Nude awakening

Dear 6AB1 students,

This is a piece of good article about different issues of the whole scandal.

Mr. Fu

Amid the public furore over the posting of intimate photographs of celebrities on the internet, some fundamental issues have been overlooked

Sex sells, and celebrity sells. So combine the two and Hong Kong's recent drama over nude pictures of intimate moments allegedly involving Canto-pop star Edison Chen Koon-hei and a host of other celebrities has all the elements of a gripping public scandal.
It has been difficult to avoid the drama that has unfolded on news-stands in the past three weeks over images reportedly of Chen and Canto-pop singer Gillian Chung Yan-tung, Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi, former actress Bobo Chan Man-woon, model-actress Rachel Ngan Wing-sze and others.

"I think Hong Kong is now hostile towards them collectively," Chan Shun-hing, assistant professor of the department of cultural studies at Lingnan University said.

"People looked at these nude pictures and criticised the people in the pictures in different ways. The fact is that these pictures are stolen, but no one talks about this.

"The reality is some people are accessing these nude pictures happily. They comment on these people and become excited about the issue. It shows that society is sick."

The level of interest in the issue has overshadowed what some experts see as fundamental issues in the matter - that of privacy and the hypocrisy of a society being at the same time fascinated and outraged by the images. To most people, sexual affairs between two adults is a personal matter. Yet that belief seems to have been overlooked amid the media hype.

"The pictures themselves do not leave too much room for discussion, but the amount of interest generated has fuelled a fiery debate," said Lui Tai-lok, a sociology professor at Chinese University.

"These pictures are supposed to be kept within the private sphere and are not for discussion in the public forum. However, this point has not been taken seriously. My observation is that people are not very certain about key points in the debate."

Although there is so far one man and seven women in the pictures circulating on the internet, Chen and Chung are at the centre of the storm. It has been widely suggested that the images were sourced from a computer which Chen was having repaired.

Chung, the only celebrity to have shown up in public since the scandal broke, has attracted the most interest.

As part of the singing duo Twins, 27-year-old Chung began to make a name for herself in 2001. She and her Twins partner, Charlene Choi Cheuk-yin, have won many awards and Chung received a best actress nomination at the 2004 Golden Bauhinia awards for her role in Beyond our Ken.

Chung's first taste of adverse publicity was on August 22, 2006, when Easy Finder magazine published revealing photos of her in a changing room after a Twins concert in Malaysia. Following the incident she cried at a press conference and won much public sympathy.

At her first public appearance after the latest scandal broke, Chung described herself as silly and naive - without directly admitting the pictures were of her. Although she was praised for being brave enough to face the public, she was also criticised for being "too happy" and "insincere" - as she did not cry at the press conference.

The tide of public opinion appears to have turned against her in some quarters after more than 2,000 complaints were received this week following Chung's appearance on a Sunday night charity programme. Some people complained to TVB that Chung should be banned from future shows. On internet chat sites she has been described as a "lustful woman", and there have been calls for her to quit the entertainment business immediately.

One parent was reported to have told the media: "Gillian is an angel, she shouldn't be like that."

But Professor Lui said: "Who says Gillian is an angel? It is the media's construction. The type of discussion that has taken place on the issue reflects the hypocrisy of society."

Dr Chan added: "This reflects how suppressed our society is in regards to sex. Gillian's image is created by the entertainment business as an immature girl who is desexualised. While some parents consider sex is harmful, they now judge Gillian as immoral. She is consumed by society as an image rather than as a woman.

"Therefore, although Gillian Chung is 27 years old, when the adult side of Gillian is exposed, her image as a `good girl' is tarnished. Then she becomes the target of a witch-hunt."

The public profile of the main player in the scandal, Edison Chen, has suffered badly in the three weeks since the pictures surfaced. Despite showing remorse in a video statement, Chen seems to have won little compassion from the public. In one video on the internet he was portrayed as Osama bin Laden, and other critics have labelled him "sick" for allegedly having the pictures stored on his computer.

