Replies

"I'm not sure if it's good to have freedom or not," Chan said. "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." Chan added: "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."

Maturity and freedom are not applicable to the Chinese people. They don't know how to live their own lives and are incapable of making personal decisions. He lives a good life with all the aspects of fame and fortune yet condemns the common man as too inept. Nice.

A lot has to do with the Confucian philosophy, which subverts personal desire for freedom in the name of public order and respect for elders and authority. Many of us whose parents came from war-torn China saw that first-hand. Although my parents complained to one another or other Chinese during the Fifties and early Sixties, they willingly used the service entrances of private clubs and posh hotels when directed so by authority. As they assimilated to American culture, they became more vocal about poor treatment.

The above being said, I think Jackie Chan is partially correct. Many in China are out for the almighty dollar (or in this case, yuan) and could not care less about others. However, when things go awry, as with day-traders, it’s always someone else’s fault - their government or the USA.

I think democracy and the free markets work best with guidance from Judeo-Christian values, which few Chinese in China have. The forefathers of this great nation probably had a more eloquent way of stating this.