One would think that after having his most intimate moments splashed across countless tabloids, his genitalia picked apart in minute detail by thousands, if not millions of strangers, and gangsters threaten him with mutilation (or worse), Edison Chen (陳冠希) would be happy to hole up in a monastery and dedicate himself to a lifetime of celibacy. But, no.
Hong Kong gossip rag Oriental Sunday (東方新地) reports that the pop star, who is gradually emerging from his self-imposed exile, enjoyed a hot night out in Malaysia a few days before arriving in Taiwan on Tuesday. Chen was in Kuala Lumpur for the grand opening of his clothing store and celebrated afterwards by throwing a bash at a nightclub, where he was photographed with scantily-clad revelers clinging to him, despite a strict ban on cameras at the party. Apparently, female guests had managed to stuff mini-cameras down their (presumably just as tiny) panties to take souvenir photos with Chen.
The Hong Kong actor and singer spent the early part of the evening chatting with his male friends and studiously avoiding contact with the opposite sex. But a few drinks later, he was unable to resist temptation and, judging by his wide grin in the snaps, didn’t mind being photographed in the act.
A few days later, Chen (and his four bodyguards), looking none the worse for wear, discreetly arrived in Taipei to film a commercial for a certain brand of jeans. Ironically (or perhaps intentionally), the clothing company that hired him also counts Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) among its roster of celebrity models. Followers of Chen’s sexcapades might remember that Tsai was briefly sucked into the photo scandal when pictures of a woman resembling the pop singer in a compromising position found their way onto the Internet. The lingerie-clad beauty was dismissed as a look-alike, but Tsai continued to battle rumors that she’d made sex videos with Chen, a rumored ex-boyfriend. Gossip rags reported that the two will not be appearing in commercials together anytime soon.
Despite Chen’s recent efforts, the Liberty Times [the Taipei Times’ sister paper] somewhat prudishly speculated that the shots from Malaysia might undo his attempts at rehabilitation in the Hong Kong media. He can take heart that the gossip rags there might be too busy, however, with their strange and somewhat morbid fascination with the miscarriages (real and alleged) of female stars. The glossies, which breathlessly covered pop queen Faye Wong’s (王菲) miscarriage last year, are now targeting actress and singer (and former Chen paramour) Cecilia Cheung (張柏芝), who they say lost what would have been her second child with husband Nicholas Tse (謝霆鋒).
A Hong Kong news outlet said that the star has been depressed since the alleged miscarriage and refuses to leave the house. But Tse and his mother both angrily denied the rumors. In an interview with a Chinese newspaper, Tse snapped to a reporter, “if my wife were pregnant, don’t you think I would know?”
In somewhat happier news, Zhang Ziyi (章子怡) and her venture capitalist fiance Aviv Nevo are still very much in love, even though the two have no time to get married. The peripatetic duo had originally planned to get hitched next month on a private island in Italy, but have now postponed their nuptials indefinitely because of their work obligations. The Liberty Times reported that Zhang gave an interview last year to a Chinese newspaper where she expressed some trepidation about matrimony, despite her happy relationship. “What do you do if the marriage goes wrong?” she asked. “I want mine to last a lifetime, because the person I am with is wonderful.”
Zhang and Nevo may still be going strong, but it seems that Taiwanese-American basketball star James Mao (毛加恩) and model Bianca Bai (白歆惠) have finally split for good. Tittle-tattle has been rife about the status of the duo’s (known collectively in the media as Bai Mao, or white fur) on-off relationship, but Mao seemed eager to proclaim his single status at a nightclub last weekend, reports NOWnews. He was cavorting with an assortment of lamei (辣妹), or hot chicks, allegedly nibbling on one lady’s ears. The 196cm tall Mao had to stoop to talk to many of his admirers, but NOWnews cheekily reported that he stooped so low — figuratively and literally — that his eyeballs were hovering mere centimeters away from his conversation partners’ buntlines.
Bai’s reaction? “Whatever,” she said. “If that’s what makes him happy, then that’s fine.” She added that she’s so busy shooting a new movie she barely has time to think about her ex and his earlobe-loving ways.
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
RSS