News about the increasingly operatic breakup between Cecilia Cheung (張柏芝) and Nicholas Tse (謝霆鋒) continues to dominate the grapevine even following the revelation and supposed papering over of what has now become known as the “airplane incident” (機上事件) in which Cheung was recently photographed with her ex-lover Edison Chen (陳冠希). Chen was responsible for a ruckus between Cheung and Tse in 2008 when explicit photos of his sexual adventures, which prominently featured Cheung, were posted on the Internet.
Since the incriminating in-flight photo was published, there have been rumors stemming from one blogger claiming to be a close friend of the couple that this trivial incident had been set aside and that cordial, if not warm, relations had been re-established between the two. This rapprochement either didn’t last long or never actually happened, for in developments this week, Cheung appears to have taken her two children away from the Tse household in an act that the Apple Daily suggests is aimed at causing maximum anxiety to Tse’s mother, Deborah Lee (狄波拉), who reportedly dotes on her two grandchildren.
This most recent action on Cheung’s part has added fuel to the fire in the ongoing battle between Cheung and Lee, who, according to the Apple Daily, hasn’t been a fan of the marriage since first learning of their nuptials in the Philippines through newspaper reports in 2006.
Photo: Taipei Times
The paper suggests that Lee may well be the source of a stream of information about Cheung’s lack of mothering skills, and it is a matter of record that Cheung has put career and lifestyle well ahead of her role of wife and mother. After the most recent marital debacle, the couple continued to pursue their separate careers, though on the financial front, rumors that Cheung is doing her best to suck as much money out of Tse’s family as possible are gaining currency.
According to a report in the United Daily News, Cheung has obtained control over much of Tse’s NT$2.2 billion personal fortune in the course of their marriage. The welfare of their two children and threats of suicide have reportedly been the bargaining chips used in these financial settlements.
Tse, who has not been without his own extra-marital entanglements, has complicated matters with his ongoing friendship with Gillian Chung (鍾欣桐), who, as it happens, was also featured in Chen’s Internet photo scandal. In a revelation earlier this week, Tse reportedly told a friend that “she [Cheung] isn’t my wife any more” (她不再是我的女人).
Still, the situation between Cheung and Tse remains fluid, and nobody in the gossip media is prepared to make any predictions about the outcome.
In a report published yesterday in Hong Kong’s Orient Daily (東方日報) citing an unnamed source close to Tse, the film star has summoned his lawyer to Kuala Lumpur, where he is currently filming, in order to consult on the implications of divorce and custody proceedings. Tse’s father Patrick Tse (謝賢), who had previously taken Cheung’s side in the many matrimonial ups and downs, seems to be closing ranks with his wife and son.
As for Chen, who remains the granddaddy of the explicit photo leak, it seems that he is at it again, though in this instance, the lack of explicit detail has caused some agencies to suggest that Chen is simply playing the media for a fool. The photos to have emerged following the “airplane incident” are of him and Huang Rongmi (黃榕密), a minor Hong Kong starlet who, it is suggested, Chen has had a three-year relationship with. Huang is quoted by Now.com as stating that: “I don’t care if he wants it all day, I’ll always go over. He is very clean, and will always bathe first.” It can’t help but make one wonder when elementary personal hygiene counts for so much among members of the entertainment industry. In the same report, friends of Huang are quoted as suggesting that Chen makes constant sexual demands and will not tolerate refusal. Clearly the scandal of 2008 has done little the tame his appetites.
This is the year that the demographic crisis will begin to impact people’s lives. This will create pressures on treatment and hiring of foreigners. Regardless of whatever technological breakthroughs happen, the real value will come from digesting and productively applying existing technologies in new and creative ways. INTRODUCING BASIC SERVICES BREAKDOWNS At some point soon, we will begin to witness a breakdown in basic services. Initially, it will be limited and sporadic, but the frequency and newsworthiness of the incidents will only continue to accelerate dramatically in the coming years. Here in central Taiwan, many basic services are severely understaffed, and
Jan. 5 to Jan. 11 Of the more than 3,000km of sugar railway that once criss-crossed central and southern Taiwan, just 16.1km remain in operation today. By the time Dafydd Fell began photographing the network in earnest in 1994, it was already well past its heyday. The system had been significantly cut back, leaving behind abandoned stations, rusting rolling stock and crumbling facilities. This reduction continued during the five years of his documentation, adding urgency to his task. As passenger services had already ceased by then, Fell had to wait for the sugarcane harvest season each year, which typically ran from
It is a soulful folk song, filled with feeling and history: A love-stricken young man tells God about his hopes and dreams of happiness. Generations of Uighurs, the Turkic ethnic minority in China’s Xinjiang region, have played it at parties and weddings. But today, if they download it, play it or share it online, they risk ending up in prison. Besh pede, a popular Uighur folk ballad, is among dozens of Uighur-language songs that have been deemed “problematic” by Xinjiang authorities, according to a recording of a meeting held by police and other local officials in the historic city of Kashgar in
It’s a good thing that 2025 is over. Yes, I fully expect we will look back on the year with nostalgia, once we have experienced this year and 2027. Traditionally at New Years much discourse is devoted to discussing what happened the previous year. Let’s have a look at what didn’t happen. Many bad things did not happen. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) did not attack Taiwan. We didn’t have a massive, destructive earthquake or drought. We didn’t have a major human pandemic. No widespread unemployment or other destructive social events. Nothing serious was done about Taiwan’s swelling birth rate catastrophe.
RSS