Officials will spend the next few months studying how other countries protect the privacy of individuals before deciding whether tougher measures are needed in Hong Kong, according to a government source. The move is in direct response to fallout from last year's scandal, in which a photo of Twins pop star Gillian Chung Yan-tung changing her clothes backstage in Malaysia was published in Easy Finder magazine. Responding to the public outcry at the time, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said he would use the Law Reform Commission's proposals - made in 1999 and including both civil and criminal remedies - as the basis for exploring new measures against media intrusion. 'There are some very polarised views between the media industry and the community on whether tougher measures should be introduced in Hong Kong to protect individual privacy. We need to strike a good balance between privacy and press freedom,' the source said. 'This is a very sensitive issue which has to be handled with great care. It has to be a step-by-step approach.' The source said the authorities would spend a few months studying how other countries handled the issue. They would compare the different overseas models. 'We will engage the stakeholders, such as media groups, women's associations, representatives of the entertainment industry and other groups concerned, for comment and feedback,' he said. A series of seminars and town hall forums were likely to be held to garner the public's views. 'We understand that the issue has been discussed for over a decade, but we will only formulate the way forward and draft any proposals after completing these steps.' Officials will brief the Legislative Council's home affairs panel early next month on the plans. Melvin Wong Kam-sun, a member and past vice-chairman of the Performing Artists' Guild, said he was 'pleasantly surprised' that the government was willing to move ahead with reviewing whether stronger measures were needed. The guild would like to see changes made to the law as soon as possible, but understood that it was a sensitive issue and had to be dealt with carefully. Hong Kong Journalists' Association chairwoman Serenade Woo Lai-wan said it was important that the government did not rush into new privacy legislation, and that the balance between personal privacy and press freedom was carefully weighed. She also cautioned that overseas models might not be suitable for Hong Kong, due to the different levels of press freedom. She called for details of consultations with the various groups to be made public.