Oscar Presenter Donnie Yen’s Pro-Chinese Communist Party Remarks Cause Backlash, Petition to Disinvite

In a GQ profile, “John Wick 4” actor Donnie Yen basically defend the Chinese Communist Party and castigated Hong Kong freedom protesters.

The result is now a petition with close to 31,000 signatures asking for Yen to be removed as a presenter at Sunday’s Oscars.

Yen is a proud Chinese national and raved about the progress that he witnessed in his home country:

“Most of the people outside of China don’t see it until they are there. The modernization. I have been in so many countries in the world, but it’s not even close. The progress—the freeways, the architecture, the convenience of lifestyle.”

He is upset about the Western media focusing only on negative stories about China:

“The BBC, CNN, they never talk about that. They never mention the true side of it. But I’m there, you know?”

Yen’s patriotism has gotten him into trouble, mostly due to his comments about the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong:

“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. 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.”

Will the petition work? I have no idea, but stripping an Asian presenter from next week’s ceremony could surely cause backlash, especially with the inevitable EEAAO triumph that’s incoming.

In a letter attached with the petition, Yen was called “a supporter of the Chinese Communist regime” who “has made several remarks in support of the Chinese government’s policies, including supporting the implementation of the National Security Law.”