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 Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
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