Chen's boss, Peter Lam Kin-ngok, said Chen should take responsibility and return to Hong Kong to explain the affair to the public.

"Our society expects a man to not have too many sex partners, seeing it as immoral ... However, his situation is already better than other female actresses. This also reflects that the moral judgments made of a man and a woman are different nowadays." Dr Chan said.

Chen, 27, joined the entertainment business in 1999. Not renowned for his acting or his singing abilities, he is perhaps best known for his supporting role in the hit movie Infernal Affairs.

However, much of his fame in recent years has been documented in Hong Kong's entertainment magazines, which have featured many stories about Chen's love affairs with actresses. The articles often portray him as young, ambitious and more than a little self-assured.

Amid the recent media hype have been many and varied reports, one that blackmail was involved in the release of the nude pictures. Rumours have also surfaced that someone had threatened to kill Chen or have his hand cut off. Some reported that Chen was having sex therapy in Canada, where his mother lived. Another report claimed he had committed suicide.

Professor Lui said the level of rumour showed a public propensity to follow gossip and allow the debate to stray from the core issues. "This shows there is no real judgment in modern society," he said. "People will ask why Edison Chen was so careless that he lost his pictures or allowed them to be stolen."

While the scandal has prompted various value judgments and criticism from the public, some internet users have praised one of the picture suppliers, "Kira", as a hero. Their comments on the internet seem supportive of Chung Yik-tin, who was charged with publishing an obscene article over the scandal after he allegedly disseminated the images. The charge was later withdrawn after the Obscene Articles Tribunal ruled the images were indecent, not obscene.

Ma Ngok, associate professor with the department of government and public administration at Chinese University, thinks such online support is understandable. "Some people are dissatisfied with the way the police have ignored human rights in past years," he said. "The way police have handled Edison Chen's case reinforces the concept that the rule of law is for rich people.

"To many internet users and youngsters, disseminating pornographic pictures - like using BitTorrent, wearing the 14K T-shirt or reading the so-called obscene article in the student paper of the Chinese University - is not morally wrong. Therefore, they cannot accept why the police have to pick someone out," Professor Ma said.

There is also another issue relating to the dashed expectations of young fans. Some Hong Kong educational groups have blamed celebrities for setting a bad example for youngsters. One religious group is trying to promote this year as "virginity year", and circulars have been distributed in some schools to advise teachers on how to stop students viewing the nude pictures.

But not all parents are fearful of the scandal and its perceived effects on their children. Elizabeth Quat of the Hong Kong Alliance of Parents Association said some parents had freely discussed the issue with their teenage children, with some asking their children to help them locate the nude images.

Professor Lui said: "Some teachers and parents are very nervous. However, throughout the whole discussion, no one has asked how the youngsters consume these pictures," he said, referring to the way they accessed and processed the content.

Doreen Weisenhaus, an expert in media law at the University of Hong Kong's Journalism and Media Studies Centre, said: "This is the first such scandal in Hong Kong. It is natural for the public and the media to have paid so much attention. The public and the media in Hong Kong are showing a similar reaction to when similar scandalous cases occur in Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Korea. Hong Kong society has not overreacted as this controversy involves some of the bigger names in Hong Kong. It is natural to have this reaction."

Looking beyond Hong Kong, Chung is not alone in having her images besmirched by online controversy.

Vietnamese actress Hoang Thuy Linh, 19, made a tearful farewell on national television in October after her soap opera was cancelled following the appearance of a sex video on the Web. Several years ago, a sex video of US celebrity Paris Hilton and an ex-boyfriend also circulated online.

However, instead of quitting, Hilton capitalised on the incident and her career as a celebrity has blossomed.

Experts say it is partly a matter of public expectations in the country involved. "Asian countries like Vietnam are much more conservative. Paris was expected to be a party girl," Dr Weisenhaus said.

SCMP. Feb 21, 2008