When Hong Kong action star Jeon Zidan (Gyeonjadan, 60) was invited to this year’s Academy Awards ceremony as an award presenter, a petition to withdraw his invitation to the awards ceremony unfolded, attracting attention.
According to the Hong Kong Free Press on the 6th, on the 4th, the ‘People from Hong Kong’ group started a signature campaign to ask the Oscar committee to remove Zidan Jeon from the list of invitations to the awards ceremony, and as of this followingnoon, regarding 31,000 people have signed.
Jeon Zidan, who appeared in ‘John Wick 4’ starring Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves, was invited as one of the presenters at the Academy Awards to be held on the 13th.
In a letter accompanying the signature campaign, a group of people from Hong Kong pointed out that “Zhen is a supporter of the Chinese Communist Party system and has made several statements siding with the Chinese government, including defending the Hong Kong National Security Law and criticizing the Hong Kong protests as a riot.” .
“Zhen Zidan’s remarks violate the spirit of freedom of expression and deny Hong Kongers their right to freedom and democracy,” he said. It will seriously undermine its value.”
Previously, in a recent interview with the British magazine GQ, Jeon Zhi-dan claimed, “The 2019 protest once morest the extradition bill in Hong Kong was not a protest. It was a riot.” “I don’t want anything political,” he said. “Some may be offended by my stance, but I’m speaking from my own experience.”
Millions of people took part in anti-government protests in Hong Kong in 2019, which began with opposition to the extradition law and continued for more than half a year, demanding democracy. Hong Kong authorities arrested regarding 10,000 demonstrators, and the following year, as the Hong Kong National Security Law, which was directly enacted by China, was enforced, rallies and protests disappeared in Hong Kong.
Born in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China, Zidan Zhen spent part of his childhood in Hong Kong and later became one of Hong Kong’s top stars. “I am 100% Chinese,” he said following giving up his U.S. citizenship in 2017. In 2019, ‘Ip Man 4’, in which he starred, was boycotted by some Hong Kongers.
(Photo = Yonhap News)
