Edison Chen, the male lead in the celebrity sex images scandal, has announced that he will retire from Hong Kong’s entertainment industry, after he has completed all his responsibilities.

Upon his return to Hong Kong, the actor-singer held a press conference to address the latest issues, which attracted herds of paparazzi.

Edison Chen expressed that the photos that have been circulating the internet were taken by him but firmly stated that the photos were personal and that the person/people, who released them online, obtained them illegally.

Edison Chen acknowledged the females involved and their families and apologised for their pain and suffering. He also expressed his regret for the negative impact this issue has had on the Hong Kong society.

Edison Chen made clear that he will be quitting the industry when he fulfils all his commitments. During this time, he will immerse himself with charity work in hope that the general public will forgive him.

Hong Kong Pop Star Aims to End Controversy Over Explicit Photos

The fallen star at the center of an Internet sex-photo scandal that has swept across several Asian nations in recent weeks tried to bring an end to the controversy Thursday, as Chinese authorities stepped up efforts to stop distribution of the explicit images.

“I have failed as a role model,” Chinese actor and rapper Edison Chen said at a packed news conference, making his first public appearance since hundreds of photos began circulating on the Internet late last month depicting him in compromising positions with several of Asia’s most popular starlets.

The 27-year-old heartthrob apologized repeatedly during his five-minute statement, saying he would quit the Hong Kong entertainment industry “indefinitely” to dedicate himself to charity and community work.

“I’ve decided to do this to give myself an opportunity to heal myself and to search my soul,” an ashen Mr. Chen said.

He admitted to having taken most of the photos and said he was cooperating with a continuing Hong Kong police investigation into how the images got from his personal computer to the Internet.

Meanwhile, the photos have continued to spread online, especially in mainland China, where an intensified effort by Beijing to crack down on online pornography is specifically targeting them.

Though Chinese authorities are capable of exerting technical control over much of the Internet on the mainland, photo sharing by email is still rampant.

State news media Thursday quoted authorities as saying they would detain anyone caught distributing the material.

Xinhua and many other state-controlled news outlets reported that showing the photos to friends or posting them on blogs is illegal, even if not done for profit.

It specified that transmitting more than 200 of the photos on the Internet could invite criminal prosecution.

In Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, police arrested 10 people suspected of producing and trading discs containing the photos, the reports said.

The sex scandal has roiled greater China, Singapore and Malaysia since the photos first surfaced online in Hong Kong chat forums three weeks ago, just before the Lunar New Year. Mr. Chen and the Hong Kong starlets, including actress Cecilia Cheung and singer Gillian Chung of the teen-pop duo Twins, frequently star in advertisements in celebrity-obsessed mainland China, Taiwan and Singapore.

In addition to threatening a handful of show business careers, the incident has sparked a media frenzy and triggered a heated debate in Hong Kong over issues of privacy, police powers and the role of the news media in society.

The photos are believed to have been stolen from Mr. Chen’s laptop after he brought his computer in for repairs, a theory Mr. Chen corroborated at the news conference.

Hong Kong police, which operate under different laws from mainland authorities, said earlier this month that they had captured the person who distributed the photos, identifying some 1,300 explicit pictures of Mr. Chen with the women.

They have arrested 10 people so far, but charged only two — one for publishing obscene articles and the other for accessing a computer — with criminal or dishonest intent.

IS EDISON CHEN AFRAID OF BEING WHACKED OFF?

Edison Chen, the marginally talented Grudge 2 star embroiled in a sex scandal dominating the news in the Far East, has bigger problems than his slumping career.

According to a report in today’s New York Post, Chen is currently hiding out in the United States because a contract was put on his head in Hong Kong this past weekend.

Edison Chen, the marginally talented Grudge 2 star embroiled in a sex scandal dominating the news in the Far East, has bigger problems than his slumping career.

According to a report in today’s New York Post, Chen is currently hiding out in the United States because a contract was put on his head in Hong Kong this past weekend.

It seems one of the many girls Chen photographed in compromising positions, a 19-year-old student studying in Boston named Vincy Yeung, happens to have a mob-connected tycoon uncle back home who didn’t much like the fact that pictures of his niece bathing in the shower are currently just a few Internet clicks away.

The uncle in question, 61-year-old Albert Yeung, is the founder of EEG, a hugely influential entertainment consortium involved in everything from DVD wholesaling to the management of Cantonese pop stars.

