Japanese pop princess Noriko Sakai’s ongoing drug scandal took a turn for the worse when the disgraced actress’ vacation home in Katsuura, Chiba Prefecture, was gutted by a fire early on Sunday. According to the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) the police suspect arson, and speculation immediately arose that the fire was set to destroy evidence because the house was reportedly one of the spots where Sakai and her husband Yuichi Takaso kept their stash.
Sakai made a tearful apology for using drugs at a press conference that lasted 10 minutes but drew massive media interest after she was released on bail on Thursday of last week. The 38-year-old actress was admitted to a Tokyo hospital shortly afterwards. A troupe of black-clad bodyguards is said to be keeping Sakai safe after threatening messages circulated on the Internet.
Meanwhile, a Taiwanese entertainment company has reportedly invited Sakai to revive her career in Taiwan. The news prompted sarcastic reports in the Japanese media, which commented that Taiwan’s entertainment industry has seen so many scandals that it has been inured to them.
Unless, of course, there’s an “ABC” involved. Former Channel V presenter Henry Lu (呂良基) was arrested this week for marijuana possession along with six other suspects, most of whom grew up in either Canada, Australia or the US.
Given the way it has been used in coverage of the arrests, ABC, which means American-born Chinese in English, has a different meaning in Chinese, as in the TTV headline Police Close in From Three Directions, Tianmu, Neihu and Taichung, Arrested Six People, All ABCs From Foreign Countries (警方兵分三路，從天母、內湖以及台中，逮捕六人，他們清一色都是從國外回來的ABC).
Intrepid journalists have been quick to point out the correlation between drug use and having been born or studied abroad.
Elva Hsiao (蕭亞軒) and Fan Fan (范瑋琪) were both interviewed for what ended up being a front-page anti-drug report in the Liberty Times.
And going one better than former US president Bill Clinton (who claims he pretended to smoke a joint but “didn’t inhale”), perhaps in an effort to protect themselves in the event that the fuzz decides to play another round of Celebrity Drug Bust, singer and wannabee director David Tao (陶吉吉) and pop idol Mark Chao (趙又廷) both volunteered information that they had involuntarily inhaled “secondhand marijuana” smoke (二手麻).
In other news, variety show host Chang Fei (張菲), who as far as Pop Stop knows isn’t a stoner but certainly looks like one, has wasted no time in putting the moves on Monique Lin (林慧萍), a popular singer in the 1980s who was divorced a couple of weeks ago.
The sunglasses-wearing, Bee Gees-bouffanted Chang, who dated Lin for five years, threw his hat into the ring by telling gossip journos he was happy to hear the news.
“I am ready. Now it is up to her to make the decision,” Chang said when asked on Tuesday if he wanted to have another go at Lin.
Another entertainer with a unique appearance, veteran show hostess Chen Chin-pei (陳今佩) better known as the Great White Shark (大白鯊) for her formerly generous physique, has returned to showbiz after slimming down from 120kg to 69kg in 11 months.
The 57-year-old was spotted by local paparazzi chatting with friends and her boyfriend at a coffee shop in Taipei’s East District (東區) last week.
Always vigilant when it comes to older women dating younger men, Apple Daily reports that Chen’s boyfriend, known as “Alex” to the media, is 29 years her junior, and is one of the reasons why the entertainer lost so much weight. Apparently there are two other reasons: a pair of younger paramours in China.
The press has even given Chen a new nickname, “shar-pei,” or dog face (沙皮臉). This is because one of the side effects of losing so much weight so quickly is saggy skin. The Not-So-Big Shark said she would get that problem sorted out before making a comeback.
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
President William Lai’s (賴清德) March 13 national security speech marked a turning point. He signaled that the government was finally getting serious about a whole-of-society approach to defending the nation. The presidential office summarized his speech succinctly: “President Lai introduced 17 major strategies to respond to five major national security and united front threats Taiwan now faces: China’s threat to national sovereignty, its threats from infiltration and espionage activities targeting Taiwan’s military, its threats aimed at obscuring the national identity of the people of Taiwan, its threats from united front infiltration into Taiwanese society through cross-strait exchanges, and its threats from
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
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