Anyone familiar with independent Taipei City Councilor Lin Ruey-tu (林瑞圖) might be surprised to notice that his wrinkles recently disappeared and his skin has become smooth.
The change in appearance took six hours of plastic surgery, which Lin underwent two weeks ago. The surgery included Botox injections and a face lift.
Showing pictures of himself from before and after the surgery, Lin said the procedure was a gift to himself for returning to politics. The 51-year-old former legislator described the pictures as "death versus rebirth."
"I had a serious and fierce face before, but now I look younger and energetic. [Getting the surgery] had less to do with being handsome and more to do with becoming friendlier to my voters," he said on Friday at an event promoting the clinic where he underwent surgery.
Lin is hardly the only person to have turned to plastic surgery to look younger and a growing number of men, including politicians, are undergoing cosmetic treatment.
Although women still account for most cosmetic procedures and plastic surgery, men are making up more of the total, statistics from the Taiwan Plastic Surgery Association showed.
Five years ago, men accounted for only 10 percent of all patients who elected for plastic surgery, but the percentage increased to 30 percent last year, the association said.
Tsao Szu-pin (曹賜斌), a member of the association and a plastic surgeon, said that while women tend to elect for plastic surgery because they believe it will improve their physical appearance, most men who decide to get surgery -- especially male politicians like Lin -- believe it makes them look kinder, friendlier and more energetic.
"These male politicians believe that looking younger, friendlier and healthier will help them to attract more votes or prolong their political career," Tsao said, adding that many politicians like to get plastic surgery before elections.
Several prominent Taiwanese politicians have had elective cosmetic treatment, including former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Chung-mo (林重謨). Lien had Botox injections, while Lin Chung-mo also had hyaluronic acid injections in his forehead in 2003. He later publicly lauded the effect of the procedures.
"Botox makes your face soft and smooth in a short time. It's really amazing," Lin Chung-mo was quoted as saying at the time during a promotional event held by his beauty clinic.
Former Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp chairman Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁) admitted having laser blemish removal in 2002 when asked about his appearance, while DPP Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮), Wang Sing-nan (王幸男), and former KMT legislator Fung Hu-hsiang (馮滬祥) had eyelid surgery.
DPP Legislator Wang Tuoh (王拓) and former independent legislator Chu Hsing-yu (朱星羽) also had plastic surgery to remove bags under their eyes.
After getting surgery in 2004, Chu said that it was not only meant to change one's looks, but that the removal of droopy eyelids would "bring more luck."
A survey conducted by Shu-Tien Urology Ophthalmology Clinic last year showed that the three most popular cosmetic treatments or types of plastic surgery were botox wrinkle treatment, plastic surgery on the eyes and Thermacool facelifts.
Tsao said men chose plastic surgery because they believed it would increase their competitiveness in the workplace. Men also preferred "easier" treatments that would not affect their work.
Taiwan has arranged for about 8 million barrels of crude oil, or about one-third of its monthly needs, to be shipped from the Red Sea this month to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and ease domestic supply pressures, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said yesterday. The state-run oil company has worked with Middle Eastern suppliers to secure routes other than the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes, CPC chairman Fang Jeng-zen (方振仁) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. Suppliers in Saudi Arabia have indicated they
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
CCP ‘PAWN’? Beijing could use the KMT chairwoman’s visit to signal to the world that many people in Taiwan support the ‘one China’ principle, an academic said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday arrived in China for a “peace” mission and potential meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), while a Taiwanese minister detailed the number of Chinese warships currently deployed around the nation. Cheng is visiting at a time of increased Chinese military pressure on Taiwan, as the opposition-dominated Legislative Yuan stalls a government plan for US$40 billion in extra defense spending. Speaking to reporters before going to the airport, Cheng said she was going on a “historic journey for peace,” but added that some people felt uneasy about her trip. “If you truly love Taiwan,
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
RSS