At the Venice International Film Festival awards ceremony last Saturday, Ang Lee (
The novelist said that during the judging panel's intense meetings, some members thought Lee's film wasn't impressive enough and wanted to let Good Night, and Good Luck by George Clooney win the top award. "But I convinced them that Brokeback Mountain was almost perfect, in every aspect. And eventually I turned the judges' opinions around and saved the film," Zhong is quoted as saying in the Apple Daily (
Perhaps we should have known film festival awards are less focused on artistic achievements, and are rather based on ethnic considerations and the art of persuasion commonly exerted by salespersons. Our mistake.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
Mando-pop star Little S (
marriage, following the newly weds wherever they went, from the airport, to the ceremony, to a private family gathering. Most entertainment pages were taken over by photos of the star's
smiling face, with commentaries saying she is the luckiest woman on earth because the mom-to-be married a man who could provide financial security and a connection to a family which is far more valuable than her career.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
So, gays, feminists and radical socialists beware! Traditional family values are making a comeback, and the ideas of marriage and having babies are still deeply rooted in society's collective consciousness. And yes, brave comrades, there is still a long way to go.
Ken Chu (朱孝天) of boy band F4 and Taiwanese sex kitten Kelly Lin (林熙蕾) have emerged as the latest hot couple in showbiz. According to the Liberty Times (自由時報), the couple has been secretly dating for a while, but the affair was downplayed by friends. "Lin has so many
admirers. This long-distance romance will definitely be the shortest-lived relationship ever," one mutual friend is quoted as saying in the daily.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
Chu doesn't seem to mind the ill-intended prediction. Judging from snap shots of him attending a wedding last weekend, the young guy seems to have let himself go with a dodgy mustache and an outfit that should have caught the attention of the fashion police.
Disney World in Hong Kong had a grand opening this week, and a troupe of super stars were invited to show up. Local media paid especially close attention to the interaction between two Chinese divas, Gong Li (
It’s only half the size of its more famous counterpart in Taipei, but the Botanical Garden of the National Museum of Nature Science (NMNS, 國立自然科學博物館植物園) is surely one of urban Taiwan’s most inviting green spaces. Covering 4.5 hectares immediately northeast of the government-run museum in Taichung’s North District (北區), the garden features more than 700 plant species, many of which are labeled in Chinese but not in English. Since its establishment in 1999, the site’s managers have done their best to replicate a number of native ecosystems, dividing the site into eight areas. The name of the Coral Atoll Zone might
On Monday morning, in quick succession, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) released statements announcing “that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and General Secretary Xi Jinping (習近平) have invited KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) to lead a delegation on a visit to the mainland” as the KMT’s press release worded it. The KMT’s press release added “Chairwoman Cheng expressed her gratitude for the invitation and has gladly accepted it.” Beijing’s official Xinhua news release described Song Tao (宋濤), head of the Taiwan Work Office of the CCP Central Committee, as
Nuclear power is getting a second look in Southeast Asia as countries prepare to meet surging energy demand as they vie for artificial intelligence-focused data centers. Several Southeast Asian nations are reviving mothballed nuclear plans and setting ambitious targets and nearly half of the region could, if they pursue those goals, have nuclear energy in the 2030s. Even countries without current plans have signaled their interest. Southeast Asia has never produced a single watt of nuclear energy, despite long-held atomic ambitions. But that may soon change as pressure mounts to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change, while meeting growing power needs. The
Last week saw Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), former Taipei mayor and founder of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), receive a 17-year sentence for crimes involving political corruption. This was only the opening round: the case is likely to drag on for several more years in appeals. Both the TPP and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) are claiming that the prosecutors are engaging in a political witch hunt, green terror, fascism and so forth. It is easy to see this as a kind of compensation. After all, otherwise they would have to admit that the rather impressive collection of evidence against Ko actually
RSS