”

Music to the ears of the government of Beijing, which has long been peddling the “we're the only thing holding this place together line,” and laughable nonsense to democrats in Hong Kong and Taipei, who seem to like their chaos just fine thank you. And all in time to mark 60 years since the Communists seized power in China and the Kuomintang in Taiwan went their own way.

It's worth noting that Chan, who was born in colonial-era Hong Kong and has made millions of dollars as a Hollywood film star, has never lived in the sort of repressive regime that he's advocating for his countrymen. As he proved by his comments this weekend, he obviously feels quite free to say whatever he wants.

I wonder if our action star-cum-political scientist took the time to notice the reaction his comments garnered in this part of the world. While they were widely reported on and debated by the media in Hong Kong and Taiwan, there was no mention of them in the state-controlled mainland Chinese press.

Apparently, the government in Beijing thinks that even Jackie Chan shouldn't be free to just do what he wants.