Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it — but are Chang Hui-mei (張惠妹, aka A-mei, 阿妹) and Wang Lee-hom (王力宏) doing it? The Apple Daily drew attention earlier this week for speculating on a “renewed” romance between the two.
Chang and Wang, rumored to be an item years ago, were spotted greeting each other with a warm embrace at the wedding of pop singer Christine Fan (范瑋琪) and TV personality Charles “Blackie” Chen (陳建州).
Both are currently single — Wang has managed to stay off the media radar over the past few years when it comes to dating, and A-mei recently broke up with basketball star Sam Ho (何守正).
Photo: Taipei Times
Seeing Wang and A-mei together in public led the Apple to reminisce about their past. Back in 2004, A-mei and Wang were photographed holding hands at the Channel V Music Awards ceremony in Hong Kong and around that time they had shared the stage together at various shows. Wang reportedly co-wrote a duet with A-mei that never saw the light of day because it didn’t pass muster with their record companies. After their “breakup,” things have reportedly been “awkward” between the two on the occasions they’ve been seen in public together.
But that hug last weekend may have rekindled the fire, the report said. After the wedding, there was an online exchange between the two Mando-pop stars on Weibo (微博, the Chinese-speaking world’s version of Twitter).
Wang, who celebrated his 35th birthday on Tuesday, posted on his Weibo account: “I’m curious. How many [of my friends] will be wishing me a happy birthday?”
According to Apple, A-mei replied within a half hour: “My dear ... happy birthday! Sisters, let’s sing it!” And sing it they did, as A-mei reportedly rounded up Fan and Chen, the newlyweds, and a few other friends to serenade Wang on the phone.
But before anyone gets too excited over the prospect of a romance among Mando-pop royalty, let’s listen to the pop star’s voice of reason: the agent. A-mei’s manager, Edward Chan (陳鎮川), poured cold water on the notion of romantic feelings between the two.
A-mei calls everyone “dear” (親愛的), he said. “They’ve always been good friends and every year they wish each other a happy birthday. If there was anything happening, they certainly wouldn’t be posting it on Weibo!”
Speaking of past flames, it appears Cecilia Cheung (張柏芝) has made her peace with fellow Hong Kong actor and Canto-pop singer Edison Chen (陳冠希).
Pop Stop readers will recall the infamous scandal of 2008 when photos showing Chen and Cheung in flagrante delicto circulated widely on the Internet.
Chen and Cheung, who were also in Taiwan for Fan and Chen’s wedding, were spotted sitting next to each other on a flight back to Hong Kong.
The Apple Daily reported that the two ran into each other on the flight, and that Cheung asked to change her seat so they could sit together.
Their conversation was jovial and the two were snapping photos together with their mobile phones, the Apple reported, citing accounts from nearby passengers.
The paper noted that this appears to be a big turn-around for Cheung. In an interview in 2009, she lashed out at Chen, calling his public apology “phony” and saying he never apologized to her directly for the scandal.
Chen’s manager confirmed last weekend’s happenstance reunion, with the China Times quoting him as saying, “[Edison Chen] knew that there would be a day that they’d run into each other again, and so he naturally said hello and chatted.”
Cheung, who’s married to actor Nicholas Tse (謝霆鋒), hasn’t confirmed the meeting.
Unsurprisingly, Jay Chou (周杰倫) is all over the Golden Melody Awards this year, having bagged seven nominations for his album The Era (跨時代).
But other big-name stars didn’t fare as well. Conspicuously absent from this year’s list of nominees for best Mandarin female singer were Chou’s former sweetheart Jolin Tsai (蔡依林), Elva Hsiao (蕭亞軒) and Tien Fu-chen (田馥甄), aka Hebe Tien of the girl band S.H.E.
Tien’s omission from the category has been particularly controversial among fans, who are seething after a Golden Melody Award judge reportedly said that she wasn’t nominated for the best singer category because she relied too much on technology to shore up her vocals.
Tien responded mildly at a press conference, according to the China Times, saying that she accepted the judges’ decisions.
But she also defended herself, saying that “Everyone uses computers to polish their music,” and also quipped, “I’m not sure about the judges’ tastes.”
Though she’s not in the running for one of the Golden Melody’s most coveted awards, her album, To Hebe, did pick up four other nominations, including best album and best music video.
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
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
Mirror mirror on the wall, what’s the fairest Disney live-action remake of them all? Wait, mirror. Hold on a second. Maybe choosing from the likes of Alice in Wonderland (2010), Mulan (2020) and The Lion King (2019) isn’t such a good idea. Mirror, on second thought, what’s on Netflix? Even the most devoted fans would have to acknowledge that these have not been the most illustrious illustrations of Disney magic. At their best (Pete’s Dragon? Cinderella?) they breathe life into old classics that could use a little updating. At their worst, well, blue Will Smith. Given the rapacious rate of remakes in modern