VIEW THIS PAGE Known for his phenomenally successful tough-guy action fare, Hong Kong’s Andrew Lau (劉偉強) returns to the big screen with Look for a Star (游龍戲鳳), a romantic comedy film about a business tycoon and a cabaret dancer.
Though locked and loaded with a stellar cast that includes Andy Lau (劉德華) and Shu Qi (舒淇), the blockbuster director fails to establish his name in the chick-flick sphere with this effort, because he is unable to save the formulaic story line from making a, well, formulaic film.
In Look, Andy Lau plays the handsome, charming billionaire named Sam, while Shu plays the perky Milan, who works as a cabaret dancer and croupier to make ends meet. The two quickly fall in love after a chance encounter in a Macanese casino.
However, Milan, a romanticist who longs for love rather than fame and fortune, begins to have doubts when she uncovers Sam’s true identity.
The prenuptial agreement forced upon Milan by Sam’s mother, and his connivance in the accord, leaves the bride heartbroken.
Besides the main story focusing on how Sam and Milan overcome the odds, two subplots, which involve Sam’s secretary Jo (Denise Ho, 何韻詩) and Lin Jiu (Zhang Hanyu, 張涵予), an honest worker from Shandong Province as well as Sam’s chauffeur (Dominic Lam, 林嘉華) and single mother Shannon (Zhang Xinyi, 張歆藝), are introduced as variations on the rich-guy-marries-poor-girl drama.
Director Lau ingeniously sets the film mainly in Macau, whose Portuguese-style churches, cobbled streets and grand casinos provide a fanciful feel.
But the footage of Shu and Andy Lau scooting around the city’s enchanting vistas isn’t enough to lift the film from mediocrity. Crosscutting three plots, the narration feels messy and is at times incoherent, while plot devices such as a televised confession of love and the appearance of a cockhorse in a park appear tired and contrived. 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
Taiwan doesn’t have a lot of railways, but its network has plenty of history. The government-owned entity that last year became the Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) has been operating trains since 1891. During the 1895-1945 period of Japanese rule, the colonial government made huge investments in rail infrastructure. The northern port city of Keelung was connected to Kaohsiung in the south. New lines appeared in Pingtung, Yilan and the Hualien-Taitung region. Railway enthusiasts exploring Taiwan will find plenty to amuse themselves. Taipei will soon gain its second rail-themed museum. Elsewhere there’s a number of endearing branch lines and rolling-stock collections, some
Could Taiwan’s democracy be at risk? There is a lot of apocalyptic commentary right now suggesting that this is the case, but it is always a conspiracy by the other guys — our side is firmly on the side of protecting democracy and always has been, unlike them! The situation is nowhere near that bleak — yet. The concern is that the power struggle between the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and their now effectively pan-blue allies the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) intensifies to the point where democratic functions start to break down. Both
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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