Recently, Jackie Chan went through the embarrassing ordeal of having his son mentioned in the press for some very wrong reasons. Jaycee Chan was charged with possession of marijuana after an incident with some of his friends, and was subsequently convicted and sentenced to serve jail time in China. Since then, his father Jackie Chan hasn’t made any public comments about the incident, and many were wondering what’s on the actor’s mind since his son went to jail.
Just now, Jackie Chan went up in front of an audience for a press conference promoting “Dragon Blade”, where he stars alongside John Cusack and Adrien Brody. Jackie Chan took the opportunity to sing two of the theme songs in the film in front of the audience, and seemed overall energetic and excited to be part of the presentation. At the same time, the actor didn’t say anything about his son’s current problems, and tried to maintain his silence about the situation throughout the whole presentation.
Jaycee Chan was recently sentenced to six months in jail, after he pleaded guilty to the possession of marijuana. Chinese laws regarding the substance are quite strict, and it’s under strict control in Beijing, which left very little chance for Jackie Chan’s 32-year old son to defend himself adequately, especially given the circumstances of his arrest. Reports claim that he had been caught with more than 100 grams of the substance, along with Ko Kai, a Taiwanese film actor. They were subsequently tested for marijuana and returned positive.
After the incident, Jaycee Chan seemed genuinely distressed and remorseful, and stated that he had violated the law and must be punished to the full extent which it dictates. He further promised to stay away from marijuana once his sentence is over, and plans to reintegrate into society as quickly as possible when he’s released.
The Chinese government has been stepping up their war on drugs recently, after a series of operations against people known to be involved with various controlled substances. Several well-known personalities have also been targeted by such operations, such as actor Gao Hu, who was also arrested as a result of a drug sting.
Jackie Chan’s case is particularly delicate, as he was named Anti-Drug Ambassador in 2009, so he obviously has some rather specific views on marijuana and drugs as a whole. How he reacted to the revelation that his own son had been involved in marijuana abuse, it’s not yet known – though it’s likely that his reaction was anything but good, especially judging by his complete avoidance of the topic when talking in public. It’s not known if the actor plans to make a statement at some point.