It’s been half a decade since they split, but the sight of Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) and Jay Chou (周杰倫) together still has the power to send the media and fans into a frenzy.
Tsai made a surprise appearance on Sunday at the end of Chou’s last concert in Taipei before the Mando-pop prince’s world tour. Their sultry duet seemed designed to titillate fans and make them nostalgic for the days when the pair were known as the “Double-Js” (雙-J). During Tsai’s short appearance, the crowd chanted “Get back together!” (復合) over and over again. But Chou has adamantly denied that the reunion with Tsai is romantic, insisting that the two are “just friends.”
When asked by reporters if he was worried fans outside of Taiwan would be disappointed that Tsai wasn’t accompanying him on the world tour, Chou said, “Not at all, this is our home,” which prompted a surprised gasp from the crowd.
“I meant, our hometown!” Chou quickly clarified.
The Jay-Jolin pas de deux was only a couple of minutes long, but it dominated the gossip pages for several days. Fans who had gone to Chou’s previous two shows in Taipei were upset that they paid the same amount for tickets, but missed Tsai’s surprise appearance. Even Patty Hou (侯佩岑) — host of TV talk show Azio Superstar and the woman who got between the Double-Js in the first place — wanted a piece of the action. Chou left Tsai for Hou in 2005, but the relationship floundered the following year. When Hou, who has since married, saw footage of her ex and his ex dancing, she exclaimed “How amazing! Everyone must be going crazy!” Hou then publicly extended an invitation to Tsai to appear on Azio Superstar.
The ruckus also gave Next Magazine yet another excuse to ogle Tsai’s chest. The gossip magazine headlined a story “When Jay Chou says ‘come back to my side,’ Jolin Tsai shrinks,” a cheeky reference to a lyric from Chou’s new song Long Time No See (好久不見), which fans have speculated was meant as a peace offering to Tsai.
While noting that Tsai’s weight loss may have been the result of a back injury she suffered last spring, Next also pointed out that most of the weight seemed to have been lost from her breasts, which once earned her the sobriquet “G Milk” (G奶, a reference to her supposed cup size). The singer is probably more of a 33C now, Next declared. “She’s flat now,” the tabloid mourned, ignoring the fact that Tsai’s twins are still comfortably one letter away from A-cup oblivion.
Lee Chin-liang (李進良) probably wishes that his media problems could disappear as rapidly as Tsai’s boobs supposedly have. Readers of Pop Stop will know that the alleged roving eye and legal problems of Hu Gua’s (胡瓜) son-in-law have been a constant source of worry for the popular TV host. Lee’s rap sheet includes charges of sexual harassment, an all-night party with two friends and three hostesses at a Taipei hotel, and being caught shepherding starlet Mao Mao (毛毛) to a Taoyuan hotel just days before his wedding to Hu Ying-chen (胡盈禎) last fall. Lee’s reputation as a plastic surgeon was also dealt a major blow last fall when he was fined NT$150,000 and ordered to stop working for three months by the Taipei Department of Health after illegally inserting silicone breast implants into a patient.
Throughout the various scandals, Lee’s wife and father-in-law have stood by him — but the stress and media coverage appears to be taking a toll on Hu Ying-chen. When paparazzi intercepted the pair at the movie theater last week, Lee reached for his wife’s hand, only to have Hu shake him off, the Liberty Times reported. A photo showed the storm-weathered duo sulking on an escalator, with Lee a few steps behind Hu. The incident must have cast a pall over what was supposed to be a family outing — Hu Gua, his longtime girlfriend Ding Ro-an (丁柔安) and his son and daughter-in-law were all in attendance.
Last week saw the appearance of another odious screed full of lies from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian (肖千), in the Financial Review, a major Australian paper. Xiao’s piece was presented without challenge or caveat. His “Seven truths on why Taiwan always will be China’s” presented a “greatest hits” of the litany of PRC falsehoods. This includes: Taiwan’s indigenous peoples were descended from the people of China 30,000 years ago; a “Chinese” imperial government administrated Taiwan in the 14th century; Koxinga, also known as Cheng Cheng-kung (鄭成功), “recovered” Taiwan for China; the Qing owned
In Taiwan’s politics the party chair is an extremely influential position. Typically this person is the presumed presidential candidate or serving president. In the last presidential election, two of the three candidates were also leaders of their party. Only one party chair race had been planned for this year, but with the Jan. 1 resignation by the currently indicted Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) two parties are now in play. If a challenger to acting Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) appears we will examine that race in more depth. Currently their election is set for Feb. 15. EXTREMELY
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They increasingly own everything from access to space to how we get news on Earth and now outgoing President Joe Biden warns America’s new breed of Donald Trump-allied oligarchs could gobble up US democracy itself. Biden used his farewell speech to the nation to deliver a shockingly dark message: that a nation which has always revered its entrepreneurs may now be at their mercy. “An oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms,” Biden said. He named no names, but his targets were clear: men like Elon Musk
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