Sammi Cheng laments that the government has no concern for artists’ privacy

Yesterday, Sammi Cheng accepted an interview with Commercial Radio to promote her new Mandarin album. Regarding the issue of Fiona Sit being secretly photographed in her house and how upset she was, Sammi said that she can certainly empathize with Fiona, as she herself was secretly photographed in the past as well. She indicated that it is a shame how the government does not care about the privacy of artists in the entertainment circle: “Since the time that I was secretly photographed in my own home, I’ve been like a ‘bird startled by an arrow’….when I buy a house, I don’t consider whether it has a nice view or not anymore because it doesn’t matter – the shades are always closed anyway and the lights are always on. My electricity bill is a lot more expensive as well!” With regard to Fiona only wearing her underwear at home, Sammi indicated that it is no big deal, as the home is supposed to be the place where one feels the most comfortable and relaxed – in fact, she herself once forgot to close the shades when she was changing and was lucky that no one saw her. In a show of support for Fiona, Sammi said: “She shouldn’t feel overly upset or guilty because she did not do anything wrong – the magazine and its editors are the ones at fault. Of course, as a woman, there will be some embarrassment over this kind of thing – I was like that too back when it happened to me.”

Sammi also pointed out that if the person being secretly photographed were a high-ranking government official or other political figure, the government would surely create a law against it. She laments that artists are always neglected when it comes to privacy, yet they are expected to always ‘be proper’ and not do anything wrong: “I understand that as an artist, certain things ‘come with the territory’ whether we like it or not and that people will naturally be curious about our lives. If we’re being photographed while working or during work hours, then fine – but in the privacy of our own homes and during our own personal times? Absolutely not! Since the government doesn’t implement any laws with regard to this, there is a ‘grey area’ where people think that secretly taking photos of someone is not invasion of privacy and is not a crime. All we can do as artists is close all the windows and shades in our homes.”

Source: Mingpao
Translation: llwy12 @ AsianFanatics