HK Entertainment Industry Slams Privacy Violation -- china.org.cn

Over 100 members of Hong Kong's entertainment industry, including action superstar Jackie Chan, attended a televised event Monday, denouncing the publication of a pop star's photos when she was changing clothes at backstage.

Chan said the secretly taken photos of Gillian Chung Yan-tung, part of the Canto-pop duo Twin, would encourage peeping behavior among children. He appealed to the public not to buy the indecent magazine in order to protect the younger generation.

The tearful Chung, who was shown on the cover of weekly Easyfinder adjusting bra backstage at a concert in Malaysia, thanked her colleagues for their support. She worried that her long-established icon image would be badly damaged by this incident.

Twins pop stars Gillian Chung Yan-tung (C) and Charlene Choi (R) and Rosamund Kwan Chi-lam (L) attend the condemnation activity of Hong Kong show business in Hong Kong, south China, on Aug. 28, 2006.

Veteran actor-singer Andy Lau also condemned the magazine's behavior as an intrusion of stars' privacy rights. He called on a fair play between the media and the stars.

Chung Saturday filed a request for a court injunction ordering Easyfinder to stop publishing her photos and to return them to her record company, Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG), EEG artist manager Mani Fok said Monday.

Previously, the EEG sent a lawyer's letter to the magazine to seek legal advice, but has received no response yet. Chung also has reported the matter to Hong Kong police. As of Monday, the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority has received record high of 2,488 complaints since the magazine was published last Tuesday.

Hong Kong's Obscene Articles Tribunal has classified the issue as "indecent," paving the way for possible prosecution. If the verdict is finally established, the magazine may get a maximum fine of 800,000 HK dollars (US$102,564) and people responsible for the event may be imprisoned for 12 months.

Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild (HKPAG) and Hong Kong TVB held a condemnation to protest the semi-nude photos appeared in Easy Finder magazine, in Hong Kong, south China, on Aug. 28, 2006.

Easyfinder, with a bad record of publishing vulgar photos and privacy-intruding coverage, has been censured by tribunal for 14 times, with penalties ranging from 1,000 HK dollars to 50,000 HK dollars.

(Xinhua News Agency August 29, 2006)