Top model Lin Chih-lin (林志玲) found herself in a pickle this week after Next Magazine found that she had not paid her National Health Insurance (NHI) dues in more than three years.
Lin had no plans, however, to launch a Taiwanese branch of America’s anti-healthcare reform Tea Party Patriots. The Liberty Times, our sister newspaper, reported that the leggy beauty quickly paid the NT$210,000 she owed. Department of Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) sounded like he had had enough of the media ruckus when he
told the press that “she’s willing to admit that she made a careless oversight and she’s already given us the money.”
The magazine milked Lin’s payment in arrears for all it was worth, devoting four pages to the topic in last week’s issue. The article took a populist slant, writing that while this week’s NHI fee hike could potentially affect 3 million Taiwanese citizens, the monthly fee is mere pocket change for Lin, who reportedly makes more than NT$10 million per year. “A lot of wage earners are heartsick that their wallets will once again have to shed blood,” the gossip rag moaned, before adding “if everyone acted like Lin Chih-llin, the financial black hole would become larger and larger.”
Ironically, Lin was the target of flack five years ago for receiving “VIP treatment” at National Taiwan University Hospital after being thrown from a horse, even though she then paid only the minimum per month fee for NHI coverage. The ensuing ruckus led to several celebrities having their insurance fees raised by the Bureau of National Health Insurance, a provision nicknamed “the Lin Chih-lin clause”
(林志玲條款).
Last week was a banner week for Next in terms of unnamed sources. An anonymous reader, who was also the Department of Health’s source, brought Lin’s financial delinquency to Next’s attention. Another Deep Throat wannabe was the source of several text messages purportedly sent by actress Annie Yi (伊能靜) to her ex-husband Harlem Yu (庾澄慶), begging the singer-songwriter to take her back.
The duo’s marital discord was much publicized in 2009 before their divorce was finally announced in March last year, as was their custody battle for their young son, known in the press as Little Harry (小哈利).
The eight text messages, some of which Next gleefully splashed on its cover, have Yi allegedly groveling to Yu. “I was truly wrong, I hope that one day you’ll be able to forgive me,” one pleads. Next admitted that when it tried to trace the texts to their original online source, it discovered that the Web site had been taken down. Nonetheless, the magazine made a bit of effort to prove the veracity of the messages.
Though the ex-couple have adamantly denied the possibility of a reconciliation, Next insisted that the texts are genuine because they used Yi’s nickname for Yu: “Harry’s old pa” (哈老爸). Some were supposedly sent while Yi was vacationing in New York City (Yi allegedly assured her ex that she “had no night life” and was traveling with female companions only), while another referred to Yu’s recent trip abroad. “I saw that you are going to Bangladesh,” it read. “Be careful of your health and hygiene. Happy New Year!”
Rumors of a reunion started swirling in February, but Yi and Yu have yet to be seen in public together.
Hong Kong super hottie Andy Lau is happily married, but that hasn’t stopped the media from hounding him. Lau and long-time girlfriend Carol Chu (朱麗倩) denied being wed until the press uncovered an online record proving the two had gotten hitched in Nevada nearly two years ago. Since his “secret” marriage was uncovered earlier this year, media attention on the pair has only intensified.
Lau arrived in Taiwan to promote his latest film, Future X-Cops (未來警察), but reporters focused their questions on Lau’s home life and whether he intended to knock Chu up any time soon. One reporter asked if Lau felt any more carefree now that his marriage was out in the open.
Lau sighed, “the pressure has just gotten worse.”
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
RSS