April 12, 2009

Establishing a New Company

Recently I’ve been in China with a group of entrepreneurs and we established a new company called “Longquan Company.” What does the company do? Well, I’ll keep you guessing for the moment. Later when the time is right, I’ll tell you all about it. Today we had a meeting together and this is our certificate:


April 13

Visiting a Furniture Factory:

Today I took the car and drove to visit a furniture factory to see the process of how furniture was made. On the way, I noticed some very interesting clouds in the sky so I immediately pulled out my camera and took some photos of it. Do you think that it looks like snowy mountains?


At the factory I saw that the patterns on the furniture were carved in different stages. There was a coarse carving stage, intermediate carving stage, and a fine carving stage. The craftsmanship in the hand carved patterns was very exquisite and intricate. Even the feathers on the sparrow were carved in great detail.


I’ve always been interested in antique furniture, particularly furniture made with zitan wood (red sandalwood). Apart from collecting furniture items like these, I also like to travel around all over the place and admire different kinds of furniture. Sometimes when I pass by a bookshop, I buy some books on furniture and interior design to read.



April 15

Preparing for the May 1st Concert:

I think that everybody has already heard from the media, newspapers, and online news websites about the charity concert that I’m going to hold on the 1st of May at the National Stadium (also known as the Bird’s Nest Stadium) in Beijing. The concert is called the “2009 Jackie Chan and Friends Concert in Beijing.” We’ve decided that the main themes for the concert will be “Confident China”, “Compassionate China”, and “Environmentally Friendly China”. I will invite 200 children, including students representing Dragon’s Heart Primary Schools, the disabled, and children from impoverished families to come and watch the concert. I’ve also invited the families of the police, armed forces, representatives of various professions, and the model frontline staff members who will be working hard on the public holiday.

Today I had a meeting for this concert. The director, staff members who will be working behind the scene, and many crew members who worked behind the scenes during the Olympic Games were at the meeting. I guess you could say that the team working on the concert will be the original team of crew members who worked behind the Olympic Games.

I hope you don’t think that because Jackie Chan is holding a concert, I get special privileges. I don’t. I have to apply for many things to hold this concert. Not only do I have to gain the approval from the government, I have to gain approval from many different departments such as the Ministry of Public Security, the fire department and many others. Furthermore, I had to figure out how to allocate the various ticket categories and the prices for the tickets. I insisted that the cheapest ticket must be 100 RMB (US $15) and that the greatest number of tickets will be available at this price because I hope that everyone, including ordinary people, will be able to buy a ticket and come to watch the concert. I hope that everyone will have an enjoyable evening on Labor Day.


In fact, not talking about the money, I’ve honestly put in a lot of time and energy for this concert. It’s so complicated. There are so many things to consider and matters to take into account, and it’s something I’ve always been afraid of. I’m truly afraid that out of the thousands of things that I’ll remember to do, I’ll manage to forget about one thing. Because I want to make this concert successful, I will hold meetings every two days.

April 16

Fulfilling My Promise

Apart from keeping myself busy with preparations for the concert, I’ve also been busy with things that I promised for other people. For example, I promised Huei Chou to sing a duet with her. I’m always very quick when it comes to making a promise for other people’s requests. At the time when they ask, I always think it will be okay. But when it comes to fulfilling the promise that I previously made, I realize that I don’t have the time. It’s not that I don’t want to keep to my promise; it’s just that there are only 24 hours in a day and I’m honestly very busy. My schedule of work is always relatively full and it’s very difficult for me to allocate some time to fulfill the promises I make.

Today I finally managed to take some time out and I went to the studio to record a song. I was so amazed when I walked into the recording studio because I saw a studio that had the latest and most advanced equipment. So I took out my camera and took some photos of the studio. Have a look at this picture. There are five recording microphones, so professional!


Previously I’ve told everyone how I met Huei Chou and what impressions I had about her. Now that I’m officially working together with her, the feeling I have is the same as before. I think that she’s very professional and is also a very good singer. I truly appreciate her abilities.


April 17

Very Beautiful Hainan Island

I went to Singapore in the morning and, as I’ve been saying to everyone before, I always think that Singapore is very beautiful and clean; the greenery work around the city is done very well. This time I went to Hainan Island and the place was just as beautiful as Singapore. The trees were beautiful and the roads were very clean. Originally I wanted to take some photos of the area but Solon told me that because the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference was being held in Hainan Island, top level security measures have been put in place and people were not allowed to carry around cameras. So there was a lot of beautiful scenery in Hainan Island that I couldn’t take photos of to share with you. I honestly thought that it was such a shame. Hopefully I’ll have the chance to take some photos next time.

When I went into the hotel room, I saw how thoughtful the hotel was with welcoming me. Take a look, isn’t it cute?


April 18

The Innocent Will Be Proven Innocent

Today I attended the Boao Forum for Asia and discussed the industry of creative culture. Initially this was a good thing but in the end it turned out to be a bad thing.

I’ve honestly been very busy lately and I also don’t feel the need to clarify the matter. If I did try to explain myself, I think I’d end up falling into the trap set by people with certain intentions. I actually don’t need to say anything further. Everybody already knows that there are a number of unprofessional journalists who have no moral values and they like to write articles by quoting things out of context. To put things quite frankly, they’re just trying to make something out of nothing. There were things that I didn’t say but they still wrote them in their articles. If you think about it, the title of the article was: “Jackie Chan Curses Hong Kong!” Would you like to read an article with that title? Of course you would. I admire the readers on the internet and the viewers of television reports and newspapers. They curse me and criticize me but I’m honestly very happy for it because this shows that they love their country; they love Hong Kong. If the blame has to be assigned, it can only be put on certain media reporters. The only thing they’re afraid of is that there is no chaos in the world. I don’t need to explain myself. If I did try to explain, I would end up falling into their trap and then it would become like uncivilized people cursing at each other down the street; you say this and this, and then I say that and that. I just think that it’s a tactic used by immoral media and reporters. A lot of people have said to me, “You should come out and clarify the situation a bit.” I told them that if I wanted to clarify myself, I’d do it a little later. I don’t want to trouble myself with this matter when I’m already so busy. I’ve always believed that the innocent will be proven innocent! I didn’t have any objectives or a particular purpose for what I said. I actually don’t have any particular objectives whenever I do things. It’s not like I’m going to get a promotion for what I said today. Is it going to benefit box office results for my movies? No. In fact, it might even have a negative effect. So really, I don’t gain anything from it in any way. The only intention I had when I expressed my comments was that I love Hong Kong, I love Taiwan, I love Macau, and I love China because I am Chinese.

If there is an opportunity in the future, I will slowly and clearly explain the whole situation to everyone because sometimes, some things just can’t be explained with a couple of sentences. Maybe some of you don’t know but at the discussion forum, people asked me a question and I was allowed to talk for 20 minutes to answer the question. But after I said about eight sentences, another reporter jumped in and asked a different question. Those journalists who have other motives in their minds are very clever. They don’t take the things I said at the beginning of my discussion and they don’t take the end either but they’ll take the things I said in between and then create some sort of article about it so that they can sell a few more newspapers. To tell you the truth, I don’t really mind because I’m already used to it. I’m so used to them writing things against me that it’s normal for me now. I’m not exaggerating. I’ve been through all sorts of situations in my life, calm and turbulent, so this really is just a small matter. Actually, I don’t blame these reporters for doing what they did. They can criticize me and continuously dig up my past and bring it back to light. I actually think that it’s become all too normal now. I absolutely don’t mind at all because what they say about me is not a secret. Everyone knows what kind of person Jackie Chan is. Everybody should do things according to their own conscience. They do things with a particular objective; I don’t do things with a particular objective.

Someone asked me, why don’t I take those journalists with certain agendas on a Dragon’s Heart trip and let them do something even more meaningful instead of doing these same old things. To tell you the truth, I did take journalists with me on my Dragon’s Heart trips but it really does depend on what kind of journalists you take. Some journalists really do write a half page article dedicated towards charity work, but some journalists either don’t publish anything related to the charity work or else they publish a small article that only takes up a small corner of the newspaper. In my mind I always think that to be in the media industry or to publish newspapers, you have to be fair, unprejudiced, and open. But once they start using a public medium for personal uses, there really isn’t much you can do about. I know that there are many civilians who are very understanding. However the people I admire most are the readers on the internet or even the people who get interviewed on the street where reporters would ask, “Jackie Chan cursed us Hong Kong people, Jackie Chan cursed Taiwan people; do you like that?” No need to ask any more questions because of course, no one would like it. But when I saw their reactions, I honestly felt very happy because it shows that the younger generation and local civilians have a caring mindset and they love their country. I was so afraid that they didn’t have it. They can continue to condemn me but there will be a day when I will come out to clarify the situation and when that time comes, I hope that they will try to understand it a little more. Those who want to continue condemning me, they can. Those who want to support can continue supporting me. If I don’t get support, it doesn’t really bother me. I won’t be afraid to express my own opinions because of what happened today. If something is good, I will express my praise; if something is bad, I will say that it’s bad. I know that the eyes of a lot of readers and viewers today are pure and bright. I believe that everybody has the ability to analyze what they hear and see. Besides, everybody agrees that we should have freedom of speech, so why can other people openly express their own opinions but I can’t? A lot of well known people say things and people don’t agree with it but they don’t get criticized for it. I’m just an ordinary person and I know I haven’t been educated much but I just talked about some things that I noticed. The bottom line is, I have a clear conscience and the innocent will be proven innocent.

April 19

Press Conference for the May 1st Concert

The next day, I attended the press conference for the “Jackie Chan and Friends Concert.”

During the press conference, some fans gave me a very interesting and meaningful gift. They said that this would be me smiling when I’m 80 years old. What do you think? I think it’s really cute.


April 20

Filming the MV with Huei Chou

Today I went into the film studio again. Why? To record an MV with Huei Chou, called “Ziji De Dianying” (My Own Film). In the MV, Huei Chou transforms into a young and innocent female student from the ‘80s, and I play the role as an operator of a movie projector. This MV is the first MV I’ve made that has a storyline to it. Of course, filming a video with a storyline is not very difficult for me. I even called the JC stunt team to come along and film the video together, using the same standards as if we were making a movie. But when it came to filming the part where I had to mouth the words to the song, I frequently forgot the lyrics and crew members standing on the side had to keep reminding me the lyrics.


I think that in the Asian music industry - apart from my good friend Emil Chou who is a talented singer that can sing live with the same quality as his CD - Huei Chou is a very strong and talented singer.

Talking about forgetting the lyrics, lately I’ve always been listening to the songs that I’ll be singing during the May 1st concert while I’m on my breaks because I don’t want to forget the lyrics on the day. I’ve been trying my best to remember the words to the songs and I was so tired that I decided to lie down and sleep for a little while. Even though I’m not a professional singer, I still can’t be lazy for the May 1st concert. So apart from when I’m sleeping, my mind is always non-stop thinking about remembering the lyrics for the songs. Going through this painful experience, I honestly admire the singers who are able to remember all the lyrics to their songs, and then sing and dance at their concerts.

April 21

A Very Busy Day

After completing the MV yesterday for the song I sang with Huei Chou, I attended an event introducing a new digital camera for Canon, the EOS 500D.


When the press conference for the camera ended, I noticed that there were very beautiful peach blossoms growing outside the hotel at where press conference was held. Take a look; they’re so pretty:


In the evening, I went to sing to the students at the Central Party School (The Party School of the Central Committee of CPC). I think that in the days to come, I’ll be traveling all over the place singing “Country” with Liu Yuanyuan. Singing with me today was Mainland China singer Sun Nan. I think that if Sun Nan said that his singing skill was only second best, I don’t think anyone else would dare to say that their skill was the best.

After the event ended, I quickly rushed back to the hotel and held a meeting with staff and crew members. And I also had to allocate the concert seating tickets because there are so many friends who want to come and watch the May 1st concert. We’ve been allocating the concert tickets every day and even a few staff members stay up until very late at night allocating the tickets.


April 22

The Country Website Launching Ceremony

Today we held the website launching ceremony for the song, Country, in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China. In the future, the Country website will become a medium that links and unites people who “love their country and love their family.” Country will allow people to express their wonderful wishes and blessings towards the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China. As the chief planner as well as the lead singer of the song, I attended the event with the other female lead singer Liu Yuanyuan, and through a presentation to the “Artists Teaching Songs Volunteer Group” led by the New Seven Little Fortunes, we initiated a series of events called “Everybody Sing Country as One Family.”

