Wang Lee-hom (王力宏) usually does a good job of keeping his private life out of the tabloids, but a wig and mysterious travel plans sparked rumors that he recently enjoyed a tropical getaway with actress Shu Qi (舒淇).
A reporter from the Liberty Times (our sister newspaper) saw Wang arriving at Taoyuan International Airport (桃園國際機場) sporting the fake tresses. On the same night, Shu was spotted flying into Hong Kong. Though there is no concrete proof that the two were vacationing together, intrepid netizens noted that their arrival times coincided with flights from Bali.
“After 10 years of disguising himself, this was the first time he failed,” commented the Liberty Times, referring to Wang’s ability to keep the press off his trail. While some of Wang’s fans mocked him on the Internet for his subterfuge, others were frothing at the mouth over the potential of a juicy new celebrity romance.
Photo: Taipei Times
“If it’s true, then announce it!” went one typical posting.
Rumors of a relationship have dogged the two ever since Shu appeared in one of Wang’s music videos five years ago. After shooting wrapped up, the two reportedly started seeing each other and the tabloids even said that they had been spotted in Tokyo department stores shopping for a diamond ring. Wang and Shu are said to have kept their alleged affair under wraps because his mother disapproves of the romance, but fans are now keeping their fingers crossed.
On Dec. 29, the Liberty Times received a tip-off from a reader about Wang and Shu’s arrivals in Taiwan and Hong Kong, respectively. A reporter rushed to Taoyuan and managed to intercept Wang, who was wearing his disguise and looked surprised to have been discovered. When asked if he had been in Bali with Shu Qi, Wang did not respond.
The two have refused to confirm or deny reports of their trip, but fans keeping an eagle eye on all their blog postings believe there is enough evidence. Shu insisted that she had planned to go skiing over the winter holidays, but readers figured out that a photo she posted online of herself enjoying the slopes was actually a year old. Some fans also believe that Wang convinced a blogger to post a snap of a “chance encounter” with the singer in Beijing. They argue that the jacket he is wearing in the photo would have provided scant protection against the Chinese capital’s frigid winter temperatures, and therefore the report is fake.
The Liberty Times speculated that the two spent their rumored Bali trip celebrating the critical success of Chinglish, a theatrical production by Chinese-American playwright David Henry Hwang (黃哲倫) that uses 11 of Wang’s songs. Time magazine placed it at number three in its list of last year’s top 10 Broadway shows. Wang’s music was also included in How Can I Live on Without You (如果沒有你) by Cloud Gate Theatre (雲門舞集).
Shu issued a statement chiding the press for making a big deal out of nothing. “This is not worth responding to,” she told reporters. Managers for both stars said that their agencies had been closed for the New Year’s weekend and were therefore unable to confirm or deny the rumors.
Wang’s love life has long been the focus of intense speculation. When the singer recently uploaded a photo to his blog that he snapped while recording a song, some fans mistook the background for a home studio. While some sighed with envy over Wang’s luxurious bachelor pad, others lamented how lonely he looked in the picture and called for Wang to find himself a wife right away. The singer’s management company quickly sent out a clarification that Wang was at Platinum Studios (白金錄音室).
Even though their bitter separation and divorce topped the headlines for months on end last year, Nicholas Tse (謝霆鋒) and Cecilia Cheung (張柏芝) are now denying rumors that they are getting back together. Tse confirmed that he often sees his ex-wife, but explained that it was for the sake of their two small children. Tse and Cheung were recently spotted taking their oldest son Lucas to a feng shui master, but Tse wrote on his blog that they were just enjoying a family outing as parents. After spending a good part of last year duking it out over real estate holdings and custody arrangements, Tse said that he and Cheung “cooled down” after their divorce was finalized and are now open to being good friends — but no more than that.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), and the country’s other political groups dare not offend religious groups, says Chen Lih-ming (陳立民), founder of the Taiwan Anti-Religion Alliance (台灣反宗教者聯盟). “It’s the same in other democracies, of course, but because political struggles in Taiwan are extraordinarily fierce, you’ll see candidates visiting several temples each day ahead of elections. That adds impetus to religion here,” says the retired college lecturer. In Japan’s most recent election, the Liberal Democratic Party lost many votes because of its ties to the Unification Church (“the Moonies”). Chen contrasts the progress made by anti-religion movements in
Last week the State Department made several small changes to its Web information on Taiwan. First, it removed a statement saying that the US “does not support Taiwan independence.” The current statement now reads: “We oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side. We expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the Strait.” In 2022 the administration of Joe Biden also removed that verbiage, but after a month of pressure from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), reinstated it. The American
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus convener Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) and some in the deep blue camp seem determined to ensure many of the recall campaigns against their lawmakers succeed. Widely known as the “King of Hualien,” Fu also appears to have become the king of the KMT. In theory, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) outranks him, but Han is supposed to be even-handed in negotiations between party caucuses — the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) says he is not — and Fu has been outright ignoring Han. Party Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) isn’t taking the lead on anything while Fu
Feb 24 to March 2 It’s said that the entire nation came to a standstill every time The Scholar Swordsman (雲州大儒俠) appeared on television. Children skipped school, farmers left the fields and workers went home to watch their hero Shih Yen-wen (史艷文) rid the world of evil in the 30-minute daily glove puppetry show. Even those who didn’t speak Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) were hooked. Running from March 2, 1970 until the government banned it in 1974, the show made Shih a household name and breathed new life into the faltering traditional puppetry industry. It wasn’t the first
RSS