Big S (大S) has hit the headlines of the Chinese-language media yet again, this time for putting an end to her two-and-a-half year romance with F4 band member Vic Chou (周渝民). Rumors abound, ranging from the prosaic but credible "divergent career paths and incompatible interests," to the juicier suggestion from Apple Daily that Chou has recently had a relapse into depression after getting too deeply into his role in Johnnie To's (杜琪峰) most recent flick, Linger (蝴蝶飛). According to reports, Chou's name has also been linked with Linger's leading lady Li Bingbing (李冰冰) and TV personality Patty Hou (侯佩岑), whom he met while working on the TV romance series Delicious Relation (美味關係).
Recent reports say that the young Lothario, who swept Big S - five years his senior - off her feet back in 2005, is now history for her. His excuse for his recent inattention to his "big sister" has been preoccupation with the release of the new F4 album, Waiting For You (在這裡等你), which two weeks ago hit the charts at number two, but has since dropped to number 17.
Pop Stop is glad to announce that its prediction that Guatemalan-Taiwanese model Liz Yang's (楊莉思) involvement with David Tao (陶吉吉) would earn her plenty of coverage in the gossip rags has come true. After Tao's two run-ins with police (on both occasions significantly the worse for drink) the rising model has decided that enough is enough. According to Next, the model claims that they are "just friends," that he has been too busy to get in contact and the rest of the usual brush-off palaver. As a result, the model has a four-page spread and a cover (lathered fetchingly in strawberries and cream and wearing cherry-print cotton knickers) in this week's edition of the magazine. Clearly she is not just a pretty face.
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According to gossip Web sites, Yang is not the only one getting a leg up from a big-name star. The 19-year-old TV commercial model Chiang Yu-chen (江語晨), who has been associated with Jay "The Chairman" Chou (周杰倫) ever since his fling with Hebe ended, seems to be doing well enough in the romance race to spark the envy of Internet gossip mongers. They have been painting her as a two-timing gold-digger, with possible lesbian inclinations to boot.
In November last year, Little Pan-pan (小潘潘) was caught up in the drug busts that hit the celebrity world. Although cleared, the celebrity says that the incident lost her NT$300,000 over the last three months as gig organizers cancelled shows because of the negative publicity. To console herself, reports say, Little Pan-pan has announced that she will head to the cosmetic surgeon's office so she can put on a new face for the New Year.
CTV's One Million Star (超級星光大道) pop idol "reality" show is finally beginning to slip in the ratings. Bad singing and almost constant rumors that the competition is fixed by record companies have been taking their toll. The show still manages to hold first place though, well ahead of TTV's rival reality show Super Idol (超級偶像). It seems that One Million Star works the rumor mill to maintain its lead, this week generating the snippet that the current second-place holder and Hello Kitty look-alike, Annie Lin (林宜融), is related to the show's producers. With the number of people surnamed Lin in Taiwan, though, even the gossip rags are unable to put their heart into this one. In another story with a rather gloating tone, Apple Daily reported that last year's One Million Star favorite, Aska Yang (楊宗緯), flubbed his first appearance as a guest host on GTV's 100% Entertainment (娛樂百分百).
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Cheng Ching-hsiang (鄭青祥) turned a small triangle of concrete jammed between two old shops into a cool little bar called 9dimension. In front of the shop, a steampunk-like structure was welded by himself to serve as a booth where he prepares cocktails. “Yancheng used to be just old people,” he says, “but now young people are coming and creating the New Yancheng.” Around the corner, Yu Hsiu-jao (饒毓琇), opened Tiny Cafe. True to its name, it is the size of a cupboard and serves cold-brewed coffee. “Small shops are so special and have personality,” she says, “people come to Yancheng to find such treasures.” She
Late last month Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro told the Philippine Senate that the nation has sufficient funds to evacuate the nearly 170,000 Filipino residents in Taiwan, 84 percent of whom are migrant workers, in the event of war. Agencies have been exploring evacuation scenarios since early this year, she said. She also observed that since the Philippines has only limited ships, the government is consulting security agencies for alternatives. Filipinos are a distant third in overall migrant worker population. Indonesia has over 248,000 workers, followed by roughly 240,000 Vietnamese. It should be noted that there are another 170,000
Hannah Liao (廖宸萱) recalls the harassment she experienced on dating apps, an experience that left her frightened and disgusted. “I’ve tried some voice-based dating apps,” the 30-year-old says. “Right away, some guys would say things like, ‘Wanna talk dirty?’ or ‘Wanna suck my d**k?’” she says. Liao’s story is not unique. Ministry of Health and Welfare statistics show a more than 50 percent rise in sexual assault cases related to online encounters over the past five years. In 2023 alone, women comprised 7,698 of the 9,413 reported victims. Faced with a dating landscape that can feel more predatory than promising, many in
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu’s (洪秀柱) attendance at the Chinese Communist Party’s (CPP) “Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War” parade in Beijing is infuriating, embarrassing and insulting to nearly everyone in Taiwan, and Taiwan’s friends and allies. She is also ripping off bandages and pouring salt into old wounds. In the process she managed to tie both the KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) into uncomfortable knots. The KMT continues to honor their heroic fighters, who defended China against the invading Japanese Empire, which inflicted unimaginable horrors on the
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