 Eight
people have now been arrested and two charged in Hong Kong in
what many netizens are calling the “white terror,” police
response to the Edison Chen sex photo scandal, explained by
Police Commissioner Tang King Shing last weekend when he said
possession of the photos alone is now illegal.
On 4 February 2008, A 29-year-old man became the eighth person
to be detained in connection with the internet posting of nude
photos. The man arrested is being detained at Ma On Shan police
station. On the same day, the 23-year-old man, Sze Ho-Chun,
arrested in Central on 2 February 2008 was charged with the
dishonest use of computers with criminal intent, which has a
maximum penalty of five years of imprisonment. The man appeared
in Eastern Court on 5 February 2008. He denied the charge and
was released on HK$50,000 bail. The case has been adjourned to
22 February 2008.
Pornography is openly sold by many street newspaper vendors in
Hong Kong and versions of the photographs have been seen on the
covers of most Chinese-language dailies every day since the
first batch of photos appeared online two weeks ago, despite
that under the city's Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance,
distribution is prohibited.
Hundreds of netizens came out to protest [zh] the arrests today,
calling for Tang's resignation and accusing Hong Kong police of
inconsistency in their arrests.
With the League of Social Democrats in the lead, a group of
several hundred netizens marched this afternoon from Victoria
Park to police headquarters, protesting police double standards
in assigning large numbers to investigate the celebrity obscene
photos as well as launching criticisms at Police Commissioner
Tang King Sing, shouting in unison slogans calling for his
resignation. Organizers say more than 500 people took part, but
the police count was at 230.
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