Christmas arrived a few days late for the paparazzi tailing lady killer-turned-boozehound David Tao (陶吉吉) - but it was worth the wait.
Much to the delight of the nation's tabloid journalists, the pop idol has been lighting it up with great frequency ever since last year's string of widely reported flings with mixed-race models. It was only a matter of time before the handsome barfly got caught making a fool out of himself.
That came sooner than expected. Last Friday night, after a bender at the uber-trendy Barcode lounge in Taipei's Xinyi District, Tao's taxi driver dropped him off at a nearby police station because the booze-addled star was unable to recall where he lived.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
Obviously more than a few sheets to the wind, Tao became a little too friendly with local law enforcement, engaging in amiable antics like high-fiving, incessant small talk, and fawning over officers who just wanted the inebriated star to stand still. Tao's lively display of drunkenness even included calling the Next magazine paparazzo who had been called to record the silly scene his "bro."
The late-night farce ended with an unexpected grand finale when Tao tried to show his gratitude by planting a kiss on a woman who had been dispatched to escort him home.
In a more touching turn of events, Selina - she of girl band S.H.E - is said to have found herself a new Prince Charming after years of failed romances with showbiz peers such as Alan Luo (羅志祥), Mickey Huang (黃子佼), the aforementioned David Tao and Wang Lee-hom (王力宏).
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
The 26-year-old starlet's marriage prospects look to have improved greatly ever since the arrival of square-looking, suit-wearing lawyer boyfriend Chang Cheng-chung (張承中), who won the star's affection after two years of persistent wooing.
Selina is evidently a cheap date, at least that's the conclusion drawn by Next's first expose on their until-now well-hidden relationship. Evidently, a plebian dinner with her 37-year-old beau at a Formosa Chang's (鬍鬚張) franchise - they had minced fatty pork over rice (魯肉飯) - was romantic enough for the pop idol.
Moving on now to news about intellectual property, no sooner did the crooners of boy band Lollipop (棒棒堂) release their first album than they were exposed as a (boy) band of copycats. The guys from the Channel V variety show had plagiarized around 90 percent of their lyrics and music video content, it seems, from Japanese acts News and Hey! Say! Jump.
Then again, who expected originality from a bunch of pretty faces with voice coaches whose only talents are knowing how to grin deliciously and act cute?
This week's New Year Eve's celebrations once again saw a legion of stars answering the call to see off the old year. Hard-working rockers Champion (強辯) topped the rest, rushing to five concerts across the nation on the night of Dec. 31, 2007. ABT idol Wang Lee-hom earned second place with three performances, from Tainan to Kaohsiung.
However Wang had it easy. He only had to take the High Speed Rail to his shows. Shin (信), of Shin Band (信樂團), however, took a much more circuitous route involving a scooter, Taipei's MRT, the High Speed Rail and, finally, a car to travel from Taipei to Yunlin.
Seeing idols cash in on publicly-funded New Year's bashes is all very well and good, but Pop Stop can't help but wonder just when our city and county governments will come up with a year-end celebration that's more inspiring than a litany of sickly sweet pop tunes.
Every now and then, it’s nice to just point somewhere on a map and head out with no plan. In Taiwan, where convenience reigns, food options are plentiful and people are generally friendly and helpful, this type of trip is that much easier to pull off. One day last November, a spur-of-the-moment day hike in the hills of Chiayi County turned into a surprisingly memorable experience that impressed on me once again how fortunate we all are to call this island home. The scenery I walked through that day — a mix of forest and farms reaching up into the clouds
With one week left until election day, the drama is high in the race for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chair. The race is still potentially wide open between the three frontrunners. The most accurate poll is done by Apollo Survey & Research Co (艾普羅民調公司), which was conducted a week and a half ago with two-thirds of the respondents party members, who are the only ones eligible to vote. For details on the candidates, check the Oct. 4 edition of this column, “A look at the KMT chair candidates” on page 12. The popular frontrunner was 56-year-old Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文)
“How China Threatens to Force Taiwan Into a Total Blackout” screamed a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) headline last week, yet another of the endless clickbait examples of the energy threat via blockade that doesn’t exist. Since the headline is recycled, I will recycle the rebuttal: once industrial power demand collapses (there’s a blockade so trade is gone, remember?) “a handful of shops and factories could run for months on coal and renewables, as Ko Yun-ling (柯昀伶) and Chao Chia-wei (趙家緯) pointed out in a piece at Taiwan Insight earlier this year.” Sadly, the existence of these facts will not stop the
Oct. 13 to Oct. 19 When ordered to resign from her teaching position in June 1928 due to her husband’s anti-colonial activities, Lin Shih-hao (林氏好) refused to back down. The next day, she still showed up at Tainan Second Preschool, where she was warned that she would be fired if she didn’t comply. Lin continued to ignore the orders and was eventually let go without severance — even losing her pay for that month. Rather than despairing, she found a non-government job and even joined her husband Lu Ping-ting’s (盧丙丁) non-violent resistance and labor rights movements. When the government’s 1931 crackdown
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