Although the birth of Angelina Jolie's and Brad Pitt's new baby girl may be regarded as one of the biggest celebrity news items of the century by Western media,Chinese diva Faye Wang (王菲) took some of the limelight last week, giving birth to her second daughter on the same day. Wang's husband Li Ya-peng (李亞鵬) shed tears of delight at the sight of child, who weighed 4kg, a big child by Asian standards.
You would have thought that this would bring an end to the two-week stake out by Chinese-language media, who wouldn't let Wang out of their sight in the lead up to the birth. Hong Kong media estimated that the total cost of following the star day and night was around NT$4 million. But there is no rest for the paparazzi, who are in an all out race to take the first photo of the baby, a money shot worth NT$2 million. This is small potatoes compared to the NT$160 million which the photo of Jolie's baby fetched.
As for the future Wang's plans: to become the contracted star at Li's agency firm and work at giving him a son.
On the international scene, Taiwan's biggest-budget horror flick, Silk (
Love seemed to have been in the air at Cannes. Thailand-born, Hong Kong-based director Oxide Pang (彭順) was in high-spirits at the showing of his new horror flick, Re-cycle (鬼域), and opened his heart to the press about his romance with the film's leading actress, Angelica Lee (李心潔). "When I saw her for the first time, I knew she was mine," Pang said. Through reporters, he even proposed marriage, but Lee played cute saying "I'm not hearing you."
Local celebrities are now gearing up for the 17th Golden Melody Awards (金曲獎), Taiwan's equivalent of the US Grammies, which is ready to roll on June 10 at the Taipei Arena (台北巨蛋). The Internet is already buzzing with predictions as who will take away the big prizes at Taiwan's most important musical event, which will be attended by some of Asia's hottest musicians. Yet one can easily detect some friction in the heated discussion over this year's less than star-studded nomination list. The Double J pair of Jay Chou (周杰倫) and Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) are notably absent.
With significantly fewer consistent hit-song singers among the nominations, some people have questioned the jury members' expertise, suggesting that if the top-ten teen crowd is not catered to, nobody will pay much attention to the Golden Melody event. Others have praised the judges for sticking to principles and not bowing to popular taste.
Whatever the reasons, the pop idols have been squeezed out by the alternative crowd.
The biggest surprise is Best Male Singer nominee Puyuma folk singer Kimbo, also known as Hu De-fu (
Previously ignored by the Golden Melody, ABT R&B musician David Tao (陶吉吉) finds justice with the album The Great Leap Forward 2005 (太平盛世), which earned him six nominations in the Best Male Singer, Best Album and Best Song categories. To the dismay of many, Wang Lee-hom's (王力宏) Heroes of Earth, one of last year's best selling record, only earned him a single nomination for Best Male Singer, and with critics saying that his new album offers little that is different from his previous work, he is not favored for the prize.
According to an ongoing online poll at the official Golden Melody Awards Web site, it is the lesser known musician Ken Wu (
As for the female leads, Malaysia-born folk rock singer Penny Tai (
Taiwan alt-rock godfather Wu Bai (
Behind a car repair business on a nondescript Thai street are the cherished pets of a rising TikTok animal influencer: two lions and a 200-kilogram lion-tiger hybrid called “Big George.” Lion ownership is legal in Thailand, and Tharnuwarht Plengkemratch is an enthusiastic advocate, posting updates on his feline companions to nearly three million followers. “They’re playful and affectionate, just like dogs or cats,” he said from inside their cage complex at his home in the northern city of Chiang Mai. Thailand’s captive lion population has exploded in recent years, with nearly 500 registered in zoos, breeding farms, petting cafes and homes. Experts warn the
No one saw it coming. Everyone — including the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) — expected at least some of the recall campaigns against 24 of its lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) to succeed. Underground gamblers reportedly expected between five and eight lawmakers to lose their jobs. All of this analysis made sense, but contained a fatal flaw. The record of the recall campaigns, the collapse of the KMT-led recalls, and polling data all pointed to enthusiastic high turnout in support of the recall campaigns, and that those against the recalls were unenthusiastic and far less likely to vote. That
A couple of weeks ago the parties aligned with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), voted in the legislature to eliminate the subsidy that enables Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) to keep up with its burgeoning debt, and instead pay for universal cash handouts worth NT$10,000. The subsidy would have been NT$100 billion, while the cash handout had a budget of NT$235 billion. The bill mandates that the cash payments must be completed by Oct. 31 of this year. The changes were part of the overall NT$545 billion budget approved
The unexpected collapse of the recall campaigns is being viewed through many lenses, most of them skewed and self-absorbed. The international media unsurprisingly focuses on what they perceive as the message that Taiwanese voters were sending in the failure of the mass recall, especially to China, the US and to friendly Western nations. This made some sense prior to early last month. One of the main arguments used by recall campaigners for recalling Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers was that they were too pro-China, and by extension not to be trusted with defending the nation. Also by extension, that argument could be
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