The biggest news this week is the imminent breakup of the nine-year marriage between Harlem Yu (庾澄慶) and Annie Yi (伊能靜). This has been building for some time after Yi was caught on camera in China holding hands with Victor Huang (黃維德) in November last year. It may simply have been the last straw to something bigger behind the scenes, judging from leaks about married life in the Yu household that emerged this week. After the couple spent a strained Lunar New Year holiday in Hokkaido, Yi has stated that the relationship is beyond saving, and all that remains is to complete the paperwork. Yu has neither confirmed nor denied this, refusing to discuss the affair with the media.
The couple have kept relatively quiet since November when the incident with Huang emerged, but now with things coming to a head the rumor mill is working overtime. Yi is reported, in the Apple Daily, to have told friends that she was “never accepted into the Yu household,” and that her relationship with Yu’s mother and sisters had always been difficult. She is reported to have said that Yu, as a filial son, had always taken his mother’s side in arguments. To add insult to injury, Huang has scooted off to China to finish work on the TV series Three Kingdoms (三國), and has been widely reported to have patched things up with his former girlfriend Hsiao Lu (小陸).
To get to the nub of the issue, Apple Daily interviewed fortune-teller Lin Chen-yi (林真邑), who has revealed that Yi is unlikely to have much luck either in love or work this year. Her advice: the outlook improves toward the end of 2011.
Shu Qi’s (舒淇) romantic prospects also look far from rosy, and she too has sought mystical assistance. Last week she went to visit the White Dragon King (白龍王), a spiritual adviser, in Thailand. (Internet rumor has it that the WDK was an electrician or possibly a bicycle repairman before discovering that he was actually a reincarnation of a dragon king.)
Unfortunately, the WDK was too busy fending off the massive crowds of fans and didn’t have time for Shu’s romantic difficulties, and the Apple Daily reported that the sage simply ignored her, which left her despondent. Perhaps he felt he had already given all the advice he had to give. On a previous visit, Apple Daily reported that he had advised Shu to take things as they come and not try and rush romance. But she has been unwilling to wait, and since breaking up with actor Leon Lai (黎明) four years ago, has been romantically involved, according to gossip rags, with numerous men, including singer Wang Lee-hom (王力宏) and actor Chang Chen (張震), but to no great effect.
It would seem that former boyfriend Lai has also paid heavily for ignoring the WDK’s advice. Six years ago, together with Tony Leung Chiu-wai (梁朝偉) and Andy Lau (劉德華), he became a disciple of the WDK, who warned him about getting involved with women. At this time his relationship with Shu was already the stuff of heavy speculation. The Apple Daily suggests that his refusal to drop Shu on the advice of the WDK may be the reason why his career failed to reach the same exalted heights of stardom as that of this two friends. Pop Stop wonders if the WDK is paying the Hong Kong-based publishing group a retainer for such testimonials. Unfortunately, even though he has now broken with Shu, it is unlikely that even his most recent role in the massive two-part biopic of opera singer Mei Lanfang (梅蘭芳) will boost his career. Ignore dragons at your peril.
For all the fans of CTV’s One Million Star (超級星光大道) “reality” talent show, the good news is that Momoko Tao (陶子) will definitely be back for Season Five, putting an end to the rather unedifying spectacle of a rotating roster of hosts including pop diva Ah-Mei (張惠妹) — she should stick to singing — and a tag team made up of Little S (小S) and Kevin Tsai (蔡康永) — who despite their vast experience as show hosts, have been widely criticized for not hitting the right note with the show. Producers are trying to get Tao back to give the finals of Season Four her magic touch on March 14, but the new mother said she will be focusing on losing weight and breast feeding. Recent additions to the roster of hosts, Tammy Chen (陳怡蓉) and Phoebe Huang (黃嘉千), have earned praise in the blogosphere for their comedic talents. The two are currently stars of CTV’s super-successful The Story of Time (光陰的故事), and have brought some of the allure of the soap to the floundering One Million Star series.
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,
One of the most important gripes that Taiwanese have about the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is that it has failed to deliver concretely on higher wages, housing prices and other bread-and-butter issues. The parallel complaint is that the DPP cares only about glamor issues, such as removing markers of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) colonialism by renaming them, or what the KMT codes as “de-Sinification.” Once again, as a critical election looms, the DPP is presenting evidence for that charge. The KMT was quick to jump on the recent proposal of the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) to rename roads that symbolize
Jade Mountain (玉山) — Taiwan’s highest peak — is the ultimate goal for those attempting a through-hike of the Mountains to Sea National Greenway (山海圳國家綠道), and that’s precisely where we’re headed in this final installment of a quartet of articles covering the Greenway. Picking up the trail at the Tsou tribal villages of Dabang and Tefuye, it’s worth stocking up on provisions before setting off, since — aside from the scant offerings available on the mountain’s Dongpu Lodge (東埔山莊) and Paiyun Lodge’s (排雲山莊) meal service — there’s nowhere to get food from here on out. TEFUYE HISTORIC TRAIL The journey recommences with
RSS