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.
On Jan. 17, Beijing announced that it would allow residents of Shanghai and Fujian Province to visit Taiwan. The two sides are still working out the details. President William Lai (賴清德) has been promoting cross-strait tourism, perhaps to soften the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) attitudes, perhaps as a sop to international and local opinion leaders. Likely the latter, since many observers understand that the twin drivers of cross-strait tourism — the belief that Chinese tourists will bring money into Taiwan, and the belief that tourism will create better relations — are both false. CHINESE TOURISM PIPE DREAM Back in July
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