Hair today, gone tomorrow: Hong Kong star Chow Yun-fat (
Chow is supposed to keep this new look a secret and so has been keeping a low profile, even declining invitations to attend fundraising events in Hong Kong. Despite his efforts, he and his facial hair were shot by paparazzi of Suddenly At Next (
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
In the movie, Chow will play the role of Chang Bo-tsai (
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
Two stars from China are getting married. According to The Great Daily News (
Chinese media confirmed the Lee-Wong wedding date with Lee, who -- according to rumors of Chinese media -- dumped his former girlfriend Zhou to pursue Wong.
But Zhou is happily announcing her wedding day, too, and talked about her nuptial plans last Saturday during the launch of her record album. The woman in love said her new album is like her state of mind: very warm. The name of her fiance is even one of the songs in the album. "For me now the name represents happiness and hope. I hope every girl can find her own Lee Da-chi," Zhou said.
Zhou Xun's Taiwanese best friend Rene Liu (
Lead actor Andy Lau (
"For me he is such a perfectionist. I don't think there will be chemistry between us because I will be under a lot of pressure being with him," Rene Liu said on Tuesday.
There have been too many music awards praising the popular Mando-pop songs of last year. But is there a chart for bad songs? A radio show on National Radio Network (
Last week, Viola Zhou published a marvelous deep dive into the culture clash between Taiwanese boss mentality and American labor practices at the Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) plant in Arizona in Rest of World. “The American engineers complained of rigid, counterproductive hierarchies at the company,” while the Taiwanese said American workers aren’t dedicated. The article is a delight, but what it is depicting is the clash between a work culture that offers employee autonomy and at least nods at work-life balance, and one that runs on hierarchical discipline enforced by chickenshit. And it runs on chickenshit because chickenshit is a cultural
By far the most jarring of the new appointments for the incoming administration is that of Tseng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) to head the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF). That is a huge demotion for one of the most powerful figures in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Tseng has one of the most impressive resumes in the party. He was very active during the Wild Lily Movement and his generation is now the one taking power. He has served in many of the requisite government, party and elected positions to build out a solid political profile. Elected as mayor of Taoyuan as part of the
Moritz Mieg, 22, lay face down in the rubble, the ground shaking violently beneath him. Boulders crashed down around him, some stones hitting his back. “I just hoped that it would be one big hit and over, because I did not want to be hit nearly to death and then have to slowly die,” the student from Germany tells Taipei Times. MORNING WALK Early on April 3, Mieg set out on a scenic hike through Taroko Gorge in Hualien County (花蓮). It was a fine day for it. Little did he know that the complex intersection of tectonic plates Taiwan sits
When picturing Tainan, what typically comes to mind is charming alleyways, Japanese architecture and world-class cuisine. But look beyond the fray, through stained glass windows and sliding bookcases, and there exists a thriving speakeasy subculture, where innovative mixologists ply their trade, serving exquisite concoctions and unique flavor profiles to rival any city in Taiwan. Speakeasies hail from the prohibition era of 1920s America. When alcohol was outlawed, people took their business to hidden establishments; requiring patrons to use hushed tones — speak easy — to conceal their illegal activities. Nowadays legal, speakeasy bars are simply hidden bars, often found behind bookcases