The biggest extravaganza taking place in Chinese-speaking showbiz circles this week is TV hostess Momoko Tao (
Tao's close friend, Chinese singer Na Ying (那英) reportedly blurted out her true feelings via a private phonecall with Tao. "You really have the guts to ask for wedding money as far away as Beijing?" Na is quoted as saying in a Chinese-language daily.
Family values are back in fashion with stars tying the knot and having babies all over the place. Sexy mom Chen Xiao-xuan (
Curiously, the former victim of domestic violence Wang Jing-yin (
Roving reporters turned their attention to the sexy mom's erstwhile boyfriend, TV host Jackie Wu (
But Wu didn't keep his month shut about his former buddy Hu Gua's (
As rumors of Hu's cheating at an illegal gambling joint mount, his market value seems to be rapidly going down. The scandal has so far cost him millions of dollars in missed opportunities to host year-end TV shows and wei ya (
Mando-pop queen A-mei(
A-mei's agent said the star's fee for wei ya shows will stay the same despite increasing market demand, that is, NT$3 million for a single show. Simple math suggests the star's year-end bonuses from local enterprises could easily exceed hundreds of millions of bucks.
A-mei proved a hit at the gay bar Funky on Hangzhou S Rd, Taipei (
Singaporean singer Stefanie Sun (
Cheng Ching-hsiang (鄭青祥) turned a small triangle of concrete jammed between two old shops into a cool little bar called 9dimension. In front of the shop, a steampunk-like structure was welded by himself to serve as a booth where he prepares cocktails. “Yancheng used to be just old people,” he says, “but now young people are coming and creating the New Yancheng.” Around the corner, Yu Hsiu-jao (饒毓琇), opened Tiny Cafe. True to its name, it is the size of a cupboard and serves cold-brewed coffee. “Small shops are so special and have personality,” she says, “people come to Yancheng to find such treasures.” She
Late last month Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro told the Philippine Senate that the nation has sufficient funds to evacuate the nearly 170,000 Filipino residents in Taiwan, 84 percent of whom are migrant workers, in the event of war. Agencies have been exploring evacuation scenarios since early this year, she said. She also observed that since the Philippines has only limited ships, the government is consulting security agencies for alternatives. Filipinos are a distant third in overall migrant worker population. Indonesia has over 248,000 workers, followed by roughly 240,000 Vietnamese. It should be noted that there are another 170,000
Hannah Liao (廖宸萱) recalls the harassment she experienced on dating apps, an experience that left her frightened and disgusted. “I’ve tried some voice-based dating apps,” the 30-year-old says. “Right away, some guys would say things like, ‘Wanna talk dirty?’ or ‘Wanna suck my d**k?’” she says. Liao’s story is not unique. Ministry of Health and Welfare statistics show a more than 50 percent rise in sexual assault cases related to online encounters over the past five years. In 2023 alone, women comprised 7,698 of the 9,413 reported victims. Faced with a dating landscape that can feel more predatory than promising, many in
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu’s (洪秀柱) attendance at the Chinese Communist Party’s (CPP) “Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War” parade in Beijing is infuriating, embarrassing and insulting to nearly everyone in Taiwan, and Taiwan’s friends and allies. She is also ripping off bandages and pouring salt into old wounds. In the process she managed to tie both the KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) into uncomfortable knots. The KMT continues to honor their heroic fighters, who defended China against the invading Japanese Empire, which inflicted unimaginable horrors on the