Sophie Wang's (
Wang started her career as a TV soap-opera actress on China Television Co back in the 1980s. She left the TV business after one year of acting but came back into the spotlight two years ago, when she was widely rumored to be the mistress of KMT Legislator John Chang (
But it is her recent relationship with Cheng that has made her a regular feature in the newspapers. During the summer, the pair were providing reams of column inches to hungry hacks when, after a short and tumultuous affair, they ran off to the US to get married. Journalists were given even more to write about when Cheng returned three months later, vowing never again speak to the woman for whom he had earlier said he would gladly give up his legislative post.
But there was still more to follow. On Dec. 7, Cheng and his newly reunited family had a dinner, the footage of which was broadcasted on Formosa Television. Wang, who had since returned from the US, became jealous and went to Cheng's apartment the next day and fought with Cheng's wife, Lu Pei-ying (呂珮茵).
Wang arrived at Cheng's office building at the Legislative Yuan last Tuesday and got down on her knee at the front door of the building, telling reporters, "I will stay here until he [Cheng] shows up."
After two and a half hours had passed, according to police at the Legislative Yuan, Wang looked very sick. However, when a police officer tried to take her to the hospital, she refused and said, "Leave me alone. I am fine."
Meanwhile, Cheng was holding a public hearing inside, but, because of Wang's behavior, Cheng refused to allow the press to cover the public hearing -- making it the first closed-door public hearing at the Legislature ever.
On Wednesday, Wang arrived at the tomb of Cheng's ancestors. She said that she has the right to pay her respects to the site because legally she is still Cheng's wife.
Asked how and why she did this, she said she was just doing what she was supposed to do.
"How did I know about the whereabouts of the tomb? Cheng brought me here before, of course," she said. "And I think it is normal for a wife to visit and bow before her husband's family's tomb. There is nothing wrong with that, is there?"
Cheng did not comment on Wang's behavior and remarks.
On Thursday, Wang flew to Malaysia. She said that she was going there to shoot a print commercial for the essential-oil business she is running.
It had all started in February when Cheng hired Wang as his personal aide for the legislature. On Aug. 7, Cheng flew to Los Angeles with Wang to demonstrate his resolve to get a divorce from his estranged wife Lu. Lu had refused to give him a divorce, and the pair are still married.
According to Cheng's office, Cheng and Wang were married in Las Vegas during their three-month stay in the US.
At the time, Cheng said that he would rather quit being a lawmaker than part with Wang, though he continued to collect his legislative salary and expense money.
Events took an unexpected twist when Cheng returned to Taiwan on Nov. 9 and said that the relationship between Wang and himself was over.
"In the beginning, I thought she was a present given by God. But it is not like that anymore," said the DPP legislator during a press conference held after his return.
Wang arrived in Taipei on a separate flight on the same day and claimed that she was pregnant.
"We were just bickering. No big deal. Cheng and I still love each other very much and I am now pregnant with his baby," Wang said.
According to Wang, she went to Beijing with Cheng in October and the baby was conceived on the trip.
Last Sunday, gynecologists from Taipei's Chungshan Hospital confirmed that Wang's baby miscarrried due to natural causes approximately one month ago. Wang insists that her baby died when she was beaten by Lu on Dec. 8.
According to Cheng, Wang suffers from a mental disorder and would do something outrageous every so often.
"She would become mad all of a sudden for no reason and that scared me. I really cannot live with her so I decided to come back to Taiwan," Cheng said. "This is the end for us. I do not want to talk about her anymore," he added.
However, Wang insists that Cheng should do something to make it up to her since she gave "everything" to him.
"I will bury my baby at Cheng's family tomb when I return because this baby belongs to his family," Wang said before she left Taiwan.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
RSS