From what I’ve been told, the lineup of the Country Song Teachers Volunteer Group is very strong. At the moment, artists who have already agreed to participate include Xiao Ke, Chang Shi Lei, New Seven Little Fortunes and many more; numbers are continuously expanding. Through learning how to sing and use sign language, remember lyrics, and participate in other fun activities, artists will be able to interact with local civilians helping them increase their interest and understanding towards songs, and also express the enthusiastic passion of country and family. Anyone can easily participate with these activities no matter what age they are.

There were representatives from 10 Olympic Games Communities and 20 primary school students who participated today. Even though I haven’t seen the sign language version of Country yet, the New Seven Little Fortunes led the actions and I also couldn’t help but move my hands to the beat of Country.


Furthermore, after many schools, factories, communities, and army choirs listened to the song Country, they asked the team of workers behind Country if they could have a copy of the score so they could learn the song. Representatives of the choir group from the Shichachai community have also said, “I was deeply captivated by the song Country when I first listened to it. The emotions are very well expressed in the song, the production is excellent, and it has the ability to move the strings in our hearts. It fills us with hope towards ‘family’ and ‘country’, making us have a yearning to give, and how to love even more and deeper.”

Since Country has been publically released, it has generally received good feedback and the number of times it has been listened to on Baidu has reached over 1 million and over 10 thousand comments have been posted about the song. Furthermore, the song has been at the top of the charts for newly released songs on various major websites. At the same time, Country was simultaneously broadcast on China National Radio (CNR) Music Radio broadcasting station and 40 associated international networks, and it has already made it onto the charts of 56 broadcasting stations around the country and even topping some of the charts as the number one song of the week. Also, another 72 broadcasting stations have been actively playing the song on air.

After the event, I did an interview with Xinhuanet.com. At the end of the interview, I noticed that the table was full of plastic bottles so I immediately squashed all the bottles. My disciples, the New Seven Little Fortunes, all knew what to do so we all squashed the plastic bottles together and then threw them all away.


Afterwards, I stood in front of the News Center of Journalists Association and took a photo, I stood in front of the flag and took a photo, and I also stood in front the map of China and took a photo. I tried to find Hong Kong on the map but Hong Kong was just too small. It was just like a very small dot on the south east side of China.


After I left the China News Center of Journalists Association, I had to rush to hold another meeting for the May 1st concert. Today the meeting was with the director and the music producers. The concert is getting closer day by day and everybody is extremely busy with the preparations. I hope that on the day of the concert, I can provide everyone with a happy and enjoyable evening.

April 23

“May 1st” Television Evening Event

I had more meetings today but this time it was at a different location and with different people. This meeting was with the McLaren racing car team. I can’t tell you what we discussed at the meeting because it’s a business secret. When the time is right, I will tell everyone about.

In the evening, I attended the 2009 Beijing “May 1st” Television Evening Event – “Laodong Song Ge” (Labor of Songs). Nearly 400 representatives from various industries in the capital of model labor workers and advanced workers, as well as over 3,000 representatives of office workers from the capital gathered at the China Agricultural University Gymnasium, and together celebrated the “May 1st” international Labor Day holiday.

The main themes during the evening event revolved around the ideas of spirit and honor of creativity, expressing tribute to emotions, and exhibiting the colors of generations. Through the three writings of “Me and My Country”, “Me and My Beijing”, “Me and My Generation” which passionately and enthusiastically praise the outstanding quality of the working class people and their state of high level thought, it shows that the working class people and model labor workers have a particular attitude as if they were the boss, showing that they have determination and strong feelings towards modernizing the capital, and exhibiting the spirit of a generation that is “working hard for honor, magnificent with creativity, developing with science, and peacefully united.”

Liu Yuanyuan and I sang the duet of Country again. I think that there will many more occasions and opportunities for us to sing this song in the future.


April 24

I Have to Record Again

Lately, besides having to attend different events and hold meetings, the place I go to most frequently is the recording studio. Soon you will continually be able to hear my new songs and I hope that you will like them.

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