Hong Kong film director Stanley Tong has filed a lawsuit against eight mainland media organizations and one individual, claiming that they misquoted him and implicated him in a scandal that caused mental suffering and great pecuniary loss.

The Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People's Court held the first hearing in the case on Thursday.

Rui Yanhong, a reporter from the Youth Times newspaper in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, published an article about Tong on February 3 this year. Rui claimed that Tong had ditched his girlfriend when she was pregnant with his baby, and that she had subsequently attempted suicide and been left disabled.

The other seven defendants -- two of them in Shanghai -- quoted the article within days.

Two days later, the former girlfriend spoke up, alive and well in Singapore, and denied the story.

"The false story soon spread throughout the country and overseas, and was seen in more than 100 media outlets," said Chen Shen, Tong's lawyer. "This untrue story has greatly damaged Tong's fame, and even cost him a film contract with Media Asia Group, a film and video production company in Hong Kong."

Tong, best known for such films as First Strike and Supercop, for which he won Hong Kong's equivalent of an Academy Award, is now requesting about 7.9 million yuan (US$954,510) in compensation.

"The money includes 6.5 million Hong Kong dollars (US$840,000) incurred by the termination of the film contract, and 1 million yuan (US$120,000) for Tong's mental suffering," said Chen.

The Youth Times explained that Rui got the story from a man who claimed to be a close friend of the former girlfriend. The Youth Times later published responses from Tong and the woman, which the newspaper claimed showed its objectivity and impartiality.

All the defendants claim that as a celebrity, Tong's rights to privacy and reputation differ from those of ordinary people and his words and deeds should be subject to public scrutiny.

(China Daily November 5, 2004)