China Lifts Ban on Jaycee Chan and Kai Ko

China’s recent efforts in cracking down drug use and trafficking have led to many high-profile arrests, including celebrities Jaycee Chan (房祖名), Kai Ko (柯震東), Wang Xuebing (王學兵), Sun Xing (孫興), Roy Cheung (張耀揚), and Max Mok (莫少聰).

Blacklisted by the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT), artistes who were arrested for drug or prostitution-related offenses in Mainland China were banned in the industry until further notice. The films, television dramas, online media, and endorsements in which these artistes have appeared on before their arrests were either taken down or had their appearances edited out.

Having to re-edit these films have put a lot of pressure on the post-production teams. Kai Ko, who was arrested in Beijing last August for drug use, had all of his scenes in the film Monster Hunt <捉妖記> deleted, and Jin Boran (井柏然) was hired to replace his role and re-film his scenes. Jin Boran’s version of the film will premiere on July 16.

However, according to a reliable source, SARFT decided to lift the ban on Jaycee, who will be making his big screen return next month with Chen Kaige’s Monk Comes Down the Mountain. It is said that Chen Kaige and Jaycee’s father, Jackie Chan (成龍), managed to convince SARFT to lift the ban.

In a time when China’s box office faces competition from Hollywood, Chen Kaige argued that it is important to support local productions. Although Jaycee is not the main character in Monk Comes Down the Mountain, his role is crucial to the storyline. If Jaycee were to be edited out, the entire film would have to be rewritten, jeopardizing the production. After hearing Chen Kaige’s plea, SARFT agreed to lift the ban on Jaycee.

The source said that the SARFT has also lifted its ban on Kai Ko. His film Tiny Times 4 <小時代4：靈魂盡頭> will also be premiering next month, with his scenes uncut. When the press reached out to Kai, his manager responded, “We have not received official notice about it, and we have also not received the promotions schedule for Tiny Times 4 in Mainland.”

Source: ihktv.com

This article is written Addy for JayneStars.com.