Double Exposure

Last January Hong Kong was all a twitter about Edison Chan's photographs with many well known female stars in licentious poses.

The trophy pics were leaked on the Internet and tested the SAR's laws on privacy and pornography.

And now almost a year later, actress Zhang Ziyi has found herself in her own storm of controversy.

In the last few days Chinese media have exposed pictures of the Forever Enthralled and Memoirs of a Geisha star sunning on a beach with her fiancee Vivi Nevo.

They show the Hollywood star in a red bikini and makes gymnastic poses that include doing the splits on the sand.

But then without the cover of umbrellas, she takes the top off and does what appears to be push-ups as Nevo watches her. She obviously didn't want tan lines.

The highlight reveals her lying on her stomach, her bikini bottom pulled down to reveal her buttocks and Nevo putting his hand on her right cheek and then bending over and kissing it.

Some Chinese bloggers complained about yet another foreigner seducing a Chinese woman away from her own race, while others critiqued her body.

Zhang was outraged by her cyber exposure in what she felt invaded her privacy and some netizens came to her defense.

One columnist tried to throw cold water on the controversy saying she was with her intended beloved and so it was considered appropriate for them to show their affection for each other in public; but in the Edison Chan case he was not in long-term relationships with those women and so those pictures are less moral.

Trying to split hairs on the distinction of these two cases is ridiculous.

What's interesting is that they test the public's expectations on their favourite stars and reactions to their behaviour.

But it's just another reminder to the stars that the moment they step out of their house, they are subjected to lens of the paparazzi; nothing is private anymore. And that's the life of a celebrity, whether they like it or not.