Jackie Chan, a top martial arts movie star from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), was recently appointed as vice chairman of the China Society for the Promotion of Environmental Culture.

This is the first position the action hero has ever accepted on the Chinese mainland. Chan said upon the appointment that he would do his best to contribute to environmental undertakings.

The society, a non-governmental organization, is headed by Pan Yue, vice minister of the State Environmental Protection Administration. It works for promoting exchanges of environmental culture and spreading environmental protection concepts.

The society's members are mostly environmental experts, writers and artists.

(Xinhua News Agency March 31, 2004)