It may be the 21st century, but feminist ideas have yet to penetrate the sequined tower of the Mando-pop glitterati. Vivian Hsu (徐若瑄), for example, has had to resort to divine intervention to provide her with a man in her life, after breaking up with F4’s Vanness Wu (吳建豪) three years ago. A visit to Taipei’s Xingtian Temple (行天宮) this March seems to have paid off: rumors are swirling of a blooming romance with Stephen Fung (馮德倫), who achieved prominence in the gossip press through his one-time association with Karen Mok (莫文蔚) and Shu Qi (舒淇).
Next magazine reports that Hsu prayed at every one of the temple’s many shrines, paying special attention to that of “the man in the moon” (月下老人), who is responsible for romance, and the goddess of childbirth (註生娘娘), whose cosmological function is self-explanatory. There is a good chance that we will be hearing more of Hsu’s romantic tribulations, as Fung definitely has something of an eye for the ladies.
In other news about celebrities looking for love, male model Jerry Huang (黃志瑋) has further damaged his chances of getting back with former girlfriend and high-society belle Terri Kwan (關穎) after being caught putting the moves on — shock, horror — an older woman. Huang has been playing the wronged lover now for nearly six months and clearly this role is not satisfying all his urges.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
Although the font of much showbiz insider knowledge, Next does not have things all its own way. The mag has been clobbered with NT$400,000 in damages after it went too far in reporting on the sexual shenanigans of TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲), according to a report in the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper).
It is possible to believe almost anything in relation to Wu’s association with the fairer sex, but when Next reported that he had fessed up to having sex with a fan called Linda, the notorious womanizer decided to put the record straight. This makes it all the more interesting to read about suggestions published in Next that Jaycee Chan (房祖名), son of martial arts superstar Jackie Chan (成龍) and friend of the recently disgraced Edison Chen (陳冠希), is reported to have been caught with his pants down on the Internet. Little evidence seems to have been produced in this initial report, but, as they say, watch this space: either for Jaycee facing the same kind of hypocritical public outrage directed at Chen, or Next magazine getting it in the neck once again — an altogether more cheering prospect.
Contestants in CTV’s One Million Star (超級星光大道) talent contest continue to grab headlines, as yet another of the “reality” TV show’s alumni has been censured for being arrogant. Aska Yang (楊宗緯), one of the most successful celebrity wannabes to emerge from the first season, has repeatedly come in for a basting. Caught in the crosshairs this time is season two second-place winner Liang Wen-ying (梁文英). Next worked itself into a frenzy over her lack of professionalism at a concert given for high-ranking staffers of the Shin Kong financial group, turning up to perform in a cardigan and jeans instead of the halter top and tutu that had been agreed on. Third-place winner Yeh Wei-ting (葉瑋庭), who dutifully donned hot pants and a low cut V-neck for her performance, was lauded for doing the right thing. Liang, many of whose fans believe she should have won the second season and who has received numerous endorsement contracts since appearing in the show, may now face a media lockout for what is regarded as unacceptable behavior.
The cherry on the cake for this week’s celebrity goings on is the revelation by sohu.com, an Internet celebrity gossip site, still unsubstantiated, that Andy Lau (劉德華), one of Hong Kong’s biggest stars, and long time girlfriend Carol Chu (朱麗倩), who had announced their forthcoming marriage, have actually been married for 18 years and already have a 15-year-old son.
Michael slides a sequin glove over the pop star’s tarnished legacy, shrouding Michael Jackson’s complications with a conventional biopic that, if you cover your ears, sounds great. Antoine Fuqua’s movie is sanctioned by Jackson’s estate and its producers include the estate’s executors. So it is, by its nature, a narrow, authorized perspective on Jackson. The film ends before the flood of allegations of sexual abuse of children, or Jackson’s own acknowledgment of sleeping alongside kids. Jackson and his estate have long maintained his innocence. In his only criminal trial, in 2005, Jackson was acquitted. Michael doesn’t even subtly nod to these facts.
The March/April volume of Foreign Affairs, long a purveyor of pro-China pablum, offered up another irksome Beijing-speak on the issues and solutions for the problems vexing the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the US: “America and China at the Edge of Ruin: A Last Chance to Step Back From the Brink” rang the provocative title, by David M. Lampton and Wang Jisi (王緝思). If one ever wants to describe what went wrong with US-PRC relations, the career of Wang Jisi is a good place to start. Wang has extensive experience in the US and the West. He was a visiting
The January 2028 presidential election is already stirring to life. In seven or eight months, the primary season will kick into high gear following this November’s local elections. By this point next year, we will likely know the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate and whether the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) will be fielding a candidate. Also around this time, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) will either have already completed their primary, or it will be heading into the final stretch. By next summer, the presidential race will be in high gear. The big question is who will be the KMT’s
One of the challenges with the sheer availability of food in today’s world is that lots of us end up spending many of our waking hours eating. Whether it’s full meals, snacks or desserts, scientists have found that it’s not uncommon for us to be mindlessly grazing at some point during all of our 16 or so waking hours. The problem? As soon as this food hits the bloodstream in the form of glucose, it initiates the release of the hormone insulin. This in turn activates a switch present in every one of our cells, which is responsible for driving cell
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