Taiwan's pride and joy, supermodel Lin Chih-ling (
Also appearing at the same awards ceremony was another Taiwanese beauty, Stephanie Hsiao (
The two beauty queens may look cozy together in the press photos and may have swapped niceties, but reading between the lines there is the inevitable
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
competition.
For film director Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮), this past week has been a a big success. Box-office receipts of his latest work, The Wayward Cloud (天邊一朵雲), reached NT$7 million just two-and-a-half days after it hit the big screen. It is an amazing commercial achievement for the Taiwanese film industry since most Taiwanese films ticket sales are usually under NT$1 million. The subject matter of the film has drawn all kinds of audience members to try out the art-house experience. For example, many middle-aged, weird-looking men have reportedly emerged from nowhere to invade the theaters located in age-discriminatory, trendy districts. Tsai was said to welcome such new fans, believing it's a sign of greater acceptance of his work.
Family values and baby talk are still hot this week. Actress Lee Chien-rong (李蒨蓉) made her first public appearance yesterday after confirming the news of her second pregnancy. Lee proudly showed off her baby-bearing belly at Fendi's 2005 spring collection fashion show and couldn't stop her baby talk throughout the show. Singer Shun Zi (順子) is getting chubbier these days. When asked if she got pregnant before her November wedding, Shun Zi modestly replied that she wouldn't do something like ``get on the bus before buying a ticket.''
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
Even though the gossip-generating couple, Jay Chou (
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
Exceptions to the rule are sometimes revealing. For a brief few years, there was an emerging ideological split between the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) that appeared to be pushing the DPP in a direction that would be considered more liberal, and the KMT more conservative. In the previous column, “The KMT-DPP’s bureaucrat-led developmental state” (Dec. 11, page 12), we examined how Taiwan’s democratic system developed, and how both the two main parties largely accepted a similar consensus on how Taiwan should be run domestically and did not split along the left-right lines more familiar in
As I finally slid into the warm embrace of the hot, clifftop pool, it was a serene moment of reflection. The sound of the river reflected off the cave walls, the white of our camping lights reflected off the dark, shimmering surface of the water, and I reflected on how fortunate I was to be here. After all, the beautiful walk through narrow canyons that had brought us here had been inaccessible for five years — and will be again soon. The day had started at the Huisun Forest Area (惠蓀林場), at the end of Nantou County Route 80, north and east
This month the government ordered a one-year block of Xiaohongshu (小紅書) or Rednote, a Chinese social media platform with more than 3 million users in Taiwan. The government pointed to widespread fraud activity on the platform, along with cybersecurity failures. Officials said that they had reached out to the company and asked it to change. However, they received no response. The pro-China parties, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), immediately swung into action, denouncing the ban as an attack on free speech. This “free speech” claim was then echoed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC),
Specialty sandwiches loaded with the contents of an entire charcuterie board, overflowing with sauces, creams and all manner of creative add-ons, is perhaps one of the biggest global food trends of this year. From London to New York, lines form down the block for mortadella, burrata, pistachio and more stuffed between slices of fresh sourdough, rye or focaccia. To try the trend in Taipei, Munchies Mafia is for sure the spot — could this be the best sandwich in town? Carlos from Spain and Sergio from Mexico opened this spot just seven months ago. The two met working in the
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