Time to move on from nude photos scandal

Edison Chen Koon-hei's return to Hong Kong to explain his role in the celebrity sex photo scandal was sooner than expected - and necessary, given the manner in which the affair has engulfed the community. Film and music stars are looked up to as role models by young people, and his taking of responsibility, apologising and pledging to step back from the local entertainment industry indefinitely were justified.

Chen clearly wants to lay the matter to rest and get on with his life. It is a sentiment that all involved in the sorry affair would empathise with, although for some it will be easier than for others.

Careers have been damaged, after all, by a community that is obsessed with the private lives of its pop stars. Personal pictures, as Chen pointed out yesterday, have been removed without permission from a computer and maliciously distributed far and wide.

The exact details are unclear and will only emerge in time as the police investigation and court cases proceed. What is certain, though, is that Chen and the women singers and actresses whose photos he consensually took are the victims.

Much criticism has been made of the conduct of the celebrities involved. Chen was pictured taking part in sex acts with a number of different women. In the case of some of the celebrities, the pictures undermine the wholesome image they have presented to the public. But they have committed no crime. The photos show acts which took place in private between consenting adults. Sex is not dirty, as some of the media in Hong Kong have portrayed it to be when covering the affair.

Finding those who are behind the copying and distribution of the pictures and bringing them to justice is essential, just as should be the case if private material was stolen from anyone else in Hong Kong.