Happily married celebrities seem to be something of a rarity these days. And those who are can rest assured that, sooner or later, the paparazzi will seek to prove otherwise. The latest case in point is Dee Hsu (徐熙娣), better known as Little S (小S). The 31-year-old star made the front page of the Apple Daily and other publications this week as the alleged victim of domestic violence in her five-year marriage with Mike Hsu (許雅鈞).
Citing “a source,” Apple said that Hsu’s household had been classified as “high-risk” by the Taipei City Center for Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault after a social worker investigated the star’s claims of abuse earlier this month.
Apple went on to speculate as to why Hsu’s marriage may be in trouble. One rather sexist theory the paper came up with is that her husband and in-laws are unhappy that she has failed to give birth to a male child. Another was that they’re embarrassed by Little S’ frequent teasing of male guests on the popular talk show Here Comes Kang and Xi (康熙來了) she co-hosts with Kevin Tsai (蔡康永).
The star and her husband emphatically condemned the report as a pure fabrication and said on Sunday they would file a lawsuit against the newspaper, though as of press time they have yet to do so. The Center for Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault issued a statement saying it had not conducted the abovementioned investigation.
Rumor has it that Jay Chou (周杰倫) and Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) are getting back together — only this time they’ll be doing it for money. The king and queen of Mando-pop met in January for an “ice-breaking” round of bowling, and according to media speculation Chou’s record company JVR Music (杰威爾音樂) is angling to sign Tsai after her contract with Warner Music (華納音樂) expires in July.
To prevent its cash cow from defecting to JVR, Warner is said to have offered Tsai NT$100 million to renew her contract.
Local entertainer Jiu Kong (九孔), real name Lu Kung-wei (呂孔維), has been the subject of an online kerfuffle between Chinese bloggers and Taiwanese bloggers for what people in China are calling his lackluster impersonation of Brother Sharp (犀利哥) on the popular television show The Largest Political Party (全民最大黨).
Brother Sharp is a homeless man in the city of Ningbo whose photo was posted on a Web site (bbs.fengniao.com/forum/1527056.html). Comments on the man’s good looks, modelesque bearing and stylish bohemian attire posted on the Tianya Web site last
month quickly made him a hot item in China. Netizens have been calling him the “Beggar Prince” (乞丐王子), “Supreme Vagabond” (極品乞丐) and, most frequently, Brother Sharp.
Different versions of the man’s life story have circulated on the Internet. According to some he is a former solider who has fallen on hard times. Others say he lost his mind after seeing his wife killed in a car accident. Those interested in Brother Sharp can check out his profile on Baidu (baike.baidu.com/view/1465055.htm), a Chinese online encyclopedia.
If you are a Western and especially a white foreign resident of Taiwan, you’ve undoubtedly had the experience of Taiwanese assuming you to be an English teacher. There are cultural and economic reasons for this, but one of the greatest determinants is the narrow range of work permit categories that exist for Taiwan’s foreign residents, which has in turn created an unofficial caste system for foreigners. Until recently, laowai (老外) — the Mandarin term for “foreigners,” which also implies citizenship in a rich, Western country and distinguishable from brown-skinned, southeast Asian migrant laborers, or wailao (外勞) — could only ever
Sept. 23 to Sept. 29 The construction of the Babao Irrigation Canal (八堡圳) was not going well. Large-scale irrigation structures were almost unheard of in Taiwan in 1709, but Shih Shih-pang (施世榜) was determined to divert water from the Jhuoshuei River (濁水溪) to the Changhua plain, where he owned land, to promote wet rice cultivation. According to legend, a mysterious old man only known as Mr. Lin (林先生) appeared and taught Shih how to use woven conical baskets filled with rocks called shigou (石笱) to control water diversion, as well as other techniques such as surveying terrain by observing shadows during
In recent weeks news outlets have been reporting on rising rents. Last year they hit a 27 year high. It seems only a matter of time before they become a serious political issue. Fortunately, there is a whole political party that is laser focused on this issue, the Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP). They could have had a seat or two in the legislature, or at least, be large enough to attract media attention to the rent issue from time to time. Unfortunately, in the last election, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) acted as a vote sink for
This is a film about two “fools,” according to the official synopsis. But admirable ones. In his late thirties, A-jen quits his high-paying tech job and buys a plot of land in the countryside, hoping to use municipal trash to revitalize the soil that has been contaminated by decades of pesticide and chemical fertilizer use. Brother An-ho, in his 60s, on the other hand, began using organic methods to revive the dead soil on his land 30 years ago despite the ridicule of his peers, methodically picking each pest off his produce by hand without killing them out of respect