Martial arts legend\u00a0Jackie Chan has spoken candidly about his strained relationship with his son, Jaycee Chan, 43, admitting that his overly harsh parenting played a key role in driving them apart.<\/p>\n
Recently, while promoting his latest Chinese film Unexpected Family, the 71-year-old star revealed that a father-son reconciliation scene at the end of the film deeply moved him, prompting him to reflect on his real-life relationship with Jaycee.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on his past belief that \u201ca strict father raises a filial son\u201d, Jackie acknowledged that this mindset was a mistake and only served to instill fear.<\/p>\n
Looking back, he said he was constantly critical of his son.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the past, whenever I saw my son, I scolded him. Whenever I went on television, I criticised him \u2013 there was never said a kind word,\u201d said Jackie. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was wrong. Education shouldn\u2019t be like this, I should have given him more freedom instead.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tension between them worsened over time.<\/p>\n
He recalled that Jaycee used to call him once a year to wish him a happy birthday, but after being scolded and told to \u201ccall at other times\u201d instead, the calls stopped altogether.<\/p>\n
Jackie admitted that it was only with age that he began to let go of his \u201cstrict father\u201d attitude.<\/p>\n
These days, he no longer forces expectations on his son and hopes that Jaycee can live a safe and happy life.<\/p>\n
The only child of Jackie and Taiwanese former actress Lin Fengjiao, Jaycee followed in his parents\u2019 footsteps and entered showbiz, appearing in several film and TV productions and releasing albums.<\/p>\n
His career took a major hit when he was jailed\u00a0six months for drug offences in Beijing in 2015.<\/p>\n
He has largely stayed out of the spotlight in recent years, starring only in a couple of movies since his prison release, including 2016 action comedy\u00a0Railroad Tigers\u00a0and 2021 romcom\u00a0Good Night Beijing, which he directed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This story was originally\u00a0published<\/a>\u00a0in 8Days.<\/p>\n