NT$250 million. That's how much accident insurance promotion company MN Wingman (大國翼星) took out on Canto-pop crooner Eason Chan (陳奕迅) for his one-off concert at Zhongshan Soccer Stadium (中山足球場) tomorrow.
The company felt it was necessary because at Chan's last performance in Taipei, the Hong-Konger fell from a set and injured "an important area" of his body, said Kimmi Lin (林宜君), an MN Wingman spokeswoman.
Like many Canto-pop stars, Chan got his start in 1995 after participating in and winning an International New Talent Singing Competition (新秀歌唱大賽), an annual event held in Hong Kong by Television Broadcasts Limited. He signed with Capital Records and since then has fully committed himself to music.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MN WINGMAN
Unlike many of the saccharine stars discovered by Taiwanese "talent" shows, however, Chan does actually have talent. In addition to being a skilled singer and songwriter, he plays the piano, drums and guitar among other instruments.
Chan, who in 2003 won the Best Male Performer Golden Melody Award is the second non-Taiwanese singer to earn an accolade at the ceremony (the first was Jacky Cheung, 張學友). He has also won Hong Kong's Most Popular Male Singer Award for the past two years. His 2005 album, U87, was hailed by Time magazine as one of Asia's top five CDs worth buying (his most recent is Listen to Eason Chan).
Tomorrow will be the singer's first major concert in Taiwan - he's played at small venues and shared stages with other celebrities in the past - and tickets are going fast.
It's expected to be a lively performance. "He's known to move around quite a bit onstage," Lin said. "He puts on a really frenetic show and never stops moving."
Perhaps it's fitting that more insurance has been taken out on him than any other singer - he beat Sammi Cheng's (鄭秀文) previous record of NT$200 million, which was set seven years ago.
That US assistance was a model for Taiwan’s spectacular development success was early recognized by policymakers and analysts. In a report to the US Congress for the fiscal year 1962, former President John F. Kennedy noted Taiwan’s “rapid economic growth,” was “producing a substantial net gain in living.” Kennedy had a stake in Taiwan’s achievements and the US’ official development assistance (ODA) in general: In September 1961, his entreaty to make the 1960s a “decade of development,” and an accompanying proposal for dedicated legislation to this end, had been formalized by congressional passage of the Foreign Assistance Act. Two
Despite the intense sunshine, we were hardly breaking a sweat as we cruised along the flat, dedicated bike lane, well protected from the heat by a canopy of trees. The electric assist on the bikes likely made a difference, too. Far removed from the bustle and noise of the Taichung traffic, we admired the serene rural scenery, making our way over rivers, alongside rice paddies and through pear orchards. Our route for the day covered two bike paths that connect in Fengyuan District (豐原) and are best done together. The Hou-Feng Bike Path (后豐鐵馬道) runs southward from Houli District (后里) while the
March 31 to April 6 On May 13, 1950, National Taiwan University Hospital otolaryngologist Su You-peng (蘇友鵬) was summoned to the director’s office. He thought someone had complained about him practicing the violin at night, but when he entered the room, he knew something was terribly wrong. He saw several burly men who appeared to be government secret agents, and three other resident doctors: internist Hsu Chiang (許強), dermatologist Hu Pao-chen (胡寶珍) and ophthalmologist Hu Hsin-lin (胡鑫麟). They were handcuffed, herded onto two jeeps and taken to the Secrecy Bureau (保密局) for questioning. Su was still in his doctor’s robes at
Mirror mirror on the wall, what’s the fairest Disney live-action remake of them all? Wait, mirror. Hold on a second. Maybe choosing from the likes of Alice in Wonderland (2010), Mulan (2020) and The Lion King (2019) isn’t such a good idea. Mirror, on second thought, what’s on Netflix? Even the most devoted fans would have to acknowledge that these have not been the most illustrious illustrations of Disney magic. At their best (Pete’s Dragon? Cinderella?) they breathe life into old classics that could use a little updating. At their worst, well, blue Will Smith. Given the rapacious rate of remakes in modern