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Pop Stop

Tony Leung hits Hollywood hoping to be the latest and brightest leading man. PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES

The too-good-to-be true South Korean actor Bae Yong-joon (裴勇俊 ) arrived in Taiwan this week. The soap star-turned-movie star did a three-day tour through Taiwan to promote his new film April Snow (外出). Demonstrating an ability to kiss ass that would make an ordinary person blush, the organizers prepared 13 luxury vehicles for Bae and spent NT$3 million to keep him happy.

It wasn't just the press who flocked for the arrival of Bae. Fans and groupies from all over Asia came to catch a glimpse of the superstar. It was reported that at the airport on the day of Bae's arrival, the floor shook due to the amount of adoring fans.

In the public's eye Bae is a near perfect role model. After all, he has donated over NT$3 millions to help educate Aboriginal Taiwanese children and finds time in his busy schedule to visit seriously ill fans. During his visit to Taiwan, Bae was said to be polite, humble and generally looked happy to be here.

Everybody wants a piece of South Korean megastar Bae Yong-joon PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES

It's not all good news for Bae, however, since a Taiwanese celebrity showed his dislike of the superstar during his visit. Rock star Chang Chen-yue (張震嶽) decided to call Bae a "mother fucker" during his performance at the Taike Rock Concert (台客搖滾演唱會), according to the Liberty Times (自由時報). Maybe Chang is jealous of Bae's popularity, or maybe Chang is just trying to inflate his own dwindling popularity by creating conflict in the showbiz world.

Looks like Japanese star Seiko Matsuda's 15 minutes of fame have come and gone. See ya! PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES

Unfortunately for Japanese pop singer Seiko Matsuda (松田聖子) and Hong Kong actor Tony Leung (梁朝偉), Bae's arrival in Taiwan caused them trouble. The youthful-looking Seiko arrived the same day as Bae, but her reception lacked major press and fans. Later at Seiko's pop concert, the fans still stayed away. Pop Stop, however, is of the opinion that Bae cannot be blamed for the no-show and Seiko has overstayed her allotted 15 minutes in the limelight and should step off the stage gracefully.

Like Bae, Leung arrived in Taipei last week for a promotional event, but arrived one day earlier so he could get more public attention. Leung simply smiled when he was questioned about competing with the South Korean star at a press conference, and went on to talk about his

Hollywood plans.

According to the Liberty Times, Leung met up with the novelist Lawrence Block to talk about a detective script tailor-made for the actor. When Leung makes his Hollywood debut he is expected to be the producer and the leading actor.

Overshadowed and most likely jealous of the new babes in showbiz, such as Lin Chih-ling (林志玲) and Patty Hou (侯佩岑), has-been Stephanie Hsiao (蕭薔) struck back with a new love affair -- but with her long-term partner, photographer Lin Bing-cun (林炳存). Both parties naturally denied the rumor though, which makes the whole thing even more ridiculous.

Pleading for forgiveness, love cheat Wang Yu (汪雨) bought his girlfriend, Chinese actress/singer Vicky Zhao (趙薇), a mansion worth NT$120 million. Vicky stood strong and didn't fall for Wang's ploy. Next Magazine (壹週刊) recently spotted Vicky getting pissed up and acting like a party animal in Zhuhai, China.

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