[AJA Global Report] Movie Star Jackie Chan’s son detained in Beijing over drugs

Hong Kong actor Jaycee Chan attends a premiere of his new film " Break Up Club " in Hong Kong. (Photo: AP)

The son of movie star Jackie Chan, Jaycee Chan, also known as Fang Zuming, and an award-winning Taiwanese actor, Ko Chen-tung, were detained by Beijing police for drug-related offences. Over 100 grams of marijuana were found and both Chan and Ko confessed to using drugs. The police put Chan under criminal detention on suspicion of “providing a shelter for others to abuse drugs”. Ko received a relatively less severe 14 days administrative detention.

Jaycee Chan was nominated for best supporting actor in the mainland’s Hundred Flowers Awards for his role in the 2010 film, Mulan: Rise of a Warrior. Ko won the Best New Performer award at the 2011 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and is known for his role in the film . He also played a part in an anti-drug public service announcement in which he vowed not to use drugs.
Ko made a tearful confession on CCTV(Chinese National Channel) that he had used drugs. A separate programme also reported that Chan had admitted using drugs for eight years. On the other hand, Jackie Chan wrote on his Weibo microblog and admitted that he had not been a good enough parent to his son. “I’m very furious and very much in shock. As a public figure, I’m ashamed. As a father, I’m in pain. His mother is heartbroken. I hope youngsters will take Cho-ming’s lesson seriously and stay away from drugs.”
(Source: Apple Daily)

The tree which collapsed on to a heavily-pregnant woman in Mid Levels, killing her and leaving her baby boy critical. (Photo: Sam Tsang, SCMP)

Tree crushes pregnant woman to death

After continuous rainfall, a tragedy happened in Hong Kong. A woman, Zhang Qin, was walking past Robinson Road on her way to take a minibus to hospital for a check-up. An India rubber tree more than 10 meters tall toppled over a five- meter cement retaining wall outside the Palm Court residential building and hit her on the head. The tree broke into pieces as it fell.

Witnesses said several people in the area rushed to lift the tree and pull out the mother. A middle-aged man who works in a shop nearby said he heard a crashing sound followed by someone yelling: “A woman has been crushed.” They then discovered the victim was a pregnant woman. Several passersby lifted the tree in an effort to save the woman.

Ambulance men tried to resuscitate Zhang, who was bleeding profusely from her head and remained unconscious on the way to hospital. Doctors were called upon to do the emergency operation after the 37-year- old mother was stretchered into the hospital with fatal head wounds. The hospital’s pediatrics department said the 38-week-old boy had no heartbeat when doctors started to perform the cesarean. They had to take emergency measures until the baby’s heartbeat was normalized after 30 minutes. Then they sent him to the intensive care unit.

In 2008, a University of Hong Kong student was killed by branches falling from a tree in Stanley. And in 2010 a cyclist was killed when he was hit by a falling branch in Sha Tin. In July 2012, five pedestrians were injured when a 14-meter banyan collapsed in one of Tsim Sha Tsui’s busiest shopping areas. The government has been criticised for failing to act quickly to stop its spread.
(Source: The Standard)

Animal welfare activists protest outside government headquarters in Admiralty over the death of a dog on the MTR track. (Photo: Felix Wong, SCMP)

Outrage over dog killed on MTR tracks

The MTR Corporation faced a wave of protests, including an online petition signed by more than 76,000 people, after it failed to prevent the death of a stray dog on its East Rail Line. Protests hit stations and tens of thousands sign petition as anger builds at corporation’s decision to resume services while stray was on tracks.

Staff at the station failed in a brief effort to remove the stray who had wandered onto the lines. Train services were suspended for six minutes during their attempts, which included dangling a chair over the edge of the platform. But when those failed the MTR control centre said services had to resume. The dog was then hit by intercity T801 from Guangzhou.

The incident sparked outrage from people who asked why more of an effort had not been made to help the dog. Other protesters left bunches of flowers and pet food on the platform in remembrance of the dead animal. People expressed anger and dismay online, and a petition calling for an official MTR explanation quickly gained more than 75,000 signatures. Many questioned why staff members had failed to help the dog, others wondered if such a tragedy would be repeated.
(Source: South China Morning Post)

By Kwan Ming Lun(Ryan), Hong Kong, AJA Global Report