The whole ordeal was particularly trying for Gillian, who went on a hiatus for a year after the photos were published. She was also dropped from a number of television programmes and advertorials. The pop duo Twins, which consists of Gillian and fellow singer-actress Charlene Choi, was temporarily disbanded as well. Last week, Gillian appeared on the survival show Everybody Stand By , where the celebrity cast will be tested on their acting ability, facing off against each other by acting out classic films and dramas. Lingyu was one of the leading actresses of her time, and her personal life was put under heavy scrutiny by the tabloids.

Many local newspapers headlined the story consecutively during the first fortnight of February , relegating coverage of the Chinese winter storms to secondary prominence during Chinese New Year. In a crackdown which itself became a controversial item, the Hong Kong police enlisted the assistance of Interpol to stem the spread of the photographs. The police crackdown raised questions over violations of the privacy and free speech rights of Internet users. Chen admitted being the author and copyright owner of most of the photographs, and stated that the private photographs had been stolen and published illegally without his consent. He made a public apology, especially to the women involved, and also announced that he would "step away indefinitely" from the Hong Kong entertainment industry.

A computer technician was jailed for eight and a half months today for stealing photos of a Hong Kong pop star having sex with starlets that would be seen by millions of people via the internet. Sze Ho-chun, 24, downloaded explicit images from the laptop computer of the singer-actor Edison Chen that showed Chen engaging in sex acts with a number of women when he took his laptop in for repairs. The pictures, unlocked from encrypted files inside the laptop, were given to colleagues on CDs by Sze and ended up being uploaded onto the internet and seen by millions of people in China and around the world in early The pictures showed stars, including Chinese singer Gillian Chung and actress Cecilia Cheung, naked with Chen, creating a scandal that tarnished the squeaky-clean image of Hong Kong's Canto-pop stars. Chen, 28, was forced to issue a public apology, flee Hong Kong for Canada and announce his temporary retirement from show business as a result of the scandal.