China and Singapore are already in on Jay Chou's (周杰倫) Secret (不能說的秘密) so there won't be many surprises when the film gets its nationwide release tonight in Taiwan (see p17 for the review). Pop Stop has seen some of the rushes and basically, Chairman Chou (周董) directs himself, playing himself, in a celluloid diary of self-love worthy of a latter-day Dorian Gray.
The 28-year-old plays a music student at his alma mater, Tamkang high school in Danshui. True to his bio, he has problems at home growing up and tinkling the ivories is a form of escapism. According to interviews, his first love (after himself) is the inspiration for the movie.
"It happened when I was about 14," he told Channel Newsasia. "On her birthday, I brought her to a park, told her to close her eyes and then set off some firecrackers. It was like a scene from a movie." Not surprisingly, the self-absorbed pyromaniac was dumped. "She broke up with me saying the exams were near."
Pop Stop's difficulty here is that his pursuit of a schoolgirl looks perverse. Chou is old enough to need a rug that covers his receding fringe, and expects us to feel comfortable with him pursuing and kissing a girl in uniform (played by Guey Lun-mei (桂綸鎂). Surely, even Oscar Wilde is turning uncomfortably in his grave.
The movie had its Taipei premiere on Tuesday, when The Chairman warned hacks' criticism would be noted and preclude invitation to future openings. Pop Stop, it is safe to assume, will not be on the list, but recalls the advice given in Dorian Gray. "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."
The price for lunch with Pace Wu (吳佩慈), according to a Hong Kong mama san, is NT$1.25 million. She doesn't need the money, however, as she has taken ET Mall for a NT$7 million ride. Next Magazine said Eastern Multimedia Group (EMG) paid out this sum for the Taiwanese model to publicize its fashion and shopping Web site.
But Wu refused to play ball. When she was asked to disport herself near naked in a pile of designer bags she instead turned up in a gauzy, white outfit. She was requested to model bras, but would only wear a nightshirt. They asked her to write a blog, but she couldn't find anything to say. This so enraged EMG it banned her and other models from her agency, like Vivian Hsu (徐若瑄), from appearing on its TV programs. Hell hath no fury like a media giant scorned.
Chen Yu-han (陳瑀涵) famously increased her bust size from a barely noticeable 32C to a "supersize me" 34D after eight months of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Not. The former Miss Asia contestant was "devastated" after photos of her showering were put on the web, according to Next. The magazine said her "basketball boobs" were filmed bouncing around in the shower when shooting a video to promote the launch of her singing career. Chen said the photos were stolen and uploaded by fiends in the MV director's company. Cynics will point out this is a suspiciously obvious method of getting free publicity.
Finally, an introduction to the human body. Readers of the local rags may have noted that various states of undress are given a rating. These are called "exposure points" (露點) and go from one (breast) to two (breasts). Models get three points for a vertical smile and a maximum of four when they make an ass of themselves.
“China wants to unify with Taiwan at the lowest possible cost, and it currently believes that unification will become easier and less costly as time passes,” wrote Amanda Hsiao (蕭嫣然) and Bonnie Glaser in Foreign Affairs (“Why China Waits”) this month, describing how the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is playing the long game in its quest to seize Taiwan. This has been a favorite claim of many writers over the years, easy to argue because it is so trite. Very obviously, if the PRC isn’t attacking Taiwan, it is waiting. But for what? Hsiao and Glaser’s main point is trivial,
May 18 to May 24 Gathered on Yangtou Mountain (羊頭山) on Dec. 5, 1972, Taiwan’s hiking enthusiasts formally declared the formation of the “100 Peaks Club” (百岳俱樂部) and unveiled the final list of mountains. Famed mountaineer Lin Wen-an (林文安) led this effort for the Chinese Alpine Association (中華山岳協會). Working with other experienced climbers, he chose 100 peaks above 10,000 feet (3,048m) that featured triangulation points and varied in difficulty and character. The list sparked an alpine hiking craze, inspiring many to take up mountaineering and competing to “conquer” the summits. A common misconception is that the 100 Peaks represent Taiwan’s 100 tallest
Taiwan’s overtaking of South Korea in GDP per capita is not a temporary anomaly, but the result of deeper structural problems in the South Korean economy says Chang Young-chul, the former CEO of Korea Asset Management Corp. Chang says that while it reflects Taiwan’s own gains, it also highlights weakening growth momentum in South Korea. As design and foundry capabilities become more important in the AI era, Seoul risks losing competitiveness if it relies too heavily on memory chips. IMF forecasts showing Taiwan widening its lead over South Korea have fueled debate in Seoul over memory chip dependence, industrial policy and
Yesterday, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) nominated legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) as their Taipei mayoral candidate, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) put their stamp of approval on Wei Ping-cheng (魏平政) as their candidate for Changhua County commissioner and former legislator Tsai Pi-ru (蔡壁如) of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) has begun the process to also run in Changhua, though she has not yet been formally nominated. All three news items are bizarre. The DPP has struggled with settling on a Taipei nominee. The only candidate who declared interest was Enoch Wu (吳怡農), but the party seemed determined to nominate anyone
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