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Pictures show woman resembling tycoon's niece in shower, netizens ask...

THE Edison Chen scandal has taken on a new twist.

The latest batch of photos, released on Saturday, claimed another victim - a woman resembling tycoon Albert Yeung Sau Shing's niece, Ms Vincy Yeung.

Mr Yeung owns Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG), one of the largest entertainment groups in Hong Kong.

His niece, an undergraduate studying in Boston, is Edison's current girlfriend.

Three pictures show a naked woman resembling her standing in a shower.

But questions are being raised on when the pictures were taken, reported Apple Daily.

In 2006, Edison and Ms Yeung admitted that they were dating. She was 18 then.

Then, last July, during a Taiwanese television interview, Edison revealed that they had been dating for three years. If that is accurate, it means the couple started dating in 2004, when Ms Yeung was 16.

So, say netizens, it is possible that the pictures were taken before her 16th birthday.

They are calling for a police investigation into whether the person who took the photos is guilty of having sex with an underaged girl.

And this could spell more trouble for the beleaguered Edison.

In Hong Kong, anyone caught with child pornographic materials can be fined a maximum of HK$100,000 ($18,000) and jailed up to five years. In addition, the crime does not depend where the pictures were taken.

ANTI-EDISON FERVOUR

Meanwhile, anti-Edison Chen sentiment has swept popular social networking site Facebook. Several anti-Edison Chen groups have sprouted. One, in particular, has unified detractors of Edison's actions.

Called 'We strongly urge Tang King Shing to go to Canada to arrest Edison Chen' in Mandarin, it was formed last month by a netizen named Chris Chan. In two weeks, the group gathered more than 1,700 members.

Mr Tang is the commissioner of the Hong Kong police force.

Explaining why he set up the group, Mr Chan wrote: 'Tang King Shing says that anyone who possesses a large quantity of the pictures will be suspected of distribution, and urges us to keep away from the pictures.

'Edison is the source of the photos. If anyone commits a crime with the photos, he should be the one to blame. Shouldn't the police go to Canada to arrest Edison?'

After the Internet photos scandal surfaced, Edison said that he might travel to Canada. But it is believed he is now in Boston.

Update: Edison Chen is returning to Hong Kong, it could be a matter of hours.
Source: Yahoo Hong Kong


Maggie Q is victim No.8 of Edison Chen sex photos scandal

There was a leaked Maggie Q picture posted early this morning on some forums. Some eagle-eyed netizens have linked some items in a laundry basket found in the picture to Edison Chen because apparently he has been photographed before wearing the exact same things. Some netizens though pointed out that this could be coincidental as the photo was from a photoshoot she did for Edison Chen’s clothing line. What do you think?

Gillian Chung who was implicated in the Edison Chen sex photos scandal, became the first female starlet to step out yesterday and admit that it was her in the photos indirectly. But many remained unconvinced of her statement which seems to be deflecting all the blame to Edison and her smiling face throughout the event was a big turn-off for many. This was a big contrast to the big teary scene when she spoke publicly a few months ago after photos of her naked back while changing in a dressing room was leaked.

Where’s the logic, you wonder?

Some say that Albert Yeung might have already struck a deal with the mysterious “Kira” which might explain the relaxed nature of Gillian and most of the EEG people at yesterday’s event. The non-show of the video as promised by “Kira” yesterday was also a talking point among many netizens who was stalking the forums the whole day and came up disappointed.

Unsure if it’s a hoax or what, but “Kira” apparently posted on Hong Kong forum stating that the video was held up and would be posted at 3am instead. But several hours later, we still see no sign of any on any forums.

Most netizens are hopeful and think that “Kira” is just biding his time. There are so many hoax reports of him being killed or caught everyday so it’s pretty chaotic keeping tabs on his actual status. So I think he’s just waiting to strike.

Meanwhile, the main lead of this whole scandal, Edison Chen is apparently flying back to Hong Kong either on Thurday or Friday (throw the media off?). Hmm, maybe things have really been settled with “Kira”? The story goes on…

The Gillian Chung Press Conference Public Response

Source: MingPao

For the first time since the Edison Chen photographs appeared on the Internet, Gillian Chung made a public appearance before the press. She made a statement but did not take any questions.

