ENTERTAINMENT
Hu Ting-ting announces split
British-born Taiwanese actress Hu Ting-ting (胡婷婷), the daughter of Greater Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強), announced yesterday that she has separated from her husband, Julio Acconci, after a year of marriage. “It was a very peaceful decision made by both sides... we are still good friends,” Hu Ting-ting wrote on Facebook. She did not give a reason for the breakup, saying only that “it was love that brought us together. It was also because of love that we decided to part ways.” Hu Ting-ting, who made her acting debut as a Thai prostitute in the romantic comedy Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, married Acconci in January last year. At a press conference yesterday, her father choked up with emotion as he said that he was “shocked” and very sad to hear the news, but that the most important thing for him now was to help his daughter through this difficult time.
ENTERTAINMENT
Hsu sets marriage date
Taiwanese singer-actress Vivian Hsu (徐若瑄) is to marry her Singaporean businessman fiance Sean Lee in June, her management company said. The couple held an engagement party on Saturday in Taipei. While the 38-year-old model, singer and actress enjoys popularity in her home country and Japan, she plans to settle down in Singapore after her marriage, but will continue her career in the entertainment business if there are good opportunities, the company said. Lee is chief executive officer of Marco Polo Marine, a Singapore-based integrated marine logistics group. Hsu was once a member of the popular Japanese group Black Biscuits and has also appeared in a number of films and television series in both Taiwan and Japan, including The Shoe Fairy (人魚朵朵) and The Knot (雲水謠).
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
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