Though the summer saw a slew of celebrity marriages, romance is cooling off in the autumn with several breakups. Receiving top billing, of course, is the hyper-public divorce of actress and singer Cecilia Cheung (張柏芝) and actor Nicholas Tse (謝霆鋒). After months of marital squabbles following the “airplane incident,” — the name given to an encounter in May between Cheung and Canto-pop star Edison Chen (陳冠希) — the couple confirmed that they were calling it quits at the end of last month.
And it would seem that the chance meet between the former lovers has also caused a permanent rift in Chen’s relationship with girlfriend Vincy Yeung (楊永晴), according to NOWnews and the China Times. Although Yeung stood by Chen following the 2008 photo scandal in which shots of him pictured in flagrante delicto were leaked to the public, she is alleged to have been furious about Chen and Cheung’s renewed friendship. Chen’s alleged booty call to lingerie model and ex-flame Gloria Wong (黃榕) in June probably didn’t help either.
Yeung has reportedly stopped following Chen’s microblog and refuses to take his calls.
Photo: Taipei Times
For his part, Chen, who is currently in New York, is trying to salvage the relationship by posting on his microblog cutesy images of himself alone with captions such as “Love” and “Where am I going now?”
Jolin Tsai (蔡依林), meanwhile, continues to fend off rumors that her boyfriend Vivian Dawson is a man about town. Yam News reported that Dawson spent a holiday in Thailand with Hong Kong model Hidy Yu (余曉彤) after pictures of the two frolicking were leaked on the Internet.
“Nothing has changed in our relationship,” Tsai told reporters when queried about the images. She added that she hopes to wed by age 40, according to the Apple Daily. Dawson, for his part, noted that he has been friends with Yu for years and that the photos were snapped years ago.
A storm in a teacup? Probably. Yu, who is also attached, admitted to touring Thailand with Dawson, but said the trip was too short to have sparked love.
In other celebrity squabbles, Hong Kong actress and UNICEF’s Ambassador to China Maggie Cheung (張曼玉) just can’t seem to hang on to her man. NOWnews reported that Cheung, 47, looked frail and drawn last week after rumors emerged that her 40-year-old squeeze of four years, architect Ole Scheeren, had taken an amorous interest in a 30-year-old fashion designer.
Hong Kong’s Oriental Sunday was more pointed. After spotting Cheung at a Hong Kong airport, the magazine reported that she had a “neck of tree roots, skeletal fingers and looked pitiful,” (樹根頸和白骨爪暴現, 實在是我見猶憐), which is a stark contrast to the almost celestial poise she usually displays.
Ole’s alleged indiscretions follow earlier rumors that he was two-timing Cheung with a 20-year-old colleague. The subtext to this news appears to be that Cheung should be dating someone her own age. As the Chinese media pointed out, she’s experienced “eight failed relationships and a broken marriage.”
But not everything is so gloomy on the romance front. At a press conference held last week to promote a jewelry exhibit, 18-year-old Hannah Quinlivan (昆凌) said she was ready for marriage, reported the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). This follows on the heels of a trip to France last month with alleged beau Jay Chou (周杰倫). But Quinlivan was quick to quash rumors they are a couple, stating that they slept in separate beds. She added that it wasn’t fair to assume they were a couple if they weren’t photographed holding hands.
In other wedding news, Selina Jen (任家萱) and fiance Richard Chang (張承中) aren’t sleeping together, sina.com reported. Chang said at a charity auction last week that he’s been sleeping on the couch since the couple moved into new digs. But fans of the couple needn’t be concerned their relationship and betrothal are on the rocks. The gallant Chang has been keeping out of the bedroom because “Selina’s skin is still very fragile,” he said, adding that Jen has to wear a suit that covers her body to help her recover from burns received in an accident last year.
“Her hands are wrapped up like Doraemon,” Chang said, referring to the Japanese manga character that has balloon-like hands. Jen will wear a specially designed bandage at their wedding, scheduled for Oct. 31, so Chang can fit the ring on her finger.
The Taipei Times last week reported that the rising share of seniors in the population is reshaping the nation’s housing markets. According to data from the Ministry of the Interior, about 850,000 residences were occupied by elderly people in the first quarter, including 655,000 that housed only one resident. H&B Realty chief researcher Jessica Hsu (徐佳馨), quoted in the article, said that there is rising demand for elderly-friendly housing, including units with elevators, barrier-free layouts and proximity to healthcare services. Hsu and others cited in the article highlighted the changing family residential dynamics, as children no longer live with parents,
It is jarring how differently Taiwan’s politics is portrayed in the international press compared to the local Chinese-language press. Viewed from abroad, Taiwan is seen as a geopolitical hotspot, or “The Most Dangerous Place on Earth,” as the Economist once blazoned across their cover. Meanwhile, tasked with facing down those existential threats, Taiwan’s leaders are dying their hair pink. These include former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), among others. They are demonstrating what big fans they are of South Korean K-pop sensations Blackpink ahead of their concerts this weekend in Kaohsiung.
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