People in the News

Madonna falls from horse in NY, gets bruised up

NEW YORK (AP) " Madonna has taken a tumble while horseback riding in New York's Hamptons and has suffered "minor injuries" and bruises.

A spokeswoman says the pop star fell Saturday afternoon when the horse was startled by paparazzi who "jumped out of the bushes" to photograph her.

Spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg says Madonna was treated at a Southampton hospital and was released. She won't disclose more details on the singer's condition.

Rosenberg says the singer had been visiting friends in the Hamptons, a playground for the rich and famous on the eastern end of Long Island.

Comments by Jackie Chan prompt backlash

HONG KONG (AP) " Action star Jackie Chan's comments wondering whether Chinese people "need to be controlled" have drawn sharp rebuke in his native Hong Kong and in Taiwan.

Chan told a business forum in the southern Chinese province of Hainan that a free society may not be beneficial for China's authoritarian mainland.

"I'm not sure if it's good to have freedom or not," Chan said Saturday. "I'm gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we're not being controlled, we'll just do what we want."

He went on to say that freedoms in Hong Kong and Taiwan made those societies "chaotic."

Chan's comments drew applause from a predominantly Chinese audience of business leaders, but did not sit well with lawmakers in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

"He's insulted the Chinese people. Chinese people aren't pets," Hong Kong pro-democracy legislator Leung Kwok-hung told The Associated Press. "Chinese society needs a democratic system to protect human rights and rule of law."