This week’s gossip column inches have been dominated by intrigue and secret love in the Mando-pop world. Teen idol and self-made acrobat Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) grabbed headlines, not for her new album Butterfly (花蝴蝶), but for being an alleged cheater and copycat.
The story goes something like this: a couple of years ago, Tsai’s old flame Jay Chou (周杰倫) implied that celebrated music impresario Chen Tse-shan (陳澤杉) had knowingly manipulated the charts for his clients including Tsai. Now, the diva is bent on revenge.
When preorders of Butterfly broke the 120,000-mark, that is 30,000 more than those for Chou’s Capricorn (魔杰座) last year, the songstress’ label Warner Music (華納音樂) wasted no time in holding a press conference on Sunday, where an attorney was
present to validate the veracity of the figures.
According to Chou’s record company, JVR Music (杰威爾音樂), Warner Music fiddled the figures. “You can’t fool those in the business,” the company’s spokesperson was quoted as saying.
Perhaps what troubles the Mando-pop queen most is the recent accusation that she copied Japanese pop sensation Ayumi Hamasaki. Local media have commented on what they believe are striking similarities between the two stars’ new looks.
As Stefanie Sun (孫燕姿) readies to open her tour with a concert at Taipei Arena (台北巨蛋) next month, the Singaporean singer’s sweetheart of two years, a hitherto well-kept secret, has conveniently surfaced and garnered media attention.
Dubbed “mustache man” (鬍鬚男) by media, 31-year-old Nadim van der Ros is Dutch, a high-ranking manager at Aviva, and what’s more, a hunk and able athlete who caught the star’s eye at a triathlon competition held by his company.
Sun’s is not the only secret to see the light of day. Chu Ko Liang (豬哥亮), who went into hiding after running up a huge gambling debt more than a decade ago, has reportedly irked his old showbiz chums who have tried to help.
Claiming to have plenty of job offers lined up for Chu, entertainer-turned-lawmaker Yu Tian (余天) said he was frustrated that the fugitive funnyman remains elusive and difficult to reach.
Kao Ling-feng (高凌風) says he has an influential friend in Malaysia who is willing to fund a film tailor-made for Chu. The former comedian, however, has shown little interest.
“Chu wants someone to pay off his debt [reportedly upwards of NT$200 million] all at once. But that’s not possible,” Kao was quoted
as saying.
Chu should look up to Judy Chiang (江蕙) when it comes to gambling troubles. After her older sister, who managed her assets, gambled away all the money and went on the lam earlier this year, the reigning queen of Taiwanese-language music has quietly started again from scratch by releasing the DVD version of her 2008 concert.
Though her sister lost
all her savings, to the tune of more than NT$100 million, Chiang took the blame herself.
“It is all my fault. I should have paid more attention to my sister,” Chiang told the Liberty Times, the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper.
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
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