Pop Stop would be negligent of its duty if it failed to report on the latest twists and turns of gossip rag fodder Terry Gou's (郭台銘) latest affair(s) of the heart and wallet. Recently admitting to gossip hounds that his feelings for Carina Lau (劉嘉玲) are genuine and serious, one of Taiwan's most minted men nevertheless shared the love by flying Lin Chi-ling (林志玲) in his private jet to host grand parties at his IT empire's redoubts.
The tycoon's courtship game with Lin was made official at his company's evening party in Shanxi Province, China, last Friday when the national sweetheart-turned-private hostess played the role of a fan-holding fortune-teller offering her divination on Gou's future love. "There is no need to forecast my love life since I am the one who is in control not fate, and I'm not interested in the fan but the person who is holding it," said subtle-as-a-sledgehammer Gou.
Lin later said that Gou was just using her, not for her looks, or her intellectual prowess, but as a cloak to hide his real intentions towards Lau. The tycoon-turned-playboy touched on his latest progress with the Hong Kong diva by mentioning his rival in love for the first time. "Tony Leung (梁朝偉) is my mom's favorite actor and I think he has more merit than I," Gou was quoted as saying, suggesting the well-preserved star may be out of the picture.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
Is the whole convoluted affair a contrived circus for the media to boost Gou's chances of becoming a movie mogul, or, heavens above, is he really just a player?
Another budding relation-ship in the spotlight is between the queen of Mando-pop Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) and foreign-educated wannabe star Eddie Peng (彭于晏). The pretty boy is reportedly following Tsai from online chat rooms to late night parties.
Peng's strategy seems to be working as Tsai told members of the local press last week that, "Peng is a good friend that I can talk to," which in dating game speak roughly translates as, "ya, I like him and we'll see how it goes."
Ah! Love, power, money, lust and fame — what a heady mix. At least Hong Kong actor Andy Lau (劉德華) has other things on his mind. The star, it is widely speculated, is going bald.
When cornered by local paparazzi, Lau laughed off questions about his reportedly thinning mop top, but failed to explain why hats have become an indispensable part of his outfits these days.
One of Taiwan's most famous pop culture exports, the disbanded boy band F4, will unite again in Taipei, for a handsome profit of course. Their get-together party with fans, to be held next month, will draw over 5,000 devotees from neighboring countries such as Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, it is reported.
Beijing’s ironic, abusive tantrums aimed at Japan since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi publicly stated that a Taiwan contingency would be an existential crisis for Japan, have revealed for all the world to see that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) lusts after Okinawa. We all owe Takaichi a debt of thanks for getting the PRC to make that public. The PRC and its netizens, taking their cue from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), are presenting Okinawa by mirroring the claims about Taiwan. Official PRC propaganda organs began to wax lyrical about Okinawa’s “unsettled status” beginning last month. A Global
Taiwan’s democracy is at risk. Be very alarmed. This is not a drill. The current constitutional crisis progressed slowly, then suddenly. Political tensions, partisan hostility and emotions are all running high right when cool heads and calm negotiation are most needed. Oxford defines brinkmanship as: “The art or practice of pursuing a dangerous policy to the limits of safety before stopping, especially in politics.” It says the term comes from a quote from a 1956 Cold War interview with then-American Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, when he said: ‘The ability to get to the verge without getting into the war is
Dec. 22 to Dec. 28 About 200 years ago, a Taoist statue drifted down the Guizikeng River (貴子坑) and was retrieved by a resident of the Indigenous settlement of Kipatauw. Decades later, in the late 1800s, it’s said that a descendant of the original caretaker suddenly entered into a trance and identified the statue as a Wangye (Royal Lord) deity surnamed Chi (池府王爺). Lord Chi is widely revered across Taiwan for his healing powers, and following this revelation, some members of the Pan (潘) family began worshipping the deity. The century that followed was marked by repeated forced displacement and marginalization of
Music played in a wedding hall in western Japan as Yurina Noguchi, wearing a white gown and tiara, dabbed away tears, taking in the words of her husband-to-be: an AI-generated persona gazing out from a smartphone screen. “At first, Klaus was just someone to talk with, but we gradually became closer,” said the 32-year-old call center operator, referring to the artificial intelligence persona. “I started to have feelings for Klaus. We started dating and after a while he proposed to me. I accepted, and now we’re a couple.” Many in Japan, the birthplace of anime, have shown extreme devotion to fictional characters and
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