Title:
Two more arrested in China over celebrity sex photos
Date:
01 Mar 2008 1703 hrs (GMT + 8hrs)
BEIJING : Two Chinese men have been held in police custody for five days for posting explicit photographs of Hong Kong celebrities on the Internet, state media said Saturday.
The two men from central Hunan province were detained for circulating the photographs of actor and singer Edison Chen apparently having sex with a number of Hong Kong starlets, Xinhua news agency said.
The arrests are the latest in a case that has caused a sensation in Hong Kong, where the pictures were downloaded and distributed after Chen's laptop was taken to a computer shop for repairs, earlier reports have said.
Xinhua said the two men were arrested after police found more than 10 graphic images in an online post which attracted more than 100,000 hits.
The pair had 400 of the explicit images, out of a reported total of more than 1,300, and had invited friends to their home to see them, it said.
Previously, 11 people had been detained by police in relation to the photos, the report said, adding that producing, copying or circulating pornographic products, even without a profit motive, is illegal in China.
The photos of Chen and at least seven women -- including Cantopop singer Gillian Chung, actress Cecilia Cheung and former actress Bobo Chan -- began appearing in January.
Last month, Chen publicly admitted he had taken the pictures, apologised and announced his retirement from the local entertainment scene.
Police in both Hong Kong and Taiwan have also detained people on suspicion of possessing and distributing the photographs.
- AFP/ir
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When any one of your bad boy heartthrob actors steals the headlines with shocking news, a public uproar spanning several days is always guaranteed. Now bring into the picture seven other mesmerizing actresses whom everyone has seen in various drama serials and what you end up with is one out-of-proportioned controversy rocking the entertainment scene.
The recent saga involving Hong Kong actor Edison Chen and several other big-name actresses has sparked off an extremely controversial debate of some sort revolving around an endless stream of topics, e.g. who, among those involved in the public collage of intimate photos, had suffered the most.
The sudden leak of photos portraying Chen and at least seven other female celebrities came as a shock to many, and gave rise to widespread illegal sales of the pictures. The police faced an uphill task in their bid to prevent the circulation of photos, especially within the black market.
From this issue alone, many questions have been raised as to why Chen would have done such a thing, to indulge in taking photos of his sexual adventures. The answer is simple, yet unconvincing; he enjoyed (probably not anymore) his experiences, and merely wanted to encapsulate these memories in their digital form for reminiscence in the future, or could even have played the part of metaphorical trophies from his conquests. The bitter aftermath of having to share them with the rest of the world though, perhaps never crossed his mind until chaos struck.
What this entire episode reveals, is the implicit trust these ladies had in Chen, who were in full knowledge of their private photos being taken. We are not referring to innocent, ignorant teenage girls here, but instead mature celebrities who are well familiar with the complexity and relationships that arise in this movie industry. One may wonder just what it is that allows a young woman to be willingly photographed in such a manner. Did they not ever once imagine the possibility, no matter how remote, of their photos being manipulated or exploited if they were to accidentally fall into the wrong hands?
The several female celebrities must have undergone immense nerve-wrecking moments, anticipating if their photos would show up, after seeing fellow compatriots suffer the unfortunate fate of having their very own nights of rendezvous appear on millions of peoples’ monitors – with some constantly ogling, while others in utter disbelief.
In retrospect, I hope this can serve to emphasize on how one’s private digital data can be so easily exposed and circulated. With the increasing popularity of blogs, an area where many post pictures of photos of themselves and others, users of such technology, especially youths, will be more conscious of the constant risk of similar situations occurring in the this technologically savvy generation we have today. Also, it has highlighted the measures that should be taken to safeguard one’s personal data storage, and not end up like Chen.
Ladies who allow their partners to take compromising photos of themselves I feel, should not be so naïve as to believe that these pictures will be restricted to the eyes of their partners alone, as relationships may not last, and these pictures may just be revealed in that momentary lack of judgement.
