At a press conference for his new movie Skiptrace, Jackie Chan was recently asked about his son Jaycee Chan, who was arrested on drug charges by the Chinese government in August. The elder Chan told reporters on Thursday, October 23, that he wanted to be a better father to Jaycee and implored the press to not hurt his wife, former actress Joan Lin, by printing false news about their son.
“I know as much about him as everyone else. I ask the media to please not report anything without proof. Please do not hurt Siu Fong Ji’s Mama [Joan Lin] and publish untrue reports. If necessary, I will give a clear explanation to everyone,” said Chan.
Chan revealed that he has been focusing on his film work, shooting by day and editing by night. He claims that his son’s arrest has had no impact on his career, despite rumors that Chan had to kneel in front of authorities and that the release of his film was delayed. Chan also denied such rumors.
Jackie Chan says he was an incompetent dad to Jaycee, and will be competent in future http://t.co/2ddCj6gfRs pic.twitter.com/cYLH9iYz2k
— ST Communities (@STCommunities) October 24, 2014
There were also rumors that Chan and Lin visited Jaycee at a detention center and that Lin wished she had been jailed instead of her son. However, these were denied by Jaycee’s manager, who said that Lin had not left Hong Kong.
At the press conference in Beijing, Chan admitted that he could have been a better father to his son. “I am always a father. I used to be an unqualified father. Now, after this event, I want to be a qualified father,” he said.
Jaycee numbered among celebrities who were caught during a crackdown on drug abuse in Beijing and other parts of China earlier this year. More than 100 grams of marijuana were found in his apartment, and Jaycee is accused of accommodating drug users, which could land him up to three years in prison.
