By Fu Wen

Hong Kong actor Max Mok Siu-Chung resumed his career Sunday night in Beijing after briefly apologizing for his various well-documented marijuana issues. 

With ordinary drug users suffering much harsher penalties, the Chinese public was left wondering whether celebrity status ensured nothing more than a slap on the wrist for Mok.

Mok's public standing was at an all-time low as he faced reporters with a smile after being freed from a Beijing detention center on

April 30 after 15 days, a move some Internet users described as "shameless."

Although he organized a press conference in Hong Kong Sunday afternoon "to formally deliver an apology to the public," Mok was slammed for immediately returning to showbusiness instead of taking time away from the limelight.

Mok still has more than 80,000 fans supporting him on his Sina microblog, many of which left encouraging messages to him every day without talking about the drug scandal.

"We don't have to blame Mok. Taking drugs is so common now. Everyone should mind their own business and leave others alone," user

Gudude Yemao commented on sina.com on Tuesday.

"It's so sad that our society even lets drug using stars continue their career, and it's even more ridiculous that some people have no moral sense to tell what's right and what's wrong," Zhou Xiaozheng, a sociology professor at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times Thursday.

Fan support

Taiwanese actor Coco Sun Xing was also caught using drugs by Beijing police on April 15, the same day Mok was detained.

Since Sun confessed to police that he has been using drugs for over five years, he now has to go through compulsive rehabilitation and suspend his show career from now on.

The scandal didn't stop Sun's fans from showing support.

Sun's supporters showed their love for the troubled star by posting photos of putting their hands together in a circle as a sign of support, and saying, "It's all passed. Now we just hope you can be good."

"I don't understand why stars are seen as having so much social responsibility and have to be constantly judged by society," said Internet user xiena1350, a supporter of Sun on baidu.com. 

"At the end of the day, being an actor is just a normal job and everyone makes mistakes."

"Support for drug-using celebrities reflects the cultural tolerance of our society, but it also shows that fans judge their idols based only on emotions rather than morality," Xia Xueluan, a sociology professor at Peking University, told the Global Times Thursday. 

Rebuilding star brands

Some stars caught using drugs have sought to rebuild their reputation in China in recent years, often topping off initial efforts with charity work.

Japanese entertainer Noriko Sakai just finished her charitable trip to Beijing last month as an anti-drug ambassador to educate the public about the dangers of drug addiction.

Sakai was sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment in Japan in 2009 for taking drugs, an incident that effectively ruined her career by annulling her contract with the Japanese entertainment agency Sun Music Japan.

Man Wenjun, a Chinese mainland singer who was caught taking drugs by Beijing police in 2009, became the ambassador for a charity project to help children with cerebral palsy.

It is impossible to understand why charity agencies chose "drug stars" to be ambassadors and it's a shame that celebrities in drug scandals do not have to pay even a small price to save their fallen image in China, said a commentary published on Chongqing Evening News.

Movie director Zhang Yuan was arrested in 2008 for taking drugs in Beijing, but continues to produce work, and is now at the Cannes International Film Festival in France promoting his new film.

"It's so ugly that drug use has become another way for stars past their sell-by-date to be famous again in China, and I can't believe it's happening in a country that has respected the value of morality for thousands of years," said Bai Ming, an Internet user onsina.com.

"Such a phenomenon is a huge problem in the value system of Chinese society and we should all think about why," Professor Zhou said.

"I believe fans of drug-using celebrities are not the mainstream of society but their influence is so negative that it could harm social values in the long term."

"The showbusiness industry should establish ethics committees to deal with celebrity drug scandals, including stopping the actor's career for a certain period of time and educating others in show business for self-discipline," Xia said.