Singer-turned-producer Bao Xiao-bo (包小柏) was assaulted by four gangsters dressed in black at Chinese Television System (華視) studios earlier this week.
While slapping Bao around the ruffians were said to have warned him to watch what he says in the future. Bao was one of the jurists who harshly criticized Ken Yu (余祥銓), the son of veteran entertainer Yu Tien (余天) one month ago, which allegedly trig-gered his nervous breakdown.
Rumors quickly spread, pointing to Yu as a possible mastermind behind the attack. In response Yu swore he would never take such action and condemned the violence. The family drama reached another climax when the apparently vulnerable son suffered yet another breakdown after hearing news of the assault.
A trawl through online chat sites and forums revealed what some members of the public are thinking: it's just no good a guy breaking down every two or three weeks.
Malaysian-born Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) is a sought-after star for both Chinese-language and international mega-budget movies, but not for Jet Li's (李連杰) new kung fu flick Fearless (霍元甲). Her part in the film found it's way onto the editing room floor.
Director Runny Yu (于仁泰) explained that the film would exceed two-hours running time if Yeoh's character was left in. As for Yeoh, the star struck a diplomatic note saying, "I respect the director's decision."
Hong Kong star Jordan Chan (陳小春) has become embroiled in the fallout from Gigi Leung (梁詠琪) and Ekin Cheng's (鄭伊健) split. Hong Kong press reported Leung had complained about Cheng in private after the breakup, saying there had been some bad influences on Cheng and Chan was one of them.
Chan wasted no time retalia-ting in gossip columns by saying, "It's really not a polite thing to say about me ... and I am supportive of Ekin about the split."
Home-grown pretty girl Little S (小S) became a mom last week and like every mom in the world, she believes her baby girl is the cutest thing on earth. "My baby is a super model in the baby world," the exuberant new mom proclaimed.
But the local entertainment industry may lose a potential super star as the family is worried that living conditions in Taiwan are deteriorating and plans to send the baby abroad for a better life.
On a more patriotic note, taike-chic promoters Chang Chen-yue (
The two said the term taimei has nothing to do with petty provincialism and is a compliment for girls who are confident, daring, wear attention-grabbing outfits and don't care about being high-society phonies.
To their mind, Shu Qi (舒淇) is premium taimei material. Also on the top taimei list are Jolin Tsai (蔡依林), Little S, Aboriginal stars A-mei (張惠妹) and Landy (溫嵐).
Local soap-opera actor Chen Zhao-rong (陳昭榮) divulged alarming news last week by admitting he and Mando-diva Faye Wang's (王菲) husband Li Ya-peng (李亞鵬) will be part-ners in an Internet business project. Chen said Li had long wished to leave the hostile showbiz world and with Wang start a new career. So it seems that the diva may step out of the spotlight any minute and become an entrepreneur, or else a supportive housewife.
What was the population of Taiwan when the first Negritos arrived? In 500BC? The 1st century? The 18th? These questions are important, because they can contextualize the number of babies born last month, 6,523, to all the people on Taiwan, indigenous and colonial alike. That figure represents a year on year drop of 3,884 babies, prefiguring total births under 90,000 for the year. It also represents the 26th straight month of deaths exceeding births. Why isn’t this a bigger crisis? Because we don’t experience it. Instead, what we experience is a growing and more diverse population. POPULATION What is Taiwan’s actual population?
For the past five years, Sammy Jou (周祥敏) has climbed Kinmen’s highest peak, Taiwu Mountain (太武山) at 6am before heading to work. In the winter, it’s dark when he sets out but even at this hour, other climbers are already coming down the mountain. All of this is a big change from Jou’s childhood during the Martial Law period, when the military requisitioned the mountain for strategic purposes and most of it was off-limits. Back then, only two mountain trails were open, and they were open only during special occasions, such as for prayers to one’s ancestors during Lunar New Year.
A key feature of Taiwan’s environmental impact assessments (EIA) is that they seldom stop projects, especially once the project has passed its second stage EIA review (the original Suhua Highway proposal, killed after passing the second stage review, seems to be the lone exception). Mingjian Township (名間鄉) in Nantou County has been the site of rising public anger over the proposed construction of a waste incinerator in an important agricultural area. The township is a key producer of tea (over 40 percent of the island’s production), ginger and turmeric. The incinerator project is currently in its second stage EIA. The incinerator
You would never believe Yancheng District (鹽埕) used to be a salt field. Today, it is a bustling, artsy, Kowloon-ish “old town” of Kaohsiung — full of neon lights, small shops, scooters and street food. Two hundred years ago, before Japanese occupiers developed a shipping powerhouse around it, Yancheng was a flat triangle where seawater was captured and dried to collect salt. This is what local art galleries are revealing during the first edition of the Yancheng Arts Festival. Shen Yu-rung (沈裕融), the main curator, says: “We chose the connection with salt as a theme. The ocean is still very near, just a
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