"I Can See The Greatness Of The CPC": Movie Superstar Jackie Chan Says He Wants To Join the Chinese Communist Party

Martial arts legend and movie superstar Jackie Chan has expressed his admiration for and desire to join the Chinese Communist Party, Global Times reported.

Chan expressed his interest in membership at a symposium organised by the China Film Association last Thursday in Beijing.

At the event, Chan, who is also the vice chairman of the China Film Association, not only expressed his proud feeling of being a Chinese, but also showed his longing for the CPC.

"I can see the greatness of the CPC, and it will deliver what it says, and what it promises in less than 100 years, but only a few decades," Chan said.

“I also envy that you are Communist Party members, I think the Communist Party is just great, what the Communist Party says, what they promised, will always be delivered within a few decades,” he said.

“I want to be a Communist Party member, thank you,” he added, smiling, to thunderous clapping.

Cinema has been an important facet of the Communist Party's centennial celebrations. Theaters throughout China have been instructed to screen at least two propaganda films per week. These have been described as movies that "sing the praises of…and eulogize the Party, the motherland, its people and its heroes."

Chan has been supporter of the CPC for years and served as a member of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) - an advisory body of professionals nominated by the party.

Chan, a native of Hong Kong, has been a controversial figure in his homeland. He has been criticised his pro-CCP views and attitudes. While he has never been a member, Chan has actively participated in CCP initiatives and nationalist projects.

Chan also supported Beijing’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

In 2019, in an interview with state-owned television network CGTN, Chan spoke out about the Hong Kong protests, calling them “sad and depressing” and said he hoped Hong Kong “can return to peace soon”.

Chan's speech showed the change of Hong Kong elites' opinion of the CPC in recent years, Li Xiaobing, an expert on Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan studies at Nankai University in Tianjin, told the Global Times on Sunday.