Gillian Chung began by saying Happy New Year to those present. She said that this incident has caused great distress and hurt to herself and those around her. She admitted to being very naïve and very stupid before, but she has now grown up. She expressed her gratitude towards the company, her family and her friends for their concern and support. She apologized for the effect of the affair on society at large. In the future, she will continue to work hard and live actively. Finally, she thanked the media for their concern and the fans who never abandoned her.

Did anyone coach her on the script? How can she say that she had been "very naïve, very stupid" (很天真,很傻) before? This phrase is likely to become the second Internet pop phrase of the year. She can use any other words to express the same idea, but not with two "very's." This is because the first Internet pop phrase of the year was the now famous "Very Yellow, Very Violent". How can anyone fail to draw that analogy?

The Internet forum response has been quite negative. Throughout her statement, there was no description of what the affair was about. The netizens did not take kindly towards her description of being "very naïve, very stupid." People pointed to the KY jelly in the background of one of her photographs and asked: "If she had been 'very naïve, very stupid' at the time when she was using KY jelly in a hotel room, then what is she doing now that she has grown up?"

Why is the Internet forum public so hostile towards Gillian Chung this time? When photographs of her changing in the dressing room appeared in EasyFinder magazine in August 2006, the public was overwhelmingly on her side. But the tide appeared to have swung the other way around. One reason was that her company Emperor Entertainment Group had claimed initially that the photographs were computer modifications. When more photographs appeared, EEG went silent and refused to comment on the grounds that there was an ongoing police investigation. Even at today's press conference, EEG stated that the company and all its artistes will decline comment in the future in the interest of not causing more social harm. The Internet forum users consider Gillian Chung and EEG evasive.

The more significant reason is captured in this comment by the Those Were The Days blogger:

The privacy of an artiste is clearly different from that of a public servant. The private life of a public servant may affect his job performance. For example, when a politician cheats on his wife, the public may begin to doubt his character. Therefore, the public and the media have cause to be concerned about the private lives of public figures. Meanwhile, the artistes only have to be concerned about their singing and acting, because their private lives do not affect their job performance. The public and the media should not be exposing and judging the private lives of artistes.

That might be correct in general, but things are different in Hong Kong. European and American artistes are selling their singing/acting abilities and not their moral conduct and character. I have not seen any European and American artistes who would leverage positions on pre-marital sex, chastity and multiple sex partners to package their images. European and American artistes, especially those in rock 'n roll music, are notorious for being licentious and involved in drug abuse. But they don't need to disguise that because they are selling their singing and not any saintly image.

In the Hong Kong entertainment industry, some artistes have become upholders of morality. They criticize the media for being very yellow and very violent; they preach morality; they say that this or that magazine should not have published something or the other because corrupts young people; they describe themselves as clean, self-respecting and pure beyond belief. In recent years, the government likes to appoint these artistes as their youth ambassadors on account of their influence among young people. So these artistes are happily shaking hands with Donald Tsang or participating in a national day gala festival in Beijing. Do they realize that they are longer just artistes anymore? If they want to be pure artistes, then they should not be staking out moral positions, or acting as government spokespersons, or engaging in politics. If they do so, they must be prepared to sacrifice their privacy and restrict their own private lives because they are now public figures. For example, if an American movie star supports the Republican Party, then the fact that she once had an abortion cannot be just waved away as a "private matter."

In this affair, the citizens and netizens are reacting strongly because certain artistes have been behaving as more than artistes. They are using every means to criticize any negative information and reports about them. They are setting themselves at the highest moral point in order to criticize everybody else as immoral. Why else would the citizens and netizens call the artistes (藝人) as fake people (偽人)?

A while ago, the former wife of a hairdresser wrote a book that exposed the private affair between her husband and an actress. But the media and the public showed no interest and the story could not even make the local news page. Why? Because the actress was just an artiste! Who cares about her private life? If you don't live in Hong Kong, if you don't understand popular sentiments in Hong Kong and if you don't know what has been happening before this, you cannot understand why people feel this way now about this affair.

In August 2006, EasyFinder published photographs of Gillian Chung changing her clothes in a dressing room. In the ensuing press conference, Gillian Chung spoke of wanting to die and never being able to face young people again. The photographs back then revealed nothing except her armpit. At today's press conference, Gillian Chung was beaming with confidence. The photographs now revealed just about everything of her. It is hard not to notice the incongruence.