Jackie Chan, a fashionista and an Olympic champ: celebrities and controversies at China’s big political show

Reading Time:4 minutes

Movie star Jackie Chan, Li Peng's daughter Li Xiaolin and Olympic athlete Liu Xiang will attend this year’s Two Sessions.

Published: 10:00am, 3 Mar 2017Updated: 10:22am, 3 Mar 2017

It’s China’s biggest political ball of the year and everyone wants to go. The great “Two Sessions” meet-up is a serious affair, but you can always count on the celebrities to lighten up the occasion.

It’s going to be a star-studded event, and it’s not just for the political bigwigs. A Hollywood actor, Olympic champ, celebrity writer, famous scion, internet titan … you name it, they’ve got it. And they’re all going to be seated together in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing for the annual plenary sessions beginning on Friday.

We let you in on some of the big names set to attend the meetings and what controversy they might stir up this year.

Hollywood action movie star Jackie Chan

Chan has been in the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference – the nation’s top consultative body – since 2013. He has submitted film industry-related proposals at previous meetings, but it’s his behaviour on the sidelines of the events that has attracted the most attention.

At the Two Sessions in 2014, the Hong Kong actor found himself mired in controversy after he approached Chinese singer Song Zuying from behind and gave her a public cheek rub. He later shrugged it off, defending his actions by saying he was a friendly and tactile man.

The following year, he spoke out against the intense media coverage of him at the annual sessions. “[I] made headlines after hugging Song Zuying and was written about so much after saying just one word ‘duang’,” Chan said. “There are so many journalists. What should I say? I dare not speak.”