How Gillian Chung of Cantopop duo Twins survived the Edison Chen photo scandal to keep thriving as a singer and actress

In 2001, Chung, then 20, debuted with Choi, 18, as Twins. The duo played off their youthful energy and their songs often referenced high-school life and young love.

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Their eponymous debut EP Twins went platinum in the first week and, by the end of that year, the pair had swept many newcomer and group titles at music award shows.

Their early success can be partly attributed to EEG for assigning them hits-to-be from acclaimed composers and lyricists such as Ronald Ng Lok-shing, Albert Leung (also known as Lam Chik) and Wyman Wong. They were also heavily promoted through print commercials, magazine covers and radio and television shows.

Of course, the pair’s good looks did not hurt. “Chung is very pretty and Choi is cute. Both are energetic and different from other local idols,” said Mani Fok Man-hei, director of the artist management division at EEG, in 2001.

Choi and Chung perform on stage at HarbourFest in October, 2003. Photo: SCMP

Altogether, it was a marketing success story. In 2002, less than two years after their debut, the duo became the youngest female Cantopop group to headline concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum.

They also began acting, and many of their films were box-office successes thanks to their popularity and fan base.

One of the most notable was 2003’s The Twins Effect, a vampire comedy directed by Dante Lam Chiu-yin and with action choreography by Donnie Yen Ji-dan. It grossed HK$28 million at the domestic box office to become one of the biggest commercial hits in Hong Kong during the 2000s.
Chung (left) in a still from “The Twins Effect” (2003).
Chung was nominated for best actress at the 10th Golden Bauhinia Awards in 2005 for her role in Pang Ho-cheung’s romance drama Beyond Our Ken, in which she starred alongside Daniel Wu Yin-cho.

In 2006, a Hong Kong tabloid published photos of Chung changing backstage. She was scarred by the incident, saying: “They act like they have a right to do it. Whenever I go out nowadays I have to look around to make sure everything is OK.”

Both the Hong Kong Journalists Association and the Hong Kong Federation of Journalists strongly condemned it as a breach of professional ethics and a serious infringement of personal privacy. Several women’s organisations in the city criticised the incident as a violation of female dignity.

Chung speaks at a press conference attended by more than 300 artists, legislators and supporters in Tseung Kwan O in 2006. Photo: SCMP

Despite this, Twins went on to mesmerise Hong Kong and Asia, and even their concert DVDs were bestsellers.

Everything changed in January 2008, when hundreds of private photos stored on fellow actor-singer Edison Chen Koon-hei’s laptop, taken during intimate moments with Chung that reportedly took place between 2003 and 2006, were leaked on the internet.

The photos showed not only Chung but a dozen other women with Chen, many of whom were also celebrities, including film star Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi and pop singer Bobo Chan Man-woon.

Chung (left) and Choi at the Asian Film Awards presentation ceremony in Wan Chai in 2007. Photo: SCMP

It was a high-profile affair that escalated rapidly. Between late January and mid-February, as the hacker posted more nude images online, many publications headlined the story and relegated more important news to secondary coverage.

On February 11, Chung, then 27, admitted in a public apology that she was “too naive and silly”.

With her flawless image tarnished, her words were heavily mocked online and became a running gag. Even Chung’s reaction to the photos in 2006 was later criticised as disingenuous.

Chung was interviewed in March 2009 about the photos of her and Edison Chen. Photo: TVB

Dr Sonia Wong Yuk-ying of the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s gender studies programme recalls the scandal as being horrifying. “People shared the photos as a favour for socialising, very much like how, among male friendship circles nowadays, we still hear about exchanging porn as social capital.”

Discussions at the time revolved around slut-shaming and victim-blaming and how the female victims were “stupid, morally bankrupt and ultimately responsible” when they merely engaged in consensual intimate exchanges in the safety of a private bedroom, Wong says.

In 2009, over a year after the incident, Chung appeared on a talk show and clarified that her use of the words “naive” and “silly” referred to her mistake in loving Chen and in taking part in the photos because she feared losing him.

Chung at an interview with the Post in 2009. Photo: SCMP

Although he had strung her along for five years since her debut in 2000, Chung considered Chen her “greatest love” and someone who had profoundly influenced her.

She agreed with other victims that he was unreachable when the scandal broke out. Chung said: “He should have talked to us … When I wanted to make sure what had actually happened … I could not find him. I felt so helpless. I’ve been under so much pressure. I want an apology or some kind of consolation, but there’s nothing.”

However, Chung added: “I have had nothing to do with him any more, so whether I forgive him does not matter … I will not see him again.”

Chung (left) and Choi of Twins meet their fans in March 2010 ahead of their reunion concert, titled “Bouncing Back”, at the Hong Kong Coliseum. Photo: SCMP

Later that year, Chung returned to the entertainment industry after a year-long hiatus. Although Twins managed to regain some of their former glory, particularly in the mainland Chinese market, things were never quite the same.

Whenever talk of a new romantic interest arose, Chinese tabloid media would tirelessly bring up the photo scandal, such as when Chung was involved with an entertainment entrepreneur for 10 months in 2012 and 2013.

The same thing happened in 2017 when she went public about her then-boyfriend Michael Lai Hong-guo, a Taiwanese doctor. A few months later, she announced on social media that she and Lai were engaged.

Chung and Michael Lai on their wedding day, with (back row from left) bridesmaids Yumiko Cheng, Joey Yung and Choi, in 2018. Photo: Instagram/@yungchoyee

The couple separated in 2020. Not surprisingly, internet users rushed to leave sarcastic comments on Lai’s social media, even though the photo scandal had occurred 12 years earlier.

One of Lai’s replies read: “Do you have a conscience? That’s not her fault. What’s wrong with you?”

Wong says: “Within the discourse of the 2008 incident, women exercising their sexual freedom was not permitted, and any consequence was the punishment they deserved: their photos ‘deserved’ to be leaked, they deserved to be bullied and harassed, and their careers deserved to be tarnished forever.”

Gillian Chung in a still from the film “Prison Flowers” (2023).
In 2021, a law criminalising image-based sexual violence came into effect in Hong Kong. However, the NGO RainLily said its frontline experience suggested that those facing non-consensual distribution, and threatened distribution, of intimate images were still hesitant to report such incidents, and conviction and prosecution rates remained low.

Wong adds that while Chen was viewed by some “as a hero who conquered the top female stars of his time”, Chung was never able to truly claim victimhood because “she said yes to taking the photos”.

Gillian Chung (left) and Charlene Choi during preparations for their 2024 concert series. Photo: Instagram/@q_gill

Still, no one can say she has not been making the most of her career in the 16 years since the incident. Indeed, Twins will return to the stage of the Hong Kong Coliseum from January 21 to February 6 as the duo celebrate their latest anniversary with a series of 14 concert performances.

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