VIEW THIS PAGE Hong Kong singers Jill Vidal (衛詩) and Kelvin Kwan (關楚耀) were arrested in Tokyo on Feb. 24 over alleged possession of cannabis, according to a report in Sina.com earlier this week.
The arrest allegedly came after the pair was busted for shoplifting at a discount shop and getting into a verbal altercation with an employee. When the cops arrived they searched Kwan and reportedly discovered a joint.
The two celebs, both of whom have taken part in anti-drug campaigns, remain in custody as of press time and face a maximum five-year prison sentence and could be barred from Japan. But what shocks Pop Stop most is that it took so long for the paparazzi to break the story.
Celebs busted for drugs may be old hat in Taiwan, which has seen starlets such as Suzanne Hsiao (蕭淑慎) repeatedly caught using cocaine and ketamine, but the Kelvin/Jill bust got Hong Kong in a tizzy. Perhaps this will provide some relief from the ongoing Edison Chen (陳冠希) sex scandal that continues to make headlines. Don’t count on it though.
Last Friday, a Hong Kong actress caught up in the Internet sex photo scandal finally spoke with the media about the incident in a two-part interview with Hong Kong network i-Cable, the first segment of which was a tirade against the luckless lothario Chen. Cecilia Cheung (張柏芝) said during the interview that since the scandal broke, she has taken to writing a diary about her youthful transgressions, which she plans to give her son when he turns 18. Let’s hope it doesn’t serve as a guidebook for the young man.
“I’m sure he’ll be very understanding by the time he is 18 years old,” she said, implying that he is not very understanding now.
A better course for Cheung, Pop Stop suggests, would be to take a page out of Canto-pop singer and actress Niki Chow’s (周麗淇) book. Chow plans to release a work teaching people how to recycle, according to a report in the Oriental Daily. Perhaps Cheung could pen a book on protecting endangered species or, better yet, produce a guide on sexual mores for distribution by the Singaporean government.
Anyway, the second part of the Cheung interview has itself become grist for the rumor mill because Cheung insists that i-Cable not broadcast it.
Unsurprisingly, and in an ironic twist of history repeating itself, the contents of the second part were leaked on to the Internet. In a case, however, of history not repeating itself, it was mostly mundane chatter about how the case has affected Cheung’s family.
Back home, Jay Chou
(周杰倫) is packing on the pounds, according to a report in the United Daily News. The Chairman was in southern Taiwan filming a television drama when fans said they couldn’t help but notice that the crooner has beefed up. Perhaps he ate too much cake for his 30th birthday celebration, which just passed.
In a gesture of love that would make any parent proud, Chou celebrated his birthday with his mother, grandmother and 800 fans. And what did Chou want for his birthday? A limited-edition Lamborghini Reventon. Price tag: NT$44 million. VIEW THIS PAGE
On Jan. 17, Beijing announced that it would allow residents of Shanghai and Fujian Province to visit Taiwan. The two sides are still working out the details. President William Lai (賴清德) has been promoting cross-strait tourism, perhaps to soften the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) attitudes, perhaps as a sop to international and local opinion leaders. Likely the latter, since many observers understand that the twin drivers of cross-strait tourism — the belief that Chinese tourists will bring money into Taiwan, and the belief that tourism will create better relations — are both false. CHINESE TOURISM PIPE DREAM Back in July
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This was not supposed to be an election year. The local media is billing it as the “2025 great recall era” (2025大罷免時代) or the “2025 great recall wave” (2025大罷免潮), with many now just shortening it to “great recall.” As of this writing the number of campaigns that have submitted the requisite one percent of eligible voters signatures in legislative districts is 51 — 35 targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus lawmakers and 16 targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The pan-green side has more as they started earlier. Many recall campaigns are billing themselves as “Winter Bluebirds” after the “Bluebird Action”
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