There were rumblings of discontent in luvvie land last week when Government Information Office (GIO) minister Pasuya Yao (姚文智) held back the list of nominations for Best Drama for the annual Golden Bell Awards (金鐘獎). In his
defense, Yao said the list was leaked to the press before it was officially signed and released, and he had no
intention of manipulating the jury's decision. The minister then doled out seven more awards and 35 more nominations to placate the grumblers.
In somewhat related news, the Golden Horse Awards Ceremony (金馬獎) (which is also managed by the GIO) suffered a blow when TV hostess Momoko Tao (陶子) said she would not be doing the hostess job this year and recommended Patty Hou (侯佩岑) as her replacement. The motive behind Tao's move was said to be that she had problems with the way Yao had handled the Golden Bell episode. Another explanation was said to be that Tao simply wanted to accompany her boyfriend actor Lili Ren (李李仁), rather than upstage him.
Among those who are suffering from the knock-on effects of Yao's missteps, ETTV (東森) seems to be the most innocent victim. As the network commissioned to produce and broadcast the awards ceremony, ETTV needs to spend another NT$1 million for longer airing time and more presenters because of the added awards and nominations. Well, hopefully our government officers can think twice next time, before they turn the whole world upside down again.
Comedian Peng Chia-chia (澎恰恰) is still in the media spotlight. Actress Lu Ching (盧靚), Peng and others involved in an alleged VCD blackmail scandal confronted one another for the first time in court last week after Peng claimed he was being blackmailed over a naked video of him masturbating. Lu said Peng had sexually harassed her for the past two years and a surveillance camera in her room had caught Peng naked in her apartment for two hours. She said she kept the video to protect herself and didn't attempt to extort money from the entertainer.
Both Pang and Lu put on outstandingly melodramatic performances and the only thing they agreed upon was that they never had sexual intercourse. This modern sex story is far from coming to a close, however, so readers please be patient, this farce will drag on for quite some time yet.
Following Li Ao's (李敖) controversial trip to Beijing University, Jet Li (李連杰) was also invited to deliver a speech at the university last week. Li opened his speech, according to a local Chinese-language daily, by confessing that "an elementary school drop-out seems not to be qualified to stand on the platform of one of the most prestigious universities. But, it's true, I really didn't graduate from elementary school." The kung-fu master needn't have acted so humble because according to an on-line poll, he was voted as the most welcome celebrity to give a speech at Beijing University, beating Li Ao by 10 percent.
International star Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) was in town to attend the opening of a designer boutique last Friday. The big, shining blue sapphire ring on her finger generated curiosity about her one-year-old relationship with Jean Todt, the director of Formula One's Ferrari team. The 43-year-old, well-maintained star said neither marriage nor babies is on her life agenda. "I have five godsons and goddaughters. It suits me even better because I don't need to raise them myself," she is quoted as saying in the Liberty Times (自由時報). Local fans will see the free-spirited star early next year when she returns to promote Memoirs of a Geisha (藝妓回憶錄), a highly anticipated film co-staring Zhang Ziyi (章子怡) and Gong Li (鞏俐).
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