The Man Behind The Succulent Chinese Meal That Demonstrates Democracy Manifest
- Mar 24, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 20
Good news for fans of delectable Chinese cuisine: the individual behind the infamous "democracy manifest" is still among us, (he isn't a Hungarian chess master, but rather an artist hailing from Queensland)
For those feeling perplexed, it may be best to disregard this article entirely. However, if you really do know your Judo well, you'll know what i'm on about.
Here's a refresher of our hero arguing his case with the Blue-Meanies outside a restaurant
While the police are trying to bundle the man into a police car, he announces, in a voice that sounds much like Oliver Reed:
"Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest!"
"What is the charge? Eating a meal? A succulent Chinese meal?"
"Get your hands off my penis!"
The man arrested had been shrouded in mystery for years. Speculations abound, with some asserting him to be Paul Charles Dozsa, a Hungarian immigrant and renowned chess player notorious for his repeated instances of "dining and dashing" at various restaurants across Australia.
However, Dozsa passed away in 2003, putting an end to that theory. Now, with the emergence of the real "Mr Democracy Manifest," the speculation can finally be put to rest.
He Knows His Judo Well
The video was filmed by Seven News reporter Chris Reason while covering what police initially thought was a case of mistaken identity — they believed they’d caught one of Queensland’s most wanted men. At different points, the man in the footage was described as everything from a dine‑and‑dasher to an international criminal. One of the officers at the scene, Dean Biron, later said the man was wanted on 19 counts of fraud involving about AU$70,000 worth of stolen goods. He gave his name as Cecil George Edwards, though he used several aliases over the years, including Johann Kelmut Karlson and Cecil Gerry Edwards.
The man was later identified as Jack Karlson, born Cecil George Edwards in 1942. The arrest took place at the China Sea Restaurant in Fortitude Valley after he attempted to pay for a meal with a reportedly stolen credit card. An American Express investigator had been tracking him and alerted police. The restaurant has since moved to Milton.
Karlson’s life was marked by crime from an early age. He spent much of his life in and out of prison, with frequent escapes, and claimed to have suffered abuse as a child in state care. While incarcerated, he befriended playwright Jim McNeil and encouraged him to write about prison life, plays that later became well known in Australia.
The Return of Jack
The story continued to attract attention in later years. In 2022, Radio National aired an hour‑long documentary about the incident, and Dean Biron published an article giving his side of events, emphasizing that the arrest was never considered a major case. Karlson was released on bail the next day and largely vanished from public view until resurfacing in 2020.
The circumstances surrounding his reappearance remain murky. It appears his first public appearance occurred in a video shared on the popular Australian meme page Brown Cardigan in 2020.
In the clip we see a man that's older, but his voice proves he is unmistakably the hero of our story.
More recently, punk band The Chats did a promo for their tour featuring our hero and mocking up his arrest.
Then came a website, announcing that he had returned: "Jack is still with us. Jack will tell his story … his name is not Paul Charles Dozsa, he was not a chess grandmaster and he is most definitely still alive."
The website advertises a range of merchandise emblazoned with the famous quotes.
One way or another, it didn't take long to get him in front of a camera for an interview. Sitting down with Sportsbet, he confirms he is the man in the clip and recounts the day of his arrest, when his tranquil lunch was rudely interrupted.
"There’s all TV cameras. Channel Seven, Channel Nine, whatever," he says. "They’ve surrounded the place and come arrested me."
An archival news package then plays, from soon after the arrest.
"When Cecil George Edwards was arrested in a town mall last Friday, the [Fortitude] Valley police thought they’d caught Queensland’s most wanted," Reason reported.
"Instead he was a petty criminal working under several aliases ... a conman with a flair for acting.
"Only hours after his arrest, the watch house granted him bail, leaving the police red faced and empty handed."
UPDATE
Sadly Karlson died of prostate cancer on 7 August 2024 at the age of 82. In the month before Karlson died, he and one of his arresting officers had been speaking with Australian media to promote a new documentary about the incident, The Man Who Ate a Succulent Chinese Meal, directed by Heath Davis.
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