Zhang Ziyi (章子怡) is threatening to sue the Apple Daily (蘋果日報) after the newspaper published reports that the Chinese actress had taken money in exchange for sexual encounters with disgraced politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) and other high profile men.
After the rumors broke, Zhang quickly took steps to protect her reputation, including issuing a denial and flying to Hong Kong to meet with a lawyer. Zhang also put in an appearance at the Chinese Film Media Awards (華語電影傳媒大獎), appearing unperturbed as she smiled and posed for photographs on the red carpet. Though she refused to answer questions from reporters, Zhang told the press that she was happy to be at the ceremony.
But the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (臥虎藏龍) star did not mince words on her microblog. “I’m not fighting this alone,” Zhang wrote, adding that she had discussed her legal options with her lawyer, who has already sent out letters to the Hong Kong media outlets that first published reports about Zhang’s alleged paid dalliances.
Photo: Taipei Times
Disgraced Taiwanese-Japanese actress Makiyo is also doing damage control to her reputation after pleading guilty to assaulting a taxi driver. Makiyo and her friend Hsiang Ying (湘瑩), who was also at the scene of the February incident and later pleaded guilty to perjury, were recently spotted selling cookies at a charity event. The friends managed to raise NT$4,000 for physically disabled children.
Though she has been unemployed since having her work permit revoked, Makiyo told reporters that she hasn’t been idle. In addition to abstaining from alcohol and pursuing volunteer opportunities, Makiyo has taken up yoga and horse riding lessons.
Like her friend, Hsiang Ying has been unable to work and now lives off her savings. The actress is occupying herself with yoga, speech training classes and helping her mother sell fried chicken.
Photo: Taipei Times
Makiyo says she hopes to return to show business one day, but is keeping a pragmatic attitude.
“I’ve worked in the industry for 14 years, so it’s just another form of work to me,” she said. “If I can’t go back, it’s fine. I don’t want to keep depending on the entertainment business.”
Despite their charity work, Makiyo and Hsiang Yang still have a long way to go before they return to the good graces of the media. A Liberty Times reporter noted the irony of the two friends taking a taxi after the charity event. The driver dropped them off at a cafe where Hsiang Yang puffed away on a cigarette under a “no smoking” sign. The cafe’s owner later told the reporter that she granted Hsiang Yang permission to smoke because she was outside.
Afterward, the same taxi arrived to take the two women to their next destination. The Liberty Times wondered if Makiyo now has a personal driver because other cabbies are wary of her patronage. Makiyo’s manager insisted that while his client always calls the same company, she usually takes different taxis.
Faye Wong’s (王菲) daughter has also been living in seclusion. The teenager is not in trouble with the law, but with her parents, who are fed up with the girl’s rebelliousness. According to media reports, Dou Jingtong (竇靖童), Wong’s daughter with her first husband Dou Wei (竇唯), has turned into a back-talking party girl.
After repeatedly clashing with stepfather Li Yapeng (李亞鵬), Dou Jingtong was shipped off to a Shanghai boarding school. After the 15-year-old managed to sneak off to a nightclub with a male classmate, her angry mother ordered her home to Beijing. Dou Jingtong is now under strict supervision when not in class.
She may not be allowed out of the house, but Dou Jingtong found yet another way to rebel last week. Like many teenagers, she took to her blog to complain. “Life is just so limited wen [sic] ur [sic] young,” Dou Jingtong wrote in English. “You can never make your own decisions of where you want to live, what you want to do.”
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
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
Last week the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said that the budget cuts voted for by the China-aligned parties in the legislature, are intended to force the DPP to hike electricity rates. The public would then blame it for the rate hike. It’s fairly clear that the first part of that is correct. Slashing the budget of state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) is a move intended to cause discontent with the DPP when electricity rates go up. Taipower’s debt, NT$422.9 billion (US$12.78 billion), is one of the numerous permanent crises created by the nation’s construction-industrial state and the developmentalist mentality it
Experts say that the devastating earthquake in Myanmar on Friday was likely the strongest to hit the country in decades, with disaster modeling suggesting thousands could be dead. Automatic assessments from the US Geological Survey (USGS) said the shallow 7.7-magnitude quake northwest of the central Myanmar city of Sagaing triggered a red alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. “High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,” it said, locating the epicentre near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay, home to more than a million people. Myanmar’s ruling junta said on Saturday morning that the number killed had