Chinese director Zhang Yimou's (張藝謀) highly anticipated film Memoirs of a Geisha (藝妓回憶錄) had a grand preview screening last Saturday in New York City. Judging from the less than enthusiastic response from the press after the screening, the film is probably not going to do too well at next year's Oscars.
Attention mainly focused on the performances given by Zhang Ziyi (
Most critics seem to agree that Gong's supporting role as a crazy villain stole the show, leaving leading lady Zhang in the shadows.
Zhang struck back with her improved language skills at an interview session with the international press, held after the screening .
Zhang's marketablilty has been rated in an online poll that used various indexes such as remuneration, endorsement fees and advertisement to assess female stars on both sides of the strait.
Zhang took first place, worth a cool NT$480 million, followed closely by Maggie Cheung (
Mando-pop singer Elva Hsiao (
After Hsiao spent NT$2 million making a pilgrimage to Los Angeles to learn fresh dance moves for her new album originally planned for release next month, Warner Music suddenly decided to pull the plug on the project.
The reason is said to be that Singaporean Stefanie Sun's (
Sun's lackluster record sales have made music giants and pop stars quiver in their boots, with even smash-hitter David Tao (
Dubbed as the new teen boy killer, Yang put on her trademark sweet-doll smile to fend off the criticism, saying she didn't believe Tao would say something so bitter and the comments were a paparazzi ruse.
Spoiled rich girl Paris Hilton may come to Taiwan for New Year. Chinese Television System (CTS, 華視) has been working its ass off to invite the star to promote her TV series The Simple Life which currently airs on CTS. Her agent is said to be satisfied with CTS' plan and the possibility of her coming is high. If the Hollywood social butterfly decides to come, then local high society dames and stars will surely have a hell of a time searching for high-end luxu-ries to vie with the heiress.
Newly endorsed movie queen Shu Qi (舒淇) was spotted at a temple in Keelung thanking the Goddess of Mercy for helping her wish to become the best leading actress come true. Shu said she had gone through a period of mild depression after Three Times (最好的時光). The shrink didn't work so the star turned to Buddhism, Taoism and Christianity for spiritual comfort. It looks like the piety paid off and even won her a secular reward.
Water management is one of the most powerful forces shaping modern Taiwan’s landscapes and politics. Many of Taiwan’s township and county boundaries are defined by watersheds. The current course of the mighty Jhuoshuei River (濁水溪) was largely established by Japanese embankment building during the 1918-1923 period. Taoyuan is dotted with ponds constructed by settlers from China during the Qing period. Countless local civic actions have been driven by opposition to water projects. Last week something like 2,600mm of rain fell on southern Taiwan in seven days, peaking at over 2,800mm in Duona (多納) in Kaohsiung’s Maolin District (茂林), according to
It’s Aug. 8, Father’s Day in Taiwan. I asked a Chinese chatbot a simple question: “How is Father’s Day celebrated in Taiwan and China?” The answer was as ideological as it was unexpected. The AI said Taiwan is “a region” (地區) and “a province of China” (中國的省份). It then adopted the collective pronoun “we” to praise the holiday in the voice of the “Chinese government,” saying Father’s Day aligns with “core socialist values” of the “Chinese nation.” The chatbot was DeepSeek, the fastest growing app ever to reach 100 million users (in seven days!) and one of the world’s most advanced and
The latest edition of the Japan-Taiwan Fruit Festival took place in Kaohsiung on July 26 and 27. During the weekend, the dockside in front of the iconic Music Center was full of food stalls, and a stage welcomed performers. After the French-themed festival earlier in the summer, this is another example of Kaohsiung’s efforts to make the city more international. The event was originally initiated by the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association in 2022. The goal was “to commemorate [the association’s] 50th anniversary and further strengthen the longstanding friendship between Japan and Taiwan,” says Kaohsiung Director-General of International Affairs Chang Yen-ching (張硯卿). “The first two editions
It was Christmas Eve 2024 and 19-year-old Chloe Cheung was lying in bed at home in Leeds when she found out the Chinese authorities had put a bounty on her head. As she scrolled through Instagram looking at festive songs, a stream of messages from old school friends started coming into her phone. Look at the news, they told her. Media outlets across east Asia were reporting that Cheung, who had just finished her A-levels, had been declared a threat to national security by officials in Hong Kong. There was an offer of HK$1m (NT$3.81 million) to anyone who could assist
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