Hong Kong star Edison Chen (陳冠希), whose 2008 photo scandal rocked the Asian entertainment industry, is back in the spotlight 17 years later when prominent Hong Kong director Wong Jing (王晶) offers a bold new theory about how private photos were leaked online.
The original scandal involved more than 1,400 intimate photos of Chen with several celebrities – including Gillian Chung (鍾欣桐) and Cecilia Cheung (張柏芝) – which quickly spread across the Internet, devastating careers and personal lives. At the time, the widely accepted explanation was that a computer technician had accessed Chen’s laptop during the repair and unauthorizedly released the images.
However, in a new video uploaded to his YouTube channel 《王晶笑看江湖》, Wong Jing challenges this long-held belief. He argues that without a specific lead, a technician wouldn’t randomly examine thousands of files and intentionally search for sensitive images during a routine repair.
Wong suggests a different possibility: Chen may have casually shown or discussed the photos with friends at social events. In this scenario, someone within Chen’s circle, after being informed of the existence or location of the private photos, eventually informed the technician or accessed the data themselves, resulting in the leak.
“Finding those photos in a sea of files would take a lot of time and a lot of guidance,” Wong noted, wondering why a technician would otherwise take such an unusual step.
Stars
Wong also shared his personal impressions of Chen, describing him as kind and professional during their past collaborations. He expressed regret that someone with great potential in music and film ultimately saw his career derailed after the scandal.
While many still remember the computer repair explanation as the trigger for the scandal, Wong’s remarks have reignited discussion online, with some agreeing that inside knowledge may have played a role, while others warn against revisiting painful memories for those involved.
The renewed attention to the case underscores how the event — one of the most infamous leaks in the history of Chinese-language entertainment — continues to fascinate and divide the public nearly two decades later.
Sources: ETtoday Starlight Cloud
