Activists are calling on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to revoke the invitation of Hong Kong actor Donnie Yen to be a presenter at this month’s 2023 Academy Awards ceremony because of his ties to the Chinese communist regime and his stance against the Hong Kong democracy movement.
The petition states that Yen is “a supporter of the Chinese Communist regime and has made several remarks in support of the Chinese government’s policies, including supporting the implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong and accusing Hong Kong protesters of being rioters.” Tang Weixiong, a Hong Kong resident who has immigrated to Taiwan, started the petition.
“These remarks not only violate the spirit of freedom of speech but also deny the rights of the people of Hong Kong to fight for their freedom and democracy,” the petition reads.
As of March 8, the number of signatures exceeded 75,000.
Charles Lam, a spokesperson of the Hong Kong Forum in Los Angeles, said the Oscars should invite other stars instead of Yen.
“There are many famous Asian American actors, and there is no need to have Donnie Yen. It is better to find Asian American actors, which gives them more spotlight in the United States.”
“Donnie Yen’s remarks ... represent a challenge to mainstream civilization and universal values,” Wang said.
GQ Hype Interview
Yen has repeatedly expressed support for the CCP’s violent suppression of the Hong Kong human rights movements, including supporting the implementation of the regime’s National Security Law in Hong Kong and accusing Hong Kong protesters of being “rioters.” Such remarks have drawn wide criticism.In an interview with British magazine GQ Hype on Feb. 28, he said the “anti-extradition law“ movement in Hong Kong in 2019 wasn’t a protest but a ”riot.”
From June 2019 until early 2020, millions of people in Hong Kong protested in the streets against Beijing’s introduction of the proposed anti-extradition law, which violated Hong Kong’s judicial independence and Hong Kong citizens’ human rights.
Hong Kong police were criticized for responding to the protestors with disproportionate and unjustified force, such as using tear gas, pepper spray, water cannons, and rubber bullets and using truncheons to severely beat people.
Member of Communist Committee
Yen is a new member of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) National Committee representing Hong Kong, which saw him attending the CCP’s Two Sessions political meeting that started on March 4.
During the Two Sessions meeting, Yen told the state-run Hong Kong China News Agency that he suggested that CCP “use more and better policies to attract investment for action movies” and “use Chinese action movies to tell Chinese stories well.”
“Telling Chinese stories well” is the communist regime’s slogan for its foreign propaganda strategy.
The 95th Academy Awards ceremony will be held on March 12.
The Hollywood action film “John Wick: Chapter 4,” starring Keanu Reeves and Yen, will be released at the end of March. Yen plays a blind assassin in the movie.
Born in 1963 in Guangzhou, China, Yen moved to Hong Kong with his family when he was 2 years old and immigrated to the United States when he was 12.
Claiming to have renounced his U.S. citizenship, Yen said in the GQ Hype interview that Western media, such as BBC and CNN, focus only on negative news about China. The development of China and the real China are never reported by the Western media, he said.
Netizens commented that Yen grew up in the West, and now he only stays in China for a few days per year, so the China he sees may be different from ordinary Chinese people.
