The Japanese-Taiwanese pop star, Takeshi Kaneshiro (金城武), and actress Vivian Hsu (徐若瑄) have become the top sex-fantasy idols of women and men from Taiwan's Generation F -- those born in the 1970s -- according to a poll released yesterday by an online human resource company.
Kaneshiro, 30, whose mother is Taiwanese, along with Hsu, 28, are both pursuing their show-business careers in Japan.
Matsushima Nanako (松島菜菜子), a Japanese actress, ranks second as male respondent's favorite idol, according to the survey.
The British soccer star David Beckham and local actor Liu Wen-Tsung (劉文聰) are both among women's top ten idols.
Notably, a few high-ranking political figures are also mentioned in the survey.
Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九)and President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) were ranked 53rd and 56th respectively. Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) was in 58th place.
Others in the top 10 for male respondents include Australian actress Nicole Kidman, cable news network anchorwoman Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Sophie Marceau, Australian heart-throb Kylie Minogue, Oscar-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, Taiwanese actress Alyssa Chia (賈靜雯), high-profile entrepreneur Diana Chen (陳敏薰) and Hong Kong artist Gigi Leung (梁詠琪).
The survey was conducted by the Web site www.9999.com.tw and involved 13,907 respondents between the ages of 18 and 35, who are categorized as Generation F.
When asked about their favorites, female respondents placed several foreign artists on their top ten chart. The most wanted guys include Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, Keanu Reeves, two Japanese actors Takuya Kimura (
"It's obvious that once-popular sexually desired politicians have lost their luster and a few superstars, at home and abroad, moved up the respondents' sexual appreciation stakes," said Showline Chang (張怡筠), expert on psychology and associate professor of the graduate school of business administration at Da Yeh University.
Chang explained at a news conference that the young people of Generation F are more ignorant of politics, with the result that more artists are moving quickly to the top of popularity charts.
The poll also found that over 54 percent of the respondents would like to be single for good and nearly 75 percent are reluctant to have children.
The major reasons for the unwillingness to get married or have a baby are: first of all, a firm belief that a committed romance could last even without any legal documents like marriage certificates, and secondly, increasingly shrinking salaries that prevent people from becoming DINK, or "double income, no kids" couples, said Yang Ken-chen (楊肯誠), chief operating officer of the Web site.
Generation F represents a group of people who think highly of a decent lifestyle and improving their living standards, said Yang, who hosted the press conference.
He said the trend among Generation F will be to determine their own destinies, as self-fulfilment are more important to them than adhering to the establishment's long-standing expectations and norms, which may have become outdated.
The survey also found, with more than 50 percent of respondents agreeing on this point, that the most sought-after lovers are those who could give their partners personal space.
Other most-wanted sweethearts are caring, wealthy, physically attractive, romantic or well-educated people.
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