Edison Chen, the Hong Kong film star whose involvement in a three-week old Internet sex scandal cost him endorsement deals and film projects, and even resulted in a contract being put on his head, has decided he's had enough. Rather than attempt to rehabilitate his career and image, he's announced that he'll "step away from the Hong Kong entertainment industry" for an indefinite period of time.

The "Hong Kong" qualifier of "entertainment industry" seems to be an important one.

While being photographed in compromising situations with a bevy of starlets shamed young Chen in his native land, using a sex scandal to raise one's profile in Hollywood—if the ubiquity of Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian is any indication—isn't just acceptable, it's practically par for the course.

People know your name now, Eddy. You've finally made it! Hell, Warner Brothers execs are still trying to figure out how to market the forthcoming Batman movie with a dead Joker. It's a pretty safe bet that your presence in the movie is not their most pressing concern.