Always one to speak candidly, if not always eloquently, Jackie Chan (
The official release party for Sun Yanzi's (孫燕姿) new album was held Wednesday at the Far Eastern Hotel in Taipei, the highlight of which was a sneak preview of an 8-minute film that's like the extended remix of the first video off the album for My Love (
PHOTO: AP
A final decree was issued last week by China's Ministry of Culture, which serves as the gatekeeper for publication imports, declaring that Alex To's (杜德偉) album Take it Off (脫掉) would be barred from distribution within the country. The album was released in July, but had been stalled by censors concerned about the propriety of the highly suggestive sexual tone of To's album. To's label, Rock Records, said in response, that it plans to package the album with other soon-to-be-released products in China. Pop Stop has heard from sources in China, though, that the album was out there long ago in pirate form and was pretty much already forgotten.
PHOTO: AP
Hong Kong singer/actress Kelly Chen (
Perhaps the most exciting news of the past week was the announcement that Godzilla will be awarded a star on Hollywood Boulevard. The nuclear monstrosity, who's often conflicted and always misunderstood by humans in his movies, will get to make his imprint in the pavement in front of the city's Chinese Theatre on Nov. 29, which will mark the world premiere of the 28th and last Godzilla movie Godzilla Final Wars. Before hanging up his rubber suit, in the last flick Godzilla gets to indulge in an orgy of city stomping, this time through Shanghai, Paris, New York and Sydney.
Behind a car repair business on a nondescript Thai street are the cherished pets of a rising TikTok animal influencer: two lions and a 200-kilogram lion-tiger hybrid called “Big George.” Lion ownership is legal in Thailand, and Tharnuwarht Plengkemratch is an enthusiastic advocate, posting updates on his feline companions to nearly three million followers. “They’re playful and affectionate, just like dogs or cats,” he said from inside their cage complex at his home in the northern city of Chiang Mai. Thailand’s captive lion population has exploded in recent years, with nearly 500 registered in zoos, breeding farms, petting cafes and homes. Experts warn the
No one saw it coming. Everyone — including the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) — expected at least some of the recall campaigns against 24 of its lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) to succeed. Underground gamblers reportedly expected between five and eight lawmakers to lose their jobs. All of this analysis made sense, but contained a fatal flaw. The record of the recall campaigns, the collapse of the KMT-led recalls, and polling data all pointed to enthusiastic high turnout in support of the recall campaigns, and that those against the recalls were unenthusiastic and far less likely to vote. That
The unexpected collapse of the recall campaigns is being viewed through many lenses, most of them skewed and self-absorbed. The international media unsurprisingly focuses on what they perceive as the message that Taiwanese voters were sending in the failure of the mass recall, especially to China, the US and to friendly Western nations. This made some sense prior to early last month. One of the main arguments used by recall campaigners for recalling Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers was that they were too pro-China, and by extension not to be trusted with defending the nation. Also by extension, that argument could be
The centuries-old fiery Chinese spirit baijiu (白酒), long associated with business dinners, is being reshaped to appeal to younger generations as its makers adapt to changing times. Mostly distilled from sorghum, the clear but pungent liquor contains as much as 60 percent alcohol. It’s the usual choice for toasts of gan bei (乾杯), the Chinese expression for bottoms up, and raucous drinking games. “If you like to drink spirits and you’ve never had baijiu, it’s kind of like eating noodles but you’ve never had spaghetti,” said Jim Boyce, a Canadian writer and wine expert who founded World Baijiu Day a decade
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