LOS ANGELES — You might have already known that kung fu comic and actor Jackie Chan was crazy, but is he certifiably insane? Just the other day this legendary does-his- own-stunts man asserted that the Chinese people do not need Western-style freedom and democracy.
"I'm not sure if it's good to have freedom or not," Chan said. "I'm gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we're not being controlled, we'll just do what we want." Huh?
We think we know what happened. Like all good performers, the cagey and clever Chan was customizing his presentation to his audience: This was a hard-core business forum on the southern mainland. These were no unwashed democracy demonstrators. Business types, it is well known, care for bottom lines, long customer lines, new product lines — and little for protest lines.
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