The Beijing Olympics came to an explosive end on Sunday night with Chinese director Zhang Yimou’s (張藝謀) less-than-creative closing ceremony. There was a massive fireworks display and hundreds of performers. More than 60 pop stars also took part in the extravagant festivities, with entertainment big shots including Jackie Chan (成龍), Andy Lau (劉德華), Wang Lee-hom (王力宏) and Emil Chow (周華健) all battling to get camera time as they sang songs with schmaltzy titles such as Beijing, Beijing, I Love Beijing (北京，北京，我愛北京).
Though the average screen time for each of these A-list stars was less than one minute, gossip columnists where not slow to point out that they did better than the artists taking part in the opening ceremony, who got no screen time at all due to its sheer length. The Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) caustically commented on the “ambient sounds that served to see off tens of thousands as they vacated the stadium,” to describe the concert telecast from the opening ceremony.
“It didn’t feel nice,” said Chan’s actor son Jaycee Chan (房祖名), commenting on Chan’s discontent over his cursory treatment at the closing ceremony by Chinese-speaking media. Chan was on screen for 45 seconds according to figures released by Southcn.com (南方網), a news Web site. This was significantly better than Stefanie Sun (孫燕姿) who, according to the same source, only garnered one second of screen time. Pop Stop knows it must be hard for Chan, especially considering that the aging kung fu superstar is one of China’s most trustworthy ass-kissers.
One of China’s least favorite celebrities, actress Tang Wei (湯唯), became a citizen of Hong Kong on Monday, a change in status that should allow her to continue her acting career, which had stalled following her performance in Lust, Caution (色戒) in 2007. According to a report posted on Internet site Now News (今日新聞), Tang has had bans placed on her appearing on TV and other media because of her steamy performance in that film. As a citizen of the former British colony, it is suggested, she will now be able to pursue her goal of becoming the next Zhang Ziyi (章子怡).
As for Zhang herself, her acting credentials are in danger of being overshadowed by gossip about her relationship with Vivi Nevo, an Israeli capitalist and major shareholder in Time Warner. She is also working the floor with high-society types, and at a charity party held in Beijing last Friday, the 25-year-old star was spotted exerting her charms on Britain’s former prime minister Tony Blair. Even an unintended reunion with ex Huo Qishan (霍啟山) didn’t cause Zhang to lose her cool. The media-savvy star demonstrated how a lady should act in such an unflattering situation. She politely kissed her old flame and passionately hugged his dad, who happens to be a powerful political magnate in China.
Turning to Taiwanese gossip tidbits, CTTV “talent” contest One Million Star (超級星光大道) alumnus Aska Yang (楊宗緯) might once again be a victim of his own arrogance. Promotions for the DVD recording from his May Taipei Arena (台北小巨蛋) concert, which hit record stores two weeks ago, have reportedly been suspended indefinitely due to continuous squabbling between the crooner and his agent Tehsu International (特許國際). Having decided that he didn’t like the terms he had agreed with Tehsu, Yang fired the assistant the agent had assigned to him and hired a lawyer as a go-between. Pop Stop’s advice to the star: don’t overestimate your staying power. Taiwanese consumers are notoriously fickle. Just look at what has happened to Hello Kitty and the craze for egg tarts. Is Yang heading for the same kind of oblivion?
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
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
Last week the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said that the budget cuts voted for by the China-aligned parties in the legislature, are intended to force the DPP to hike electricity rates. The public would then blame it for the rate hike. It’s fairly clear that the first part of that is correct. Slashing the budget of state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) is a move intended to cause discontent with the DPP when electricity rates go up. Taipower’s debt, NT$422.9 billion (US$12.78 billion), is one of the numerous permanent crises created by the nation’s construction-industrial state and the developmentalist mentality it
Experts say that the devastating earthquake in Myanmar on Friday was likely the strongest to hit the country in decades, with disaster modeling suggesting thousands could be dead. Automatic assessments from the US Geological Survey (USGS) said the shallow 7.7-magnitude quake northwest of the central Myanmar city of Sagaing triggered a red alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. “High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,” it said, locating the epicentre near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay, home to more than a million people. Myanmar’s ruling junta said on Saturday morning that the number killed had
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