Those keeping abreast of the battle raging between busty sex kittens Shushu (舒舒) and Yaoyao (瑤瑤) will want to note one point for Shushu after her triumphant appearance in a regal
evening dress made entirely out of condoms.
As readers of Pop Stop may recall, Shushu, whose real name is Tseng Ya-ling (曾雅鈴), recently ticked off media watchdogs and feminists when she appeared in television ads wearing a low cut top while operating a jackhammer. At the same time, another commercial aired featuring Yaoyao, real name Kuo Shu-yao (郭書瑤), enjoying a rigorous workout without the benefits of a properly fitted sports bra. Perhaps jealous of the attention her rival’s ad was receiving, Yaoyao had her agent announce that Shushu was merely copying her.
All eyes were on Shushu last weekend, however, as she strutted around at a wedding dress show in the somewhat uncomfortable looking dress, which was made out of hundreds of condoms in their wrappers. Not to be outdone, Yaoyao appeared in public wearing a cleavage revealing top and trousers that “left nothing to the imagination,” but unfortunately, at least for what was left of Yaoyao’s dignity, Shushu succeeded in knocking her off the gossip pages.
One of the wedding dress show’s organizers let slip that they had originally wanted to hire Yaoyao for the event, but changed their minds because she was difficult to work with and instead hired Shushu “because she has similar style.” That is no doubt a slap in the face for both women, who, despite their similar hairstyles, figures, nicknames and career paths, continue to insist that they are two totally unique individuals who aren’t weirdly obsessed with one another.
Unlike the booby twins, Alyssa Chia (賈靜雯) has been running away from the press, which is obsessed with the custody battle that is raging between the actress and her estranged husband Sun Chihhao (孫志浩). Chia managed to give a crowd of waiting crowd photogs the slip at Taoyuan International Airport on Monday before boarding a flight to the US, where her young daughter is currently living with Sun.
Chia’s lawyer recently issued a statement begging the paparazzi to leave her alone, but she is partly to blame for the brouhaha. Chia tearfully announced at a press conference two weeks ago that she had not seen her child in four months.
Reports say Sun is determined to keep the little girl in the US with him and has applied for an American passport for the tot. Sun’s uncle, however, issued a statement accusing Chia of being a negligent mom. “She knows very well where her daughter is,” Liu Chengchung (劉正中) said. “All she has to do is go back to her family.”
Chia might want to get some points from fellow actress Annie Yi (伊能靜), who is fresh off her newly granted divorce from Harlem Yu (庾澄慶). Yi appeared on Hong Kong talk show Be My Guest (志雲飯局) to refute rumors that she’d given up shared custody of their young son in exchange for a hefty settlement of real estate.
Yi also insisted that her alleged affair with Victor Huang (黃維德) did not break up her nine-year marriage, even though the two sparked a media frenzy last November when they were photographed holding hands in Beijing. The marriage just ran its course, said Yi, adding that Yu was “the love of a lifetime and he can’t be replaced.” Maybe things look rosier in hindsight. The couple’s marriage was constantly plagued with rumors of marital discord, many of which centered on Yi’s beef with her in-laws.
One celebrity couple that still manages to get along is Cecilia Cheung (張柏芝) and Nicholas Tse (謝霆鋒), who are preparing to move into a luxurious new home in Hong Kong. Oriental Sunday (東方新地週刊) reports that Cheung, who has been taking a career break since the Edison Chen (陳冠希) sex photo scandal broke, spent NT$4 million remodeling the 300m2 abode. She combined two bedrooms into a giant playroom for her son Lucas and remade another bedroom with an ocean view into a home spa with a tub big enough for two. Oriental Sunday said Cheung plans to treat Tse to romantic massages there, which is supposedly one of the secrets to their happy marriage.
Dec. 16 to Dec. 22 Growing up in the 1930s, Huang Lin Yu-feng (黃林玉鳳) often used the “fragrance machine” at Ximen Market (西門市場) so that she could go shopping while smelling nice. The contraption, about the size of a photo booth, sprayed perfume for a coin or two and was one of the trendy bazaar’s cutting-edge features. Known today as the Red House (西門紅樓), the market also boasted the coldest fridges, and offered delivery service late into the night during peak summer hours. The most fashionable goods from Japan, Europe and the US were found here, and it buzzed with activity
During the Japanese colonial era, remote mountain villages were almost exclusively populated by indigenous residents. Deep in the mountains of Chiayi County, however, was a settlement of Hakka families who braved the harsh living conditions and relative isolation to eke out a living processing camphor. As the industry declined, the village’s homes and offices were abandoned one by one, leaving us with a glimpse of a lifestyle that no longer exists. Even today, it takes between four and six hours to walk in to Baisyue Village (白雪村), and the village is so far up in the Chiayi mountains that it’s actually
These days, CJ Chen (陳崇仁) can be found driving a taxi in and around Hualien. As a way to earn a living, it’s not his first choice. He’d rather be taking tourists to the region’s attractions, but after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the region on April 3, demand for driver-guides collapsed. In the eight months since the quake, the number of overseas tourists visiting Hualien has declined by “at least 90 percent, because most of them come for Taroko Gorge, not for the east coast or the East Longitudinal Valley,” he says. Chen estimates the drop in domestic sightseers after the
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo, speaking at the Reagan Defense Forum last week, said the US is confident it can defeat the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the Pacific, though its advantage is shrinking. Paparo warned that the PRC might launch a “war of necessity” even if it thinks it could not win, a wise observation. As I write, the PRC is carrying out naval and air exercises off its coast that are aimed at Taiwan and other nations threatened by PRC expansionism. A local defense official said that China’s military activity on Monday formed two “walls” east