Actor’s son busted in China
Jaycee Chan and a friend are among the latest celebrities ensnared in Beijing’s drug crackdown.
BEIJING — His movies have flopped time and again and his dad, Jackie Chan, has disinherited him. Now, thanks to Chinese police, actor-singer-playboy Jaycee Chan can at least say he’s been cast in a major new role that’s turning heads: bad example.
Busted last week by Beijing cops on drug charges along with a Taiwanese actor pal, Chan’s mug was plastered all over Chinese media Tuesday. State-run television aired an extensive report on the duo, including video of police searching Chan’s home.
“What is this?” an investigator repeatedly asked, pulling small plastic bags and other containers out of a filing cabinet. “Marijuana,” Chan, 31, answered meekly. His friend, Kai Ko, meanwhile, turned on the waterworks. “I’ve set a very bad example,” the 23-year-old performer said in a tearful confession.
Chan and Ko are among at least nine celebrities named and shamed in a major drug crackdown that’s been sweeping the Chinese capital in recent months, netting users of pot, methamphetamine, ketamine and other illicit substances. Police said that between late April and early August, they arrested 3,400 drug users, up 77% from the same period last year.
Some of the police tactics have raised eyebrows. In one incident this month that caused quite a stir, officers — apparently acting on a tip — swarmed a bar called 2 Kolegas, blocked the doors and ordered all patrons to provide urine samples under the watchful eye of officers.
An Australian journalist who happened to be in the establishment reported that at least nine patrons, including foreigners, were taken into custody after testing positive for drugs, although no one seemed to have been caught buying, selling or carrying illegal substances. In China, drug consumption is an offense that can land one in short-term detention.
Exactly what has prompted the crackdown isn’t clear. In June, President Xi Jinping delivered a speech timed to the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, calling for “forceful measures” to wipe out illegal drugs. But even before then, Beijing police were announcing busts, including one in May that netted more than two dozen foreigners.
“It’s hard to know why the government does what they do,” said Gernot Klantschnig, a professor at the University of Nottingham’s campus in Ningbo who has studied drug-control policy in China. “In general, in recent years, there has been a trend toward somewhat less punitive” policies toward drug users, he said, and a greater emphasis on “harm reduction” efforts such as metha- done clinics.
In the last decade or so, the number of drug users registered and tracked by authorities has more than doubled to more than 2 million, according to the Office of the National Narcotics Control Commission. Heroin remains the drug of choice among this population, but methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs such as Ecstasy are increasing in popularity, particularly among young urbanites with disposable income.
Although those statistics suggest China’s drug abuse rate is substantially lower than that of many other countries, Klantschnig cautioned that such data may significantly understate the size of the drug market. Casual users who do not come into contact with authorities may not be included in such reports, and unlike in countries such as the United States, there are no good household surveys on drug issues, he said.
Wu Liwei, a Beijing attorney who represented realityshow singing star Li Daimo in a drug case in the spring, said he believes usage rates have not risen markedly in recent years, although methamphetamine cases are up somewhat.
“The crackdown is creating a misimpression among the public that drug use is way up and celebrities are the main group of offenders,” he said.
Nevertheless, Wu said, he’s not opposed to the government making an example of famous people who violate the law.
“These cases … can function as a way to educate people,” he said.
In Jaycee Chan’s case, a person familiar with one of his upcoming film projects suggested that producers could opt to cut his minor part out of the movie rather than risk being hassled by government censors.
For now, Chan and Ko first have to reckon with their legal situations. Ko, who just two years ago appeared in an anti-drug public service campaign, has been charged with drug consumption, which carries a 14day detention term.
Chan, however, is facing the much more serious charge of “accommodating drug users,” which generally refers to providing others a place to take drugs.
Wu said the charge can carry a sentence of three years in prison, but that can be reduced if a defendant shows contrition and is cooperative. “It’s too early to say in his case what will happen,” he said.
Fans of Jackie Chan are watching to see whether the comedic action star, who has served as an anti-narcotics “ambassador” in China, will publicly come to his son’s defense.
The elder Chan has previously evinced frustration with his son’s life choices and several years ago announced that he planned to give his fortune to charity, rather than pass it along to Jaycee.
“If he is capable, he can make his own money,” Jackie Chan said at the time. “If he is not, then he will just be wasting my money.”
For now, the younger Chan at least seems to have retained the support of his management.
In a statement, M’Stones International apologized for the “social impact” of the performer’s alleged drug use and said it would “help him return to the right path.”