Edison Chen Scandal

Edison Chen is a lucky bastard. Well, until his sex photos leaked, anyway. He gets to bang Gillian Chung, Bobo Chan, Maggie Q and Cecilia Cheung, for starters. It’s just unfortunate for all of them that the photos of their bedroom play have leaked out into the public.

The Edison Chen sex photo scandal has been called “the equivalent of the 9/11 disaster” for the Hong Kong entertainment industry. The sexually explicit pictures taken by Cantopop icon Edison Chen portray female singers and actresses during their most intimate bedroom activities. These pictures were not meant for public viewing, obviously, but were reportedly stolen from Edison Chen’s laptop when he took it to a computer shop for repairs. The images have been spreading like wildfire around Asia over the past few weeks.

In a business that carefully grooms starlets with innocent, virginal images, the scandal is threatening to destroy the victims’ careers and fortunes. The affair has proved to be a shocking revelation of the private lives of a new generation of celebrities, many of whom have been portrayed by PR agents as models for today’s youth.

More than 1,000 stolen pictures are circulating of the 27-year-old Chen and eight well-known women, including Maggie Q, Bobo Chan, Cecilia Cheung and Gillian Chung of the Twins singing duo.

The stars’ loss of dignity has been a big gain for entrepreneurial Chinese. Illegal downloads of the pictures are being sold on the streets in mainland China for prices ranging from 10 yuan ($1.40) to 30 yuan ($4.20). A lingerie producer on the island of Hainan has rung up roaring sales of knockoffs of the lacy underthings worn by Maggie Q in the pictures, according to the Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolis newspaper.

The scandal has also been gold for Hong Kong newspapers and magazines, which have printed examples of the pictures with the naughty parts obscured, sending their circulation soaring.

What is Valentines Day

Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14. In North America and Europe, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery. The holiday is named after two among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine. Until 1969, the Catholic Church formally recognized eleven Valentine's Days. The Valentines honored on February 14 are:

* Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae): a priest in Rome who suffered martyrdom about AD 269 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. His relics are at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland.

* Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae): He became bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) about AD 197 and is said to have been killed during the persecution of Emperor Aurelian. He is also buried on the Via Flaminia, but in a different location than Valentine of Rome. His relics are at the Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni (Basilica di San Valentino).

The Catholic Encyclopedia also speaks of a third saint named Valentine who was mentioned in early martyrologies under date of 14 February. He was martyred in Africa with a number of companions, but nothing more is known about him.

Some sources say the Valentine linked to romance is Valentine of Rome, others say Valentine of Terni. Some scholars (such as the Bollandists) have concluded that the two were originally the same person. In any case, no romantic elements are present in the original Early Medieval biographies of either of these martyrs.

An overview of attested traditions relevant to the holiday is presented below, with the legends about Valentine himself discussed in the end.