Print model Rimmy Hsu (許睿瑜) yesterday jumped into the Love River (愛河) in Greater Kaohsiung in an attempt to calm a storm of criticism following her comment on the TV talk show University (大學生了沒) that women in the south wear “granny underwear.”
Some unimpressed netizens accused her of being insincere and of putting on a show to create publicity.
Hsu, who goes by the stage name Jui Mie Mie (睿咩咩), was one of the guests in an episode that aired on Wednesday last week, discussing young women in the south. During the show, participants passed judgement on the accent, makeup and bearing of women in the south.
Angry and displeased netizens fired back at the show, accusing it of prejudice and of trying to create a divide between the north and the south. A number of signature drives on Facebook were set up, with at least one drawing more than 65,000 supporters at press time yesterday.
At 11am yesterday, the 22- year-old Hsu, wearing a swimsuit and a life vest, jumped into the Love River. Hsu, who cannot swim, looked miserable after swallowing several mouthfuls of water and coughing several times.
After being pulled up with the help of a rope, Hsu covered herself with a big towel, apologized at least five times, and said she chose to jump into the river “because I feel that an apology is not enough” and because the “Love River represents all of Kaohsiung.”
A woman who was passing by shouted: “You shouldn’t look down on southerners.”
The woman said she wondered why someone would want to “split the north and the south” and that “we’re all the same.”
However, she added that Hsu had shown her sincerity by jumping into the river and should be forgiven.
Hsu’s agency said she had learned her lesson and hoped people would forgive her.
Unconvinced, some netizens said Hsu decision to jump into the river was just a media stunt.
“If she sincerely wanted to jump into the river and apologize, why did she also call the press to the site?” a netizen named Fini Bai said.
Some others wrote that Hsu’s comments had offended people in the south and wondered what use it was to jump into the river.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
MEDICAL: The bills would also upgrade the status of the Ethical Guidelines Governing the Research of Human Embryos and Embryonic Stem Cell Research to law The Executive Yuan yesterday approved two bills to govern regenerative medicine that aim to boost development of the field. Taiwan would reach an important milestone in regenerative medicine development with passage of the regenerative medicine act and the regenerative medicine preparations ordinance, which would allow studies to proceed and treatments to be developed, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) told reporters at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. Regenerative treatments have been used for several conditions, including cancer — by regenerating blood cells — and restoring joint function in soft tissue, Wang said. The draft legislation requires regenerative treatments
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese