Do we like Jacky Cheung?
Our score: 7 out of 10. A decades-long career with no harmful words or acts turning up, held back because the record says little either way on the causes we care about.
Jacky Cheung is the Hong Kong singer fans call the God of Songs. His first solo tour was in 1987, and four decades on he has played to crowds in over 100 cities across 18 countries and regions. That is a very long run in an industry that chews people up.
His latest world tour is the headline act. He staged his 1,000th show in Haikou in 2025, reportedly the first Chinese artist past that mark, and the tour wrapped at the Hong Kong Coliseum on 24 January 2026 after 324 performances. Not bad for a bloke in his sixties who did a split on stage.
His one real stoush was in 2022. CCTV aired a clip of him marking Hong Kong's handover anniversary, he finished with the phrase “Hong Kong jia you” (Hong Kong, add oil), and some mainland social media users accused him of being unpatriotic. The clip was pulled after negative comments outnumbered positive ones. He answered with a statement that he is “a Chinese person who loves his country and Hong Kong”.
On the harm check, nothing turned up. We found no remarks aimed at LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants or public health, and no sign of him keeping dodgy company. His own line on politics is “As an entertainer, staying out of politics is my principle”. A song of his was also pulled from Apple Music in China in 2019, but the report carried no comment from him, so it says nothing about his views. Honestly, the record is quiet on LGBTQ+ issues either way.
Nothing new on him lately beyond the tour finale. At the press conference afterwards he knocked down online debt rumours, saying he has no debts and doesn't borrow money, and said he won't stay “unemployed” for long. He has also spoken about the odd anxiety of finishing a tour with no work lined up.
The good stuff is mostly in his craft. In 2020 he teamed up with Jay Chou on a single dedicated to frontline medical staff during the Covid outbreak. When some Taiwan fans grumbled that he sang too many Cantonese songs, he stood his ground politely and said he comes from Hong Kong.