Donnie Yen of the Star Wars franchise has come beneath fireplace for supporting the ruling communist occasion
An on-line petition to take away martial arts film star Donnie Yen as one of many presenters on the Oscars was revealed final week and had garnered over 90,000 signatures as of Thursday. The petitioners accuse Yen of supporting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The petition was began by well-known Hong Kong activist Tong Wai-Hung. The textual content posted on Change.org claims that Yen made “several remarks in support of the Chinese government’s policies” and referred to as Hong Kong protesters “rioters” again in 2019.
Tong states that “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.” Therefore, the petition urges the Oscars to cancel Yen’s look on the ceremony, at the moment scheduled for March 13.
Donnie Yen, 59, is an motion film star, identified for taking part in Ip Man, the instructor of martial arts film legend Bruce Lee, within the eponymous sequence of movies between 2008 and 2019. His American filmography contains Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the upcoming John Wick: Chapter 4.
In a February interview with GQ, Yen acknowledged that he was “proudly Chinese” and was additionally important of the Western media for being targeted on destructive tales about his homeland whereas ignoring the progress Beijing has made. The article additionally talked about that Yen’s “patriotism can get him into trouble.”
The journal quotes the actor as saying of the 2019 occasions in Hong Kong: “It wasn’t a protest, okay, it was a riot.” Yen additional stated that he didn’t wish to get political, however was talking from his personal expertise and from that of these he knew within the territory.
Demonstrations passed off in Hong Kong in 2019 and 2020, protesting the native authorities’s introduction of a brand new extradition invoice permitting Beijing to safe the switch of individuals from the autonomous area who’re accused of violating Chinese legal guidelines. However, it quickly was a wider motion that demanded democratic reforms and potential independence from China.
The effort to interchange Yen comes as Everything Everywhere All at Once, a film with a primarily Asian solid, is taken into account a favourite to win a number of awards on the Oscars. The movie has garnered 10 nominations, together with Best Picture and Best Director. Female lead Michelle Yeoh is poised to take Best Actress for her efficiency. Yeoh and Yen have been frequent co-stars for the reason that 90s.
(RT.com)