The Hong Kong entertainment world scandal this Lunar New Year over the spread of Edison Chen's (陳冠希) sex photos on the Internet has revealed as much -- or more -- about the media and the public as about Chen and his ex-girlfriends. It is alleged that the computer shop that Chen had sent his laptop to for repair somehow managed to get ahold of the pictures and posted them on the Internet.
The local police are still investigating how the photos of Chen, a young pop idol, were leaked, while new photos continued to be uploaded on the Internet. CNN blamed Chen for his failure to protect his ex-girlfriends.
Gillian Chung (
The fact that she had to face the public to explain the incident shows that a woman's lust for sex still carries a stigma that can turn an innocent- looking pop singer into a "slut" overnight.
With the advance of electronic technology, more and more people are filming their own porno movies to spice up their sex lives. And according to the new code of morals, this act does not necessarily make somebody a pervert. Chung should not be seen as a slut simply because she had pictures taken during sex. In fact, exposing herself to the media's numerous cameras to apologize to the public was quite unnecessary.
These photos only showed that celebrities, too, have sex lives, nothing more. Let's not forget that she and the other girls and even Chen are all victims of the incident. The public should focus on her professional performance instead of her private life. Chen may be stupid enough to place his private photos in a position where they could be stolen, but that doesn't mean there was a "dirty" secret to hide. They are just a bunch of pictures that reveal human beings' instinctive craving for the joy of sex.
In fact, those who should take the blame for the incident are the people who leaked the photos, those who downloaded them, and the media who made it headline news everyday. Curiosity can indeed kill a cat. Let's pray that the victims of the incident, under close moral scrutiny from the public and the media, will not take extreme measures to escape forever from the gaze of the cameras.
If the incident holds a lesson for the public, it is to never trust the guy you turn your laptop over to.
Wei-ling Chen
Taipei
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