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Hollywood movie star, Mr. Jackie Chan whose real name is Chan Kong-sang, on Tuesday addressed journalists as a Standing Committee Member of the 12th China People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, on “Consolidating confidence in Chinese culture and telling stories of China and its people.”
By Edmund Smith-Asante, BEIJING
Mr. Chan, 62, was part of a panel of five members of the CPPCC who addressed the second in the series of press conferences scheduled as part of the Fifth Session of the 12th CPPCC on “Consolidating confidence in Chinese culture and telling stories of China and its people.”
Responding to a question on how he felt when he won
an Honorary Oscar award last November after five decades in the film industry,
he said “It was really an honour for me to receive the award. I could not
believe it when I was given the prize.”
Speaking to the issue of the disappearing villages, a
Standing Committee Member of the 12th CPPCC National Committee, Mr.
Feng Jicai said “We should have a plan to protect the villages because they are
the instruments that will enable us save Chinese culture.”
The other members of the panel were all Standing Committee members of the 12th CPPCC National Committee; Mr. Liu Changle, Mr. Su Shisu and Ms. Hai Xia.
Hollywood movie star, Mr. Jackie Chan whose real name is Chan Kong-sang, on Tuesday addressed journalists as a Standing Committee Member of the 12th China People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, on “Consolidating confidence in Chinese culture and telling stories of China and its people.”
By Edmund Smith-Asante, BEIJING
 |
| Jackie Chan (2nd right) with the other panel members. PICTURE BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE |
Celebrated Chinese born American film star, Jackie
Chan, last Tuesday caused a stir at a press conference called by the China
People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) to address issues about
Chinese culture development.
Mr. Chan, 62, was part of a panel of five members of the CPPCC who addressed the second in the series of press conferences scheduled as part of the Fifth Session of the 12th CPPCC on “Consolidating confidence in Chinese culture and telling stories of China and its people.”
But already privy to the participation of the film
star, the journalists and their cameramen showcasing different types and sizes
of cameras could not resist the urge to surge forward to take pictures of the
star when the CPPCC members finally arrived at 2.30 Eastern Time (06:30 hours
GMT), thus causing a little commotion in the front.
Aware that he had become the cynosure he waved to
the excited journalists who eagerly took more motion and still pictures amidst
a flurry of flash lights and rattling sounds from the shutters of the numerous
cameras as if it were rain falling on an aluminum roofing sheet.
African journalists on a 10-month training programme
in China organised by the China Africa Press Centre (CAPC) with the support of
the China Public Diplomacy Association (CPDA), who also covered the press
conference carried their excitement from the previous night when they were
informed of the star’s presence at the press conference the next day.
Some even doubted he was going to be there in person
and could not hide their excitement on seeing the Hollywood star who many said
they had identified with right from their infancy and revered him.
Honorary
award
 |
| Jackie Chan leaving after the press conference. PICTURE BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE |
Mr. Chan who is the Vice Chairman of the China Film
Association said when asked which country he came from he insisted he was proud
to be Chinese and went to America to learn English.
“My goal is to become a super international star,”
he stated, saying he loved to produce movies no matter how little the gains
were and that attitude had won him a prize after 56 years and over 200 movies in
the film industry.
He said as he had become a role model who was
imitated by children everywhere including Africa, he needed to behave correctly
at all times.
Mr. Chan urged the youth to pursue their dreams and
not give up, so that they become successful. |
| Jackie Chan (middle) waving as he left the press conference. PICTURE BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE |
He said that because he had been dedicated to what
he did, he had gained the respect of many people who listened to his advice on
the film industry and always called him to speak at conferences on the film
industry.
Touching on the impact of allowing more Hollywood
films into China he said “it will bring more pressure but it will also give
more motivation to our filmmakers. Without competition there will be no
progress.”
Other
issues
Other issues addressed by the five-man panel
included new media and its impact, the internet, the preservation and
protection of traditional villages which were disappearing each year because
the youth were living to work in the big towns, and the need for local
government to see to the need of those villages.
Also tackled were issues on corruption in the sector
and measures to curb them, focus on folklore, the storage and preservation of
works of art and the training of calligraphers with hundreds of schools
offering the course.
 |
| The journalists were excited on seeing the film star. PICTURE BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE |
The other members of the panel were all Standing Committee members of the 12th CPPCC National Committee; Mr. Liu Changle, Mr. Su Shisu and Ms. Hai Xia.
The Deputy Secretary General of the CPPCC, Mr Zhang
Qiujian, chaired the press conference.
Writer’s email: edmund.asante@graphic.com.gh
This
story was written on March 7, 2017
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