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.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
RSS