BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Internet search engine Baidu.com was asked by Beijing's Internet self-discipline organization to make a public apology for spreading Hong Kong star Edison Chen's pornographic photos.

Photos supposedly showing Hong Kong actor and singer Edison Chen and several female stars naked in bed and in sexual poses became a hot topic among Internet users from late January onwards.

The Beijing Internet news information review council, initiated by government-sponsored Beijing Association of Online Media, issued a statement on Monday, criticizing the Nasdaq-listed website as being badly behaved during this event.

In the statement the association said "we severely criticize Baidu's behavior".

"'Key-words searching' and 'Tieba', a picture-sharing section of Baidu.com became a platform to show and spread the obscene pictures and Baidu failed to block the photos after other Beijing-based websites had taken actions against the pictures' spreading," said the statement.

A staff member, who refused to reveal her name, at Baidu's public affairs department said the company was asked to make an apology yesterday, however, the authorities haven't made decision yet.

"It's not convenient for us to comment at present," she told Xinhua.

The statement praised other big Chinese mainland websites, including Sohu.com, Sina.com and Netease, as they called for Internet users "not to download, save and spread the photos" and "to prevent the photos from falling into the hands of children".

"They have shown their conscience and responsibility," it said.

It also called on all websites in the Chinese mainland not to provide any excuse and technical support for the spread of pornographic photos, in a bid to create a clean, healthy, and civilized Internet environment.

The council, composed by government officials, website staff, experts and netizens, was initiated in 2006 as a self-disciplinary organization for Beijing websites and online information providers.

A total of 42 Beijing-based websites, including Baidu.com signed to accept supervision of the council.

China has laws and regulations prohibiting producing, publicizing, selling and spreading pornographic information through the internet. The Ministry of Public Security recently started a nationwide campaign to shut down websites and blogs carrying pornographic information lasting until September.

Elva Hsiao Jolin Tsai

Two Taiwan female artists pledged to offer 25 million yuan (US$3.5 million) each to any one who can prove their involvement in the nude picture scandal that shows singer and actor Edison Chen in sexual poses with a dozen women in bed.

Jolin Tsai and Elva Hsiao, two singers who were rumored to have relationships with Chen, 27, both issued statements through their agent companies on Wednesday, saying any one who can come up with their pictures with Chen in bed can get the reward if courts prove the pictures are real, Sina.com.cn reported.

The nude picture scandal has shocked the world's Chinese-speaking community after more than 800 photographs have been circulated on the Internet since late January.

The pictures so far have embroiled seven female celebrities, including Gillian Chung of the female duo Twins and actress Cecilia Cheung.

Hong Kong police so far have found nearly 10,000 racy photos after they seized computer-related items and a laptop belonging to Chen last Friday, the report said.

Five more female celebrities were said to have been in the photographs, raising rumors that Tsai and Hsiao may be on the list, the report said.

"The rumors have hurt not only me, but my family and friends as well," Tsai said in her statement, stressing that she had nothing to do with the scandal.

The 28-year-old singer said her agent company will demand "unlimited" compensation if any media group reports Tsai's rumored connection with the scandal that "damages" her, the report said.

Hsiao also said she was never in a relationship with Chen and asked the public to stop "meaningless talk" about her role in the scandal, the report said.

Chen has already asked Hong Kong Customs to protect his copyright on the nude pictures and warned against any copyright infringement of the photographs.

The Canadian-born Chinese told more than 300 reporters at a news conference last Thursday that he decided to quit the Hong Kong entertainment industry after he finishes current projects. He also said he was "sorry to the women and their families" involved in the scandal and hoped he could receive "the public's forgiveness" and "a new chance."

According to Armorize Technologies, fraud groups (or organized crimes) recently renewed their crime ways on phishing tools especially using pseudonyms as "Edison's photos" by web-phishing, e-mail hacking, and peer-to-peer file transferring. Even though Google will notice those phishing sites as danger sites who will damage a user's computer, but its virus wasn't still found and scanned by several anti-virus software especially Norton AntiVirus, Kaspersky Anti-Virus, Trend Micro Internet Security, and NOD32.

Also in this conference, Armorize announced some statistics after a special experiment with their software HackAlert:
If an Internet user linked to a phishing site, set by a fraud group, a malicious software, which can't be found and scanned by any anti-virus software, will be downloaded into a user's computer silently. The software will steal several private data, collect several information on user's software, and attack other unharmed websites. And according to a statistic with Internet users' habit, it evidently exposed a major problem on bad habits especially using P2P software when connecting to Internet.

Even though Edison Chen claimed to quit the entertainment industry in Hong Kong, but the (photo) scandal showed another crisis on information security world-wide including Taiwan.

Edison Chen - back off from industry

Hong Kong actor Edison Chen said he'll quit show business after admitting taking sexually explicit photos with celebrities that leaked onto the Web and generated a wave of media coverage in the city.

``I am deeply sorry,'' Chen said at a press conference in Hong Kong today. ``I admit most of the photos being circulated on the Internet were taken by me. I would like to apologize to all the ladies and their families.''

Hong Kong police said some 1,300 private shots of Chen in bed with at least half a dozen female celebrities had been copied by the staff of a computer repair shop from a faulty laptop believed to belong to Chen, sparking off a media frenzy.

The Canada-born Chen, a hip hop artist and Asian film star who has appeared in films such as Infernal Affairs, the Hong Kong triad film which inspired Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning film "The Departed", admitted for the first time that most of the pictures circulating on the Internet had been taken by him.

"These photos were very private and have not been shown to people and were never intended to be shown to anyone," the 27-year-old said in a calm voice amid a flood of camera flashes from the hundreds of reporters gathered.

"I have failed as a role model. However I wish that this matter will teach everyone a lesson."

He said in a brief statement he would fulfill existing commitments before stepping down "indefinitely". He added that he would dedicate himself to charity and community work.

"I've decided to do this to give myself an opportunity to heal myself and to search my soul."

Hong Kong police have so far made 10 arrests in connection with the scandal.

Scandal boost popularity Edison Chen

Each twist and turn in the celebrity nude-photo scandal has Hong Kong agog. That young and attractive pop and movie stars are involved draws a natural audience, while the revealing nature of the images and the intrigue over how they were disseminated leaves many in the community eager for the next instalment.

What do you think of the nude photos scandal?

Perhaps the most extraordinary matter to come out of the nude photos affair were the comments from Principal Magistrate Kwok Wai-kin when he freed suspect Chung Yik-tin. According to the Post, the magistrate said: "Your action has been harmful. You have invaded the privacy and trampled the dignity of the celebrities, whose public image and possibly their careers may be affected as a result. What you did is morally outrageous."...

Man held for nude photos 'can seek damages' was released!!

The first man arrested for distributing nude photos on the internet could claim damages from the government after the Justice Department withdrew the charge and he was released after being detained for two weeks. ...

Sex Scandal Photos with Edison Chen -Rachel Ngan
Name: Rachel Ngan Wing-Sze
D.O.B: 31st Janury 1983
Height: 5'3
Weight: 95 pounds
Measurement: 82/60/86
Eye colour: dark brown
Shoe size: 37.5
race: 3/4 chinese and 1/4 pakistan
nationality: canadian
year: dog
horoscope: aquarius
blood type: A

Serials:
Romance Of The Book And Sword 2002 (aka Book Sword, Gratitude Revenge)
Mission in trouble 2004
Love Train 2004 (guest star)
The Speed of Gossip (currently filming)
Express Boy