The common knowledge that Taiwan's music and film industries have been nosediving toward insignificance has so alarmed bureaucrats at the Council for Cultural Affairs that they have now laid out a bold plan to reverse the trend.
Without elaborating how or stating a time frame, a report about the revitalizing action released by the Government Information Office on Friday says the government will inject US$270 million into the country's music industry to "rebuild Taiwan's status as an important center for Chinese pop music." According to the report, "[Council for Cultural Affairs Chairwoman] Tchen [Yu-Chiou (陳郁秀)] believes that Taiwan has a very rich and vibrant cultural scene, which is superior to other Asian countries in many ways and should be cherished."
Building upon the theme of cultural superiority, but in a manner that acknowledged a problem, Tchen said "We will soon lose our global competitiveness if we fail to make good use of our cultural advantages."
What these advantages are exactly is an open question, as is how they can be termed as such when Taiwan's cultural industries have reached such a low point that the government needs to intervene with an emergency rescue plan. The signs on this one don't appear promising.
Taiwanese TV's bad boy Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) just can't keep out of trouble, whether it's with the ladies, or, in his most recent mishap, with the National Tax Administration, which prevented him last Friday from leaving the country until he paid an undisclosed sum in back taxes. He was blocked at CKS Airport trying to board a plane for Kuala Lumpur and, according to the Great Entertainment Daily (大成報), caught the same flight the next day after having "handled" the matter. The tax administration blocks individuals who owe more than NT$500,000 in back taxes from exiting the country.
The sister duo TV personalities Big S (大S) and Little S (小S) were broadsided last week by their friend Suzanne Hsiao (蕭淑慎), who told the Apple Daily (蘋果日報) that the sisters only visit her Ximending store to borrow clothes, never to buy, hinting that they were cheap. The sisters' mother, who is also their manager, mouthed off, as is her habit, when asked by reporters to comment on the issue, dismissing the Taipei hangout as being full of "poor students."
The paper later reported it was swamped with angry letters from kids who spend their weekends there and Internet chat rooms were reportedly abuzz with talk of boycotting everything the two girls produce in revenge for the dissing of their stomping grounds. Hsiao, meanwhile, was racked by feelings of guilt over having smeared her friends in the papers and, according to Wednesday's China Times (中國日報), slashed her wrists on Saturday night in a failed suicide attempt.
Stephanie Hsiao (蕭薔) is often described as the prettiest "artist" in Taiwan (she's actually just a model), but she's never been described as the "brightest" -- and rightfully so. In a questionable attempt to display her supposed deep charitable feelings toward cancer patients, she was on site to sell 100 autographed copies of a pin-up calendar featuring, of course, herself. The off-putting part is that the proceeds are to go not toward research or patient care, but, and this isn't a joke, toward wigs for chemotherapy patients. Hmmm, just what the doctor ordered.
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