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.
June 9 to June 15 A photo of two men riding trendy high-wheel Penny-Farthing bicycles past a Qing Dynasty gate aptly captures the essence of Taipei in 1897 — a newly colonized city on the cusp of great change. The Japanese began making significant modifications to the cityscape in 1899, tearing down Qing-era structures, widening boulevards and installing Western-style infrastructure and buildings. The photographer, Minosuke Imamura, only spent a year in Taiwan as a cartographer for the governor-general’s office, but he left behind a treasure trove of 130 images showing life at the onset of Japanese rule, spanning July 1897 to
In an interview posted online by United Daily News (UDN) on May 26, current Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) was asked about Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) replacing him as party chair. Though not yet officially running, by the customs of Taiwan politics, Lu has been signalling she is both running for party chair and to be the party’s 2028 presidential candidate. She told an international media outlet that she was considering a run. She also gave a speech in Keelung on national priorities and foreign affairs. For details, see the May 23 edition of this column,
The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on May 18 held a rally in Taichung to mark the anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20. The title of the rally could be loosely translated to “May 18 recall fraudulent goods” (518退貨ㄌㄨㄚˋ！). Unlike in English, where the terms are the same, “recall” (退貨) in this context refers to product recalls due to damaged, defective or fraudulent merchandise, not the political recalls (罷免) currently dominating the headlines. I attended the rally to determine if the impression was correct that the TPP under party Chairman Huang Kuo-Chang (黃國昌) had little of a
At Computex 2025, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) urged the government to subsidize AI. “All schools in Taiwan must integrate AI into their curricula,” he declared. A few months earlier, he said, “If I were a student today, I’d immediately start using tools like ChatGPT, Gemini Pro and Grok to learn, write and accelerate my thinking.” Huang sees the AI-bullet train leaving the station. And as one of its drivers, he’s worried about youth not getting on board — bad for their careers, and bad for his workforce. As a semiconductor supply-chain powerhouse and AI hub wannabe, Taiwan is seeing
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