Television star Jacky Wu (
Wu apologized to the public for lying about his marriage over the past 10 years. As recently as Monday, Wu was still insisting that he was not married "legally," though he admitted to having children.
"I might have lied to the public in certain aspects, but I didn't have any bad intentions," Wu told a crowd of reporters who had been chasing him over the past days.
PHOTO: SHEN CHAO-LIANG, LIBERTY TIMES
Wu said he and Chang become husband and wife 10 years ago, after a "simple ceremony" attended by their parents. As Wu and Chang did not register their marriage with authorities, the spouse columns on their identification cards still remain blank. The children, meanwhile, bear the mother's surname, rather than Wu's.
Wu said he has been taking care of the children, just like other fathers do, despite his refusal to talk about the matter in front of the media. "They do have a father, and the neighbors all know about this," Wu said.
He said concealing his marital status was not intended to protect his career in the show business, but rather to protect his children from possible harm. "I'm not obliged to disclose my personal life to the public," Wu argued. "This issue is drawing media interest today only because of my growing popularity."
During an interview with local papers on Monday, Chang said that she had kept silent so as not to harm Wu's public image as a famous entertainer. She said she finally decided to speak out after Wu continued to date other girls and repeatedly denied to the media that he was married.
Gossip about Wu's love affairs have appeared from time to time on the entertainment pages of local newspapers. The most well-known one being his relationship with Chen Hsiao-hsuan (陳孝萱), another TV star. Wu and Chen broke up early this year, soon after some pictures that showed Wu intimately hugging another woman named "Candy" were publicized. In addition, one of Wu's assistants, identified as "Angela," reportedly also had a love affair with him.
Speaking of his love affair with Chen, Wu said it took place "during the low ebb" of his marriage with Chang. "Lovers and couples are likely to encounter a low ebb in their relationships," Wu said.
Wu said he had told Chen about Chang and his children, and that Chen had shown full understanding about the issue. However, Chen yesterday denied having any knowledge of Wu's wife and children until Chang publicly exposed the matter.
Wu admitted that he loved to fool around, but insisted there was nothing wrong with his lifestyle.
"I'm an entertainer, rather than a politician," Wu said.
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
A Vietnamese migrant worker yesterday won NT$12 million (US$379,627) on a Lunar New Year scratch card in Kaohsiung as part of Taiwan Lottery Co’s (台灣彩券) “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” (1200萬大吉利) game. The man was the first top-prize winner of the new game launched on Jan. 6 to mark the Lunar New Year. Three Vietnamese migrant workers visited a Taiwan Lottery shop on Xinyue Street in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (崗山), a store representative said. The player bought multiple tickets and, after winning nothing, held the final lottery ticket in one hand and rubbed the store’s statue of the Maitreya Buddha’s belly with the other,
‘COMMITTED TO DETERRENCE’: Washington would stand by its allies, but it can only help as much as countries help themselves, Raymond Greene said The US is committed to deterrence in the first island chain, but it should not bear the burden alone, as “freedom is not free,” American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said in a speech at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research’s “Strengthening Resilience: Defense as the Engine of Development” seminar in Taipei yesterday. In the speech, titled “Investing Together and a Secure and Prosperous Future,” Greene highlighted the contributions of US President Donald Trump’s administration to Taiwan’s defense efforts, including the establishment of supply chains for drones and autonomous systems, offers of security assistance and the expansion of
STREAMLINED: The dedicated funding would allow the US to transfer equipment to Taiwan when needed and order upgraded replacements for stockpiles, a source said The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a defense appropriations bill totaling US$838.7 billion, of which US$1 billion is to be allocated to reinforcing security cooperation with Taiwan and US$150 million to replace defense articles provided to the nation. These are part of the Consolidated Appropriation Act, which the US House yesterday passed with 341 votes in favor and 88 against. The act must be passed by the US Senate before Friday next week to avoid another government shutdown. The US House Committee on Appropriations on Monday unveiled the act, saying that it allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative