What better way to cap off a nice evening at the movies with a close friend than to strangle a reporter from the Apple Daily (蘋果日報) in a parking lot? That's what Jason Hsu (許孟哲) of 5566 got to do last week and surely Nicholas Tse (謝霆鋒) and other reporter-bashing pop stars blushed when they saw the pictures in the paper the next day.
There was 19-year-old Hsu, straddling the poor reporter, his hands firmly wrapped around the man's neck and seemingly wrenching at his trachea. Not long ago, 5566 was held up as a paragon of adolescent boy bands, but more recently its members have scuffled with the media and basically outed themselves as a bunch of hotheads.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
Predictably, Apple reported the confrontation as an outrage and raised the specter of lawsuits. Hsu, along with all his bandmates, felt compelled to make a public apology on TV the next day. Looking glum and penitent, he made the ritual deep bows and promised to rein in his temper in the future. Hilariously, Apple said they felt his apology didn't look sincere enough, so it was still considering filing suit. Sounds like an out-of-court settlement in the making.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
If actress Suzanne Hsiao (
Now to the long-rumored romantic relationship between Jay Chou (
After Kill Bill, Quentin Tarantino was so inspired by his brush with the martial-arts genre that he now plans to film a kung-fu flick entirely in Mandarin, according to Hollywood media. The film, which is still only a glimmer in Tarantino's eye, will reportedly be dubbed for English audiences, but the dubbing will