As a Hong Kong Chinese, it's very heartening to see a fellow Hong Konger be so well-liked overseas. However, I would also just like to present some different perspectives on Jackie Chan as a person.
In general, Jackie has a far more complicated reputation here at home than he does overseas. There is no doubt that he popularized his school of physical comedy/acting, and honestly no-one else has even come close to being able to replicate it, but at the same time his personal actions and views also has earned him a fair share of disdain.
I'll be starting off with stories that are purely anecdotal and rumour-based before moving on to bigger issues, so skip a couple of paragraphs if you don't like celeb gossips.
Jackie is somewhat of an infamous sex fiend within the Hong Kong entertainment industry, quite often he has been sighted taking younger starlets into hotels from nightclubs (have personally heard stories from friends who work at clubs). His biggest scandals are probably from his numerous and quite public affairs during his wife's pregnancy, which he has gone on record to defend by saying that he was just trying to test out his best options. His irresponsibility in his love life is also why his son (known as Jaycee Chan in the west) has a different family name (that is neither his own nor the mother's), basically preventing him from being instantly recognizable as his own (illegitimate) son.
He is also known as an extremely strict parent. As in "punching your child" strict, not that it really stopped his son from being arrested in Beijing on drug charges (weed, which may or may not change your opinion of the charges depending on your views on recreational drugs). He is very cold to his child. During the above arrest instead of support he basically completely ignored Jaycee(no visit during custody, refused to appear in the trial as proof of character). Instead Jackie seemed more interested in addressing the press about how disappointed he was in him, constantly setting up press conferences to apologize for his son's actions(which, what the fuck, you don't apologize on behalf of a grown-ass 30-something adult).~~ He has also gone on public record to say that he will not be leaving Jaycee anything after he dies. Personally I think expecting your child to make his own fortune is one thing, but publicly saying that you are afraid he will just waste your money is another.~~ Basically, he constantly feels the need to establish how fair and just a person he is to the public at the expense of his own bastard child.
His biggest criticisms come from his political leanings, though. The records are out there, so feel free to google it if you are interested in further reading. He consistently acts as one of the more prolific mouthpieces for the Chinese Communist Party (NOT China, see below). His statements are always incredibly inflammatory ("People's freedom should be restricted" etc.), poorly-supported, very heavily propagandized, and not to mention reductionist and biased. There is no logical or reason at play in most of his political rants. His entire strategy towards commenting on any political issue is basically "I'm famous so fuck you. Hail the Party."
As a result of these things his image has really gradually transformed into something of a punchline in local communities. The many memes that you might see of him when visiting Chinese websites are mostly done in derision.
Some of the posters in this thread have already pointed out that it's hard for someone to turn against your countrymen and all that, but I would like to note that his support isn't for China and its people, but for the oppressive single-party government regime that actively suppresses humanitarian efforts or democratic processes that attempt to return political power to the people by creating arbitrary laws to imprison human rights lawyers, or hold people indefinitely with trial (there is literally a law against "causing trouble and picking quarrels", which is so vague and poorly-defined that it allows the arrest of basically anyone for anything and yes, it pretty much is exclusively used to target political activists).
He is also fiercely anti-American, which can come off as hypocritical considering that he made a considerable part of his fortune in America.
I would like to stress that I'm not trying to discredit his cinematic achievements. That is a part of his life that is completely unrelated to who is he outside of the screen, and in it he is definitely an unparalleled legend who deserves the respect for being such.
But at the same time, he is also a global, public figure who personally comes across as being very callous about the consequences of his actions and words. And that, I think, is worrying. He basically acts like he can do and say whatever he wants, for the pleasure of his own benefits, regardless of who and how many it hurts. It's how a lot of people behave, but as a public figure his ethics should be placed under more scrutiny.
EDIT: Crossed out some of the stuff that have been disproven by sources in the thread. I apparently got a couple of things mistake about Jaycee or had outdated info. Thanks! This has sort of exploded, well beyond my expectation. Thank you for everyone who has responded, and thank you for those of you praising my English! I'm flattered, and it's been a pleasure.
I'm sorry to hear that I've ruined Jackie for some people, as that's not my intention at all. He has left a cinematic legacy behind him and that should be appreciated. But I also felt uncomfortable seeing all of the unqualified praises for how amazing he is, so I wanted to present another perspective.
Even if you disagree with me I don't mind. All that I ask is that you do your own research and make up your own mind instead of relying on knee-jerk reflexes. I've tried to reply where I can to curiosities and disagreements, but there's only so much I can handle. Plus, I'm only one Hong Konger, speaking from what I observe and trying to be objective about it, so I would be very happy if no-one just takes my word for it and try to learn more about this little city of ours.
