With his son's drug charges generating headlines, Chinese star Jackie Chan said he felt shamed by his son's behaviour and hoped he will behave in the future.

On Monday, Jackie Chan's son Jaycee Chan was prosecuted in Beijing for allegedly providing a venue for drug users, according to the People's Procuratorate of Beijing's Dongcheng District.

The prosecution came three months after he was formally arrested following a drugs bust at his residence in the capital.

"I hope that in the future, he could become an anti-drug spokesman and tell his experiences to young people," Jackie Chan said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua Wednesday.

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BEIJING: A number of Australians are facing the death penalty in China after being charged with serious drug offences.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said an unspecified number of Australians had been detained, but it would not reveal any further detail on specific cases.

"We are aware that a number of Australians have been detained in China on serious drug charges," it said. "These individuals are receiving appropriate consular assistance."

Government sources would not say how many Australians had been arrested but that a "number" of Australians have been charged over drug offences since late last year, although they had not yet been through the full judicial process.

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As Legalisation of Marijuana Spreads, Chinese Companies Have the Patents Ready to Exploit New Markets

Almost 5000 years ago, Chinese physicians recommended a tea made from cannabis leaves to treat a wide variety of conditions, including gout and malaria.

Today, as the global market for marijuana experiences an unprecedented boom after moves to legalise, it is China that again appears to have set its eyes on dominating trade in the drug.

The communist country is well placed to exploit the burgeoning cannabis trade with more than half of the patents relating to or involving cannabis originating in China.

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