Sex scandal: Chu to marry Chinese man
Chu Mei-feng (璩美鳳) is to marry a Chinese man "soon," it was reported yesterday. Chu, 36, shot to notoriety last December when she was filmed by an estranged friend having sex with a married man. A local Chinese-language newspaper quoted former New Party lawmaker Elmer Fung (馮滬祥) as saying, "Chu is going to get married very soon." Fung declined to identify Chu's fiancee but said he was not known to people in Taiwan. Regarding the planned marriage, "there had been noises from the families of the two sides. But now the problem has been solved," Fung said. The paper said Chu has recently been seen in Beijing walking hand-in-hand with a senior reporter from China Central Television Station surnamed Hsu. Neither Chu nor Fung, now visiting the US, was available to comment on the report.
Military: Old jets are far from sold
The Philippines is not rushing to acquire F-5E fighter jets from Taiwan, but is exploring ways to purchase the planes without antagonizing China, an official said yesterday. "There's no time frame," Philippine Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Benjamin Defensor said when asked about plans to buy F-5E fighter jets from Taiwan. "There's no rush in getting anything from Taiwan." Defensor said he has proposed that China buy the F-5E fighters from Taiwan, and then re-sell them to the Philippines to avoid diplomatic implications from such a purchase. "We don't want to ruffle the feathers of China," he said. Defensor admitted that the Philippines was keen on buying surplus F-5E fighter jets to serve as an "interim fighter fleet" until more funds can be allocated to buy more modern jets. Taiwan has offered to sell 24 F-5E fighter jets to Manila at a bargain price in exchange for allowing Taiwanese pilots to use Philippine air space.
Dengue fever: Tainan gets nine new cases
Nine dengue fever cases were reported in Tainan City over the past two days. Six of the patients live in the same borough of the city's western district. The city's health bureau has started testing the blood of city residents and has redoubled its efforts to clean up possible breeding areas of fever-carrying mosquitos. According to the health bureau, it is still not known how six of the victims who live in western Tainan contracted the disease. The other three victims might have contracted the disease in Kaohsiung.
Mental health: Kids worrying over money
The three top sources of worry for teenagers are examinations, academic performance and money, according to a survey on nearly 3,000 teenagers in middle high schools in the greater Taipei area. The poll, conducted by the John Tung Foundation (董氏基金會) on the pressures of life and their relation to depression, showed that things that are "constantly or always" putting pressure on teenagers are the endless examinations (nearly 45 percent), the need to perform academically (nearly 38 percent), money (nearly 30 percent), relations with peers (28 percent) and appearance (20 percent). Foundation officials said that youngsters used to list relations with friends, examination results and academic performance as the things they cared most about. But the officials were surprised to find that the youngsters put money ahead of relations with friends in the latest poll. The poll also found that a child who is the youngest in his/her family, an only child, or a child whose father is strict in raising him/her tend to be more depressed, the officials said.
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