Yeung was perhaps most famously involved in a payola scandal that rocked Hong Kong’s music business in 2003, though his criminal rap sheet is long enough to give the impression that the bounty on Chen’s head isn’t some idle threat.

Ironically, Yeung himself presided over a tabloid that was shuttered in 2002 after publishing a photograph of a semi-naked actress taken during a 1991 kidnapping.

Vincy Yeung and Chen have been dating since 2004; Chen has even told Hong Kong press that he planned on settling down with her after establishing himself as a legitimate movie star. Good luck with that now!

Edison Chen to quit after sex picture scandal

HONG Kong singer and actor Edison Chen said today that he will leave the Hong Kong entertainment industry after admitting he took the raunchy celebrity pictures that showed him posing in bed with several other female entertainment stars.

The 27-year-old actor made his first public appearance this afternoon after returning to Hong Kong from the United States. He has been accused of avoiding the public and the media due to the nude picture scandal that broke in late January.

“I’ve decided to step away from the Hong Kong entertainment industry,” Chen, who was wearing a black suit, told more than 300 reporters at a news conference at Hong Kong Kowloon Bay International Trade & Exhibition Centre at 3pm today.

He said in a brief statement in English that he would fulfill existing commitments before stepping down “indefinitely.”

The Canada-born Chinese admitted he snapped most of the more than 800 nude pictures that have circulated on the Internet. The nude photos show him with dozens of female celebrities, including singer Gillian Chung and actress Cecilia Cheung.

The scandal has created a media frenzy and heated discussions on BBS communities both in Hong Kong and on the mainland since the scandal broke.

Some Internet users shared the raunchy pictures by e-mail or posting them on other Websites.

Hong Kong police said last week some 1,300 private shots of Chen in bed with at least half a dozen female celebrities had been copied by employees of a computer repair shop from a faulty laptop believed to belong to Chen.

“I’m sorry to those ladies and their families,” Chen said. “And most of all, I feel sorry for Hong Kong people.

“These photos were very private and have not been shown to people and were never intended to be shown to anyone,” Chen said in a calm voice amid a flood of camera flashes from the hundreds of reporters gathered.
He said he will perform charity work in the next few months “to heal his injuries and soul” before stepping away as he has “decided to do this to give myself an opportunity to heal myself and to search my soul.

“I have failed as a role model. However I wish that this matter will teach everyone a lesson.

“I hope the scandal can be over as soon as possible and prevent more young people from further injuries,” Chen said.

“I beg your forgiveness in the future,” he added as he concluded his five-minute statement.

He also added that he had been staying with his family and was not running away from the scandal.

Chen played the lead role in the second film of the trilogy “Internal Affairs,” the biggest box office draw ever in Hong Kong’s movie industry. The film was later adapted by Hollywood director Martin Scorsese and renamed “The Departed.”

He previously apologized via an Internet video on February 4.

Chung, previously known for her squeaky-clean image in the popular female duo Twins, apologized to the public when she made her first public appearance last Tuesday. She admitted that “she used to be na?ve and very silly.”

Police on the mainland said they have launched a nationwide online crackdown to delete the pornographic pictures and pledged to close any Websites that posted the photographs.

In the southern city of Shenzhen, police have apprehended 10 suspects for allegedly producing, selling and purchasing discs of the photos while in Hong Kong, up to 10 people were detained for spreading the pictures.

Hong Kong Actor Chen Quits, Admits Web Sex Photos (Update2)

Hong Kong actor Edison Chen said he’ll quit show business after admitting taking sexually explicit photos with celebrities that leaked onto the Web and generated a wave of media coverage.

“I am deeply sorry,” Chen told more than 300 journalists at a press conference in Hong Kong today. “I admit most of the photos being circulated on the Internet were taken by me. I would like to apologize to all the ladies and their families.”

Hundreds of photos published online and in newspapers led to debate about Hong Kong pornography laws and a public apology from a female pop star. The pictures were posted on the Web after about 1,300 photo files were stolen from a computer sent to a repair shop, police said.

The sex-photo scandal involved at least six Hong Kong actresses, singers and models. Chen, a 27-year-old Canadian-born Chinese actor and singer famous in Hong Kong, returned to the city today to explain the incident after pictures started appearing from Jan. 28.

Photographs featuring Chen with different women in various sexual positions have spread through blogs, e-mails and chat rooms. Chen starred in Hong Kong film “Infernal Affairs,” remade as Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winner “The Departed.”

`Very Private’

“These photos were very private,” Chen said. “They were never intended to be shown to anyone. They were stolen from me and distributed without my consent.”

Hong Kong pop star and actress Gillian Chung earlier this month apologized to fans for the impact caused by the scandal, without confirming or denying she was the woman in some of the photos. Chung, 27, in pop group “Twins,” said she’ll keep working.

Hong Kong police arrested a man in connection with the case, and later released him, dropping charges. As many as nine other arrests have been made, according to police.

Chen instructed his lawyer to protect the women in the pictures by claiming copyright. The downloading, storing and copying of each infringe copyright law, Chen’s solicitors, Woo Kwan Lee and Lo, said in a statement today.

China’s Internet police cracked down on the distribution of Chen’s photos, pledging to prosecute anyone found selling or distributing them. As many as 10 people have been detained for allegedly selling DVDs containing the photos, Xinhua News Agency said.

Baidu.com Inc., operator of China’s most-used Internet search site, was censured this week for failing to block access to the photos, according to the Beijing Association of Online Media, a state-run guild that acts as a watchdog.

Chen said he will quit the Hong Kong entertainment industry to “heal himself” and devote time to charity work, without giving a timeframe.

“I’ve failed as a role model,” he said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Wendy Leung in Hong Kong at wleung12@bloomberg.net ; Nipa Piboontanasawat in Hong Kong at npiboontanas@bloomberg.net

Hong Kong actor Edison Chen says he took racy photos, apologizes

HONG KONG: Hong Kong actor Edison Chen admitted Thursday taking most of the widely circulated photos showing him and several women performing sexual acts, as he spoke publicly for the first time on a scandal that has shocked the Chinese-speaking world.

But Chen, who appeared alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar in “The Grudge 2,” didn’t identify the women in the photos, which appear to show him and several female stars — including singer Gillian Chung and actress Cecilia Cheung — either engaged in sex acts or in sexually suggestive poses.

“These photos were very private and have not been shown to people and were never intended to be shown to anyone,” Chen said at a press conference, adding the photos were stolen and distributed without his approval.

Hong Kong police have already arrested several people in connection with the photos on suspicion of violating local laws governing obscene material, including the man who is accused of downloading the photos from a computer brought to a shop for repairs and publishing them on the Internet.

The scandal has dominated headlines in Hong Kong for weeks, with the images widely circulated over the Internet.

Chen, 27, who returned to Hong Kong from the U.S. on Thursday, apologized profusely for the photos and said he would take an indefinite break from the Hong Kong entertainment industry after fulfilling his outstanding contracts and devote himself to charity and community work.

“I would like to apologize to all the ladies and to all their families for any harm or hurt they have been feeling. I’m sorry,” Chen said, without identifying the women.

“I hope after today, I can have your forgiveness … I hope you all will accept my apologies and give me a chance,” he said.

Cheung has not spoken publicly about the photos and Chung, a member of the Hong Kong female pop duo Twins, said last week she was “naive and silly” without confirming the authenticity of the pictures. Chung’s management company, Emperor Entertainment Group, said earlier the photos were doctored.

Wearing a black jacket over an untucked striped shirt and dark blue jeans, Chen appeared nervous, taking a deep breath before reading a prepared statement in English to several hundred reporters who were cordoned off from the actor by several metal barriers.

He also said he failed as a role model.

“To all the young people in our community, let this be a lesson for you all. This is not an example to be set for you,” Chen said.

Chen is mainly known for his singing and acting careers in the Chinese industry, with his main credits including the crime thriller “Infernal Affairs” — which was remade by Martin Scorsese as “The Departed” — and its two sequels.

A hub for the Chinese-language movie and music industries, Hong Kong is known for its vibrant celebrity culture. Voyeurism in connection with local stars has stirred controversy in the past.

A magazine cover photo showing Chung changing after a concert in Malaysia sparked a major backlash in 2006.

A local magazine was shut down temporarily after it published a cover photo of a visibly distressed, seminude female, widely reported to be actress Carina Lau, in October 2002.

source : AP, Bloomberg, asianfanatics

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