Taiwanese bestselling writer and film director Giddens Ko (柯景騰), also known as Jiu Ba-dao (九把刀), admitted yesterday that he cheated on his girlfriend, after he was photographed entering a motel with another woman.
“In the world of love, I am not a good man. I am terrible,” Ko said at a press conference after Chinese-language Next Magazine yesterday published the pictures of him and the female, a local TV station reporter.
Ko said he had apologized to his girlfriend, but had not been forgiven.
However, Ko also expressed grievances, saying he felt awkward having to explain his private life to the public because he had been followed by paparazzi.
However, such embarrassment might be what he deserves because of his infidelity, he said.
“I feel pained and awful,” he added.
The 36-year-old is best known for his novel You Are the Apple of My Eye (那些年,我們ㄧ起追的女孩).
In 2011, a movie based on the book became a blockbuster in Taiwan, while in Hong Kong it surpassed the 2004 Hong Kong film Kung Fu Hustle (功夫) to become the highest-grossing Chinese-language movie in the territory’s history.
In June, popular Taiwanese cartoonist “Wan Wan” (彎彎), who had a guest role in You Are the Apple of My Eye, also issued a public apology after an extramarital affair was revealed by Next Magazine, which published photographs of her kissing and embracing a fellow blogger, Huang Chien-ming (黃建銘).
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
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