Jackie Chan confirms antique donation

Source : Straits Times - 10 Apr 2009

The Ministry of Education (MOE) has received confirmation from Mr Simon Kwan, Jackie Chan’s property manager here, that the Hong Kong superstar will donate five antique structures from the Ming and Qing dynasties to Singapore.

An MOE statement released yesterday said that Mr Kwan told the MOE early this month that the relics, dating back more than 200 years, were definitely coming to Singapore. There was a media furore following reports in Hong Kong that the territory’s authorities had offered Chan two possible locations for the houses.

The gifts, which include three antique houses, a performance stage and a wooden hut, will be displayed at the new university in Changi when it is completed in 2015. They are part of Chan’s private collection, comprising seven antique houses, estimated to be worth $100 million.

An MOE spokesman said: ‘We are delighted to receive the confirmation of the generous donation. The antique houses will bring a unique cultural flavour and architectural feature to the new university campus that can be enjoyed by the university community as well as the public.’

Early this week, Mr Kwan, 52, met MOE to confirm the donations.

Chan also ‘personally called Mr George Yeo, Minister for Foreign Affairs, to convey his decision to donate some of the collection to Singapore’, added the MOE spokesman.

Last month, the Hong Kong star, who was in town to promote his movie Shinjuku Incident, finally cleared the air and told Life! that he would donate his antiques to Singapore.

His offer, first reported in February, was cast in doubt when Hong Kong newspapers said later that he might change his mind if the territory’s officials gave him a concrete offer to exhibit his collection there.

Fans here wondered if the star’s offer to Singapore was just a tactic to put pressure on the territory’s authorities.

The 55-year-old had been trying unsuccessfully for a decade to find a home for the relics in Hong Kong, where they are being stored in a warehouse.

Last month, Chan told Life! that he was looking forward to seeing his prized collection at the new university.

‘The exhibits will benefit the students as the antique houses will be used as educational tools and research. I trust that the relics, which have been torn down from their original locations, will be well preserved and restored in Singapore.’