Donnie Yen to Present at Oscars, HK Activists Fuming

Yen interviewed by media on his way to the Two Sessions

The Two Sessions are happening in Beijing at the moment, and guess who was re-elected for a third term? 

That's right -- Xi Jinping.

He handily received a unanimous vote from 2,952 members of the National People's Congress. No one voted against or abstained.

Meanwhile in the other session where appointed members who have no legislative power but propose ideas and bills, one of the delegates is Hong Kong actor Donnie Yen Ji-dan.

Online petition has received over 95K signatures

He was in Beijing in a sharp black-striped suit strutting to the Two Sessions and furor erupted over Yen being chosen as one of the presenters at the Academy Awards this Sunday.

Among Hongkongers the 59-year-old is known for his pro-China stance -- others would like to qualify it as a pro-authoritarian stance because he has described the 2019 protests as "riots".

"It wasn't a protest, okay, it was a riot. I'm not going to be here talking about how to change how people feel about it," the Guangzhou-born Yen said in a recent GQ Hype interview.

"But my own experience, like, I was there, I have many friends who were there. I don't want to get political. A lot of people might not be happy for what I'm saying, but I'm speaking from my own experience."

He has also said that western media outlets like the BBC and CNN only focus on "negative stories" about China.

Maybe he hasn't heard the saying, "If it bleeds, it leads".

Yang should know differences of HK and China

Nevertheless last Thursday Yen was named as one of the presenters and Hong Kong activist Tong Wai-hung jumped into action, setting up an online petition asking the Academy to remove Yen from its presenting roster.

Tong claims the Academy's invitation to Yen shows " contempt for the people of Hong Kong" and his presence will "damage the image and reputation of the film industry". 

On Change.org Tong writes:

"Donnie Yen is a supporter of the Chinese Communist regime and has made several remarks in support of the Chinese government's policies, including supporting the implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong and accusing Hong Kong protesters of being rioters. 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."

So far over 95,000 people have signed it.

Should the Academy Awards be more aware of what it means to have Yen as a presenter? It should. Janet Yang is the current President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She has worked on several movies about China and Chinese-Americans. 

While Yen is a big star in the upcoming John Wick 4 with Keanu Reeves, his political stance of backing an authoritarian regime should have been taken into consideration. 

Media outlets have asked the Academy for comment, but none have been forthcoming; perhaps it's bad form to uninvite a presenter, but it definitely sends a bad message about Hollywood.