Star of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” Michelle Yeoh calls on Vietnam to improve its traffic safety.
Acclaimed movie star Michelle Yeoh arrived in Vietnam on Saturday to fulfill a role outside the acting arena this time.
Yeoh is the Goodwill Ambassador of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation (AIPF).
She spoke with Thanh Nien about her current mission in the country.
Thanh Nien: What are the priorities of your work in Vietnam?
Michelle Yeoh: Traffic safety plays such an important role in protecting people’s health and life.
Therefore, what I prioritize most is how to improve the awareness of people all around the world about safe traffic.
I came to Vietnam with a film crew aiming to make a documentary about traffic safety before heading for Malaysia, South Africa and India.
Whatever the specific characteristics of each nation are, we believe the documentary will give people helpful lessons as well as influencing the authorities for further rational measures to the traffic problem.
What is your message to parents in regards to children wearing helmets?
I met a Vietnamese mother who lost her 8-year-old daughter Le Xuan Han in a road accident six weeks ago.
That awful day, Han and her sister were not wearing their helmets like they usually did as they were only travelling a short distance.
Though the mother is still in grief, she wanted to help us in sending a message to other parents: “Protect your children as you would yourselves and insist they wear helmets.”
How did you raise traffic safety awareness with school children?
I have attended the 3rd phase of your national campaign for helmet wearing.
I have offered helmets to young students and showed them the three simple steps to wearing a helmet.
I also met with high school students in Hanoi and encouraged them not to drive during the city’s rush hours.
In my heart of hearts, I am happy that good helmets have been designed favorably for people in this hot climate.
I believe the youth are delighted with comfortable and fashionable helmets.
But I think the best thing we can do to help the children and ourselves deal with the traffic problem is to enhance infrastructure.
What is your impression of Hanoi from a pedestrian’s point of view?
I have performed in many dangerous action films but to tell the truth I do not dare cross the roads in Hanoi.
I found it difficult and challenging when the film crew asked me to walk along the crosswalk for a shooting.
As a matter of fact, international traffic light regulations denote that red means stop, yellow means caution and prepare to stop, and green means go.
In Vietnam, people seem to speed up against the yellow light, which is very dangerous for both the drivers and the pedestrians.
I think Vietnamese should say goodbye to this bad habit.
How do you feel about your visit to Vietnam?
I am very happy to be warmly welcomed to your beautiful country.
My second trip to the country after 10 years gives me pride in playing the role of FIA and AIPF’s Road Safety Goodwill Ambassador.
I am also pleased to participate in a film about road safety and helmets for children, which is going to be broadcast worldwide in the near future.
The impressive, peaceful image of Vietnam has always been in my mind since my first visit.
This trip to Hanoi, however, has left me with many feelings.
On the one hand, as a Road Safety Goodwill Ambassador, I am glad to witness the country achieving national regulations for helmet wear and the citizens’ willingness to comply.
On the other hand, I am still alarmed by the traffic congestion and chaos.
In particular, it’s shocking to see so many adults riding with their children on motorbikes where the children are not wearing helmets.
ABOUT MICHELLE YEOH
Michelle Yeoh is a top Asian actress famous for her roles in martial arts and action films.
She won the title of Miss Malaysia in 1983 and was selected as one of the most beautiful people in the world by People Magazine in 1997.
The magazine dubbed her “the queen of martial arts movies.”
Yeoh began her movie career in Hong Kong in such films as 1993’s The Heroic Trio and the Yuen Woo-ping films Tai Chi Master and Wing Chun in 1994.
Her Hollywood break came in 1997 when Yeoh starred in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies.
In 2000, she starred in the critically acclaimed, Academy Award-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
The film won the award for Best Foreign Language Film and was nominated for six others, including best picture.
In 2005, Yeoh starred as the graceful Mameha in the film adaptation of Memoirs of a Geisha.
This year another Hollywood movie, “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” will feature a role played by Yeoh.
Acclaimed movie star Michelle Yeoh arrived in Vietnam on Saturday to fulfill a role outside the acting arena this time.
Yeoh is the Goodwill Ambassador of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation (AIPF).
She spoke with Thanh Nien about her current mission in the country.
Thanh Nien: What are the priorities of your work in Vietnam?
Michelle Yeoh: Traffic safety plays such an important role in protecting people’s health and life.
Therefore, what I prioritize most is how to improve the awareness of people all around the world about safe traffic.
I came to Vietnam with a film crew aiming to make a documentary about traffic safety before heading for Malaysia, South Africa and India.
Whatever the specific characteristics of each nation are, we believe the documentary will give people helpful lessons as well as influencing the authorities for further rational measures to the traffic problem.
What is your message to parents in regards to children wearing helmets?
I met a Vietnamese mother who lost her 8-year-old daughter Le Xuan Han in a road accident six weeks ago.
That awful day, Han and her sister were not wearing their helmets like they usually did as they were only travelling a short distance.
Though the mother is still in grief, she wanted to help us in sending a message to other parents: “Protect your children as you would yourselves and insist they wear helmets.”
How did you raise traffic safety awareness with school children?
I have attended the 3rd phase of your national campaign for helmet wearing.
I have offered helmets to young students and showed them the three simple steps to wearing a helmet.
I also met with high school students in Hanoi and encouraged them not to drive during the city’s rush hours.
In my heart of hearts, I am happy that good helmets have been designed favorably for people in this hot climate.
I believe the youth are delighted with comfortable and fashionable helmets.
But I think the best thing we can do to help the children and ourselves deal with the traffic problem is to enhance infrastructure.
What is your impression of Hanoi from a pedestrian’s point of view?
I have performed in many dangerous action films but to tell the truth I do not dare cross the roads in Hanoi.
I found it difficult and challenging when the film crew asked me to walk along the crosswalk for a shooting.
As a matter of fact, international traffic light regulations denote that red means stop, yellow means caution and prepare to stop, and green means go.
In Vietnam, people seem to speed up against the yellow light, which is very dangerous for both the drivers and the pedestrians.
I think Vietnamese should say goodbye to this bad habit.
How do you feel about your visit to Vietnam?
I am very happy to be warmly welcomed to your beautiful country.
My second trip to the country after 10 years gives me pride in playing the role of FIA and AIPF’s Road Safety Goodwill Ambassador.
I am also pleased to participate in a film about road safety and helmets for children, which is going to be broadcast worldwide in the near future.
The impressive, peaceful image of Vietnam has always been in my mind since my first visit.
This trip to Hanoi, however, has left me with many feelings.
On the one hand, as a Road Safety Goodwill Ambassador, I am glad to witness the country achieving national regulations for helmet wear and the citizens’ willingness to comply.
On the other hand, I am still alarmed by the traffic congestion and chaos.
In particular, it’s shocking to see so many adults riding with their children on motorbikes where the children are not wearing helmets.
ABOUT MICHELLE YEOH
Michelle Yeoh is a top Asian actress famous for her roles in martial arts and action films.
She won the title of Miss Malaysia in 1983 and was selected as one of the most beautiful people in the world by People Magazine in 1997.
The magazine dubbed her “the queen of martial arts movies.”
Yeoh began her movie career in Hong Kong in such films as 1993’s The Heroic Trio and the Yuen Woo-ping films Tai Chi Master and Wing Chun in 1994.
Her Hollywood break came in 1997 when Yeoh starred in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies.
In 2000, she starred in the critically acclaimed, Academy Award-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
The film won the award for Best Foreign Language Film and was nominated for six others, including best picture.
In 2005, Yeoh starred as the graceful Mameha in the film adaptation of Memoirs of a Geisha.
This year another Hollywood movie, “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” will feature a role played by Yeoh.
No comments:
Post a Comment