Jackie Chan: Chinese people need to be controlled

[Guest guest]

China is now facing the same problems that have struck America several times. The issue is the difference between Freedom and License. In the US, the cycle has run from a morally strict rather free society to a time of loose morals which lead into a return to old time values and so on.

Very simply put: "Freedom and License must not be confused: Freedom embraces responsibility and is guided by reason and virtue; License is choice without restraint." (From the One Minute Philosopher)

However, the cycle has been disrupted since the 1960's. Since then we have been heading more and more into license but calling it freedom. For example: the First Amendment was long understood to be the guarantor of free political speech and the right to one's own religion; but beginning in the 1960's it was corrupted to apply to pornography, lewd behavior, vulgarity in music and movies, etc. Essentially it was corrupted to "protect" loutish behavior, while its true purpose was slowly eroded.

We can also see the license and its effects in the TV and movies. Graphic sexual material is turning up in most shows now and movies, even those meant for younger audiences. The same in a lot of music. It really isn't a coincidence that teens are becoming very sexually active again after a period of decline, and they are starting younger.

There are other examples, but as I said: license is behaving like an animal while freedom is behaving like a human.

China is now having those same problems with its middle and upper classes. They are confusing license (bad behavior) with freedom (responsible civic life). They don't have much true freedom yet, but if they misbehave badly enough, odds are that they will lose what they have as the state clamps down.

In a message dated 4/18/2009 5:38:38 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, no_reply writes:

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[Guest guest]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090418/entertainment/china_people_jackie_chan

Jackie Chan: Chinese people need to be controlled

Sat Apr 18, 2:06 PM

By The Associated Press

BOAO, China - Action star Jackie Chan grew up in Hong Kong's freewheeling

society, but he said Saturday that too much freedom isn't good and he's starting

to think " we Chinese need to be controlled. "

Chan's comments drew applause from an audience of business leaders on China's

southern island province of Hainan.

The 55-year-old Hong Kong actor was participating in a panel at the annual Boao

Forum on Saturday when he was asked to discuss censorship and restrictions on

filmmakers in China. He expanded his comments to include society in general.

" 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. "