September 5, 2008

Deaflympics in Taipei: 365 Day Countdown

This is the second time in five years that I’ve come to Taiwan. The first time was in June of this year; I was in Taiwan to attend a press conference as the spokesman for the TVBS Caring for Taiwan Foundation’s annual fundraising event.

Now I’m back in Taiwan as the International Goodwill Ambassador for the Deaflympics and I participated in the One Year Countdown to the Deaflympics event. Together with President Ma Ying-jeou, Mayor of Taipei Hau Long-bin, and Tai Hsia-ling, I activated the clock timer for the “Deaflympics in Taipei • 365 Day Countdown” officially marking the start of the countdown to the “2009 Deaflympics in Taipei • Power in Me!”

Next year Taipei City will host the Deaflympic Games. Apart from inviting me to be the International Goodwill Ambassador for the Games, they also invited Asian superstar A-Mei Chang to be the spokesperson for Power and Beauty, and Brigitte Lin to be the International spokesperson.

The International Deaflympics is one of four major sporting events in the family of the Olympic Games. This is the first time for Taipei City to host the 2009 Deaflympic Games and it is also the highest level of sporting competition to be held in Taipei ever. I felt extremely honored when they invited me to be the International Goodwill Ambassador for the Games.

Many years ago while I was filming in Yugoslavia, I had an accident and injured my right ear. I fractured the middle bone inside my ear which has since caused a bit of hearing loss – a lot of people don’t realize that the hearing in my right ear isn’t very good. This is one of the reasons I came to Taiwan to support all the deaf and hearing impaired athletes; as long as you don’t give up, that is victory.

Jackie, Brigitte Lin, and Mayor of Taipei, Hau long-bin.

While I was there, I found out that during basketball games for the deaf and hearing impaired, the officials don’t use a whistle because the players can’t hear any sound. Instead, red lights are installed all around the basketball court as a replacement for the whistle and whenever the red lights flash, everyone has to stop so the referee can use sign language to explain why the red light lit up (for example, in the case of a foul). Usually when we play basketball, we hear the bouncing sound of the basketball hitting the court as well as the calls from our teammates, the cheering of the audience, and the sound of the whistle. But to a deaf or hearing impaired basketball player, everything is dead silent and they hear nothing. Come to think of it, I feel that it’s a bit of a pity because they live in a world with no sound. However, I believe that they will strive to strengthen their own weaknesses, constantly work hard and try to achieve the best results at the Deaflympic Games. Here are a few photos from the filming of a PSA for the Deaflympics. All the players are deaf, so I learned some sign language to help communicate with them:

Bad Deeds Come With Their Own Punishments

While I was in Taiwan, quite a few reporters continuously asked me what my views and opinions were towards Taiwan’s politics and it made me very worried. They didn’t ask any questions related to the Deaflympics, they didn’t ask any questions regarding the deaf or hearing impaired people, and they didn’t even ask any questions about how we could help these deaf or hearing impaired people. I think that Taiwan at present needs some more healthy discussion topics because at the moment both Taiwan and Hong Kong are flooded with negative news.

To tell you the truth, I didn’t know what to say. First, I’m not familiar with politics and I also don’t know the full story; the only information I know what I read in the newspaper, and everybody’s already read that and knows about it, so what can I say? I just think that no matter who the person is, especially if the person is a public figure, they should do things with a clear conscience and embrace an attitude of being fair and just when handling matters and dealing with people. There is a Chinese proverb that I think is very well said and very true: “Those who are unjust will be doomed to perish!” (In other words, doing bad deeds comes with its own punishment). Today I’m still able to gain a foothold and survive in the entertainment circle; people give me face and call me Dai Goh (big brother); nearly everyone I’ve cooperated with in America also call me Dai Goh. Honestly, being Dai Goh is not an easy task. Whatever I do, I have to maintain equality and fairness and ensure that I do everything with a clear conscience. Being Dai Goh requires a lot giving and sacrifices. What I get in return is definitely less than what I give out. I’ve been in the entertainment industry for thirty years, starting when I was a bad kid, and was taught and influenced by a lot of people before getting back on the right track. Therefore, today I am able to honestly say that I didn’t let myself down, I didn’t let the audience down, I didn’t let my fans down, and I didn’t let down my supporters because I’ve always stuck to my principles of being equal and fair, and whenever I do things I never expect anything in return. The losses I suffer are always more than any advantages I gain but in recent years I have earned the respect of other people and they call me Dai Goh.

I read a very disturbing piece of news that happened while I was in Taiwan and it has also became worldwide news. I think that it doesn’t matter if the incident is true or false, in the end it can be used as a warning to Taiwan’s authority and officials so they won’t dare to step out of line. Moreover, people in neighboring countries will also learn a lesson from this incident and will become more cautious of what they do. I hope that the matter is resolved quickly; don’t let the offenders continue to be at large and don’t let the innocent be punished unjustly. I believe that with an honest government, the livelihood of civilians will definitely be good.

What I’ve just said above are my own personal views. I didn’t say any of these things to the media because I don’t want to be quoted out of context by some immoral people. I’m just expressing some of my thoughts and feelings in my own diary, that’s all. Maybe some of you might think that what I say is incorrect. I welcome and accept your critiques and opinions so then I can continue to advance and improve myself. Thank you all, see you again!

Text and photos Copyright 2008 The JC Group. All Rights Reserved.

Sept 5 (星期五)

听奥在台北．倒数365：

          这是我五年来第二次到台湾，第一次是今年六月份，我以TVBS关怀台湾文教基金会「宝贝我们的希望」活动年度募款代言人身份到台湾出席记者会。

          这一次，我以听障奥运的国际形象大使身份重临台湾，参加听奥倒数一年的活动，并与马总统、台北市长郝龙斌、戴遐龄共同启动「听奥在台北．倒数365」的定时器，为「2009听障奥运在台北．Power in me！」正式揭开序幕。  

          台北市明年举办听障奥运会，除了我出任国际形象大使之外，还邀请了亚洲天后张惠妹担任力与美代言人，林青霞则出任国际代言人。

          国际听奥是奥运家族四大赛事之一，台北市首度举办2009台北听障奥运，而这也是台北市有史以来举办层级最高的运动赛事，我能够被邀请作为国际形象大使感到很荣幸。

          很多年前，我在南斯拉夫拍戏时右耳受伤，中耳骨破裂，只是大家没有发现我的右耳听觉不是太好。因此特地来台声援听障奥运的朋友，只要不放弃就是胜利。

          后来，我知道听障朋友打篮球是没有哨子声，因为他们听不到任何声音，取代哨子声的是设置在篮球场周围的红灯，红灯亮了，大家就会停下来，球证就会以手语表示出为什么亮红灯，如：犯规。我们平常打篮球，不但听到篮球的拍打撞击声，还有队友的呼叫声，观众的欢呼声、哨子声等等，对于听障篮球员来说，什么都没有，一片死寂，想起来真的有点儿可惜，因为他们只能活在一个没有声音的世界。但是，我相信他们会自强不息，不断努力，在听障奥运取得佳绩。

多行不义必自毙：

          在台湾，不少人记者不断问我对台湾政治的看法和有什么意见？我感到非常烦恼。他们完全没有问有关听障奥运的问题，也没有问有关听障人士的问题，也没有问应该怎样帮助这些听障人士等等的问题。我觉得现在的台湾需要一些健康的话题，因为现在台湾和香港都是充斥着一些负面的新闻。

          坦白说，我不知道可以说什么？首先，我不熟悉政治，也不知此事的来龙去脉，只是从报章看到一些消息，这些大家都知道的，我可以说什么呢？我只是觉得无论是谁，特别是公众人物，做事都应该抱有公平、公正和问心无愧的态度去待人处事。中国人有一句说话说得很好很对，就是‘多行不义必自毙’！        我今天仍然能够在电影圈立足，大家都给面子叫我‘大哥’，在美国跟我合作过的人差不多都叫我‘大哥’。其实这个‘大哥’很难做的，做任何事情都要保持公平、公正和问心无愧，做这个‘大哥’是需要付出，收获肯定比付出的少。在入行这三十年以来，我从一个坏孩子，受不少人影响和教导才改正过来，所以今天我可以说对得起自己、对得起观众、对得起影迷，对得起支持我的人，因为我从来都坚守公平、公正，不求回报的心态去做，吃亏总是比占便宜的多，所以这些年来才得到别人的尊重，叫我一声‘大哥’。

          虽然这一次台湾发生了这一宗令人震惊的新闻，也变成了世界新闻，我想这也有好处的，因为不论这件事是真是假，最后都可以给台湾执政者一个警惕作用，不敢行差踏错。而且，邻近国家的人也会引以为鉴，也会有所警惕。希望事件尽快水落石出，不要让犯罪者逍遥法外，也不要让无辜者蒙冤。相信有一个廉洁的政府，人民的生活一定会好的。

          以上是我个人的看法，我没有跟传媒讲，因为不想有一些不良的人断章取义，我只是在自己的日记里抒发一下感受而已。我没有针对任何人，只是说出自己待人处事的态度。可能大家觉得我讲得不对，我欢迎和接受批评，好让我不断改进，谢谢大家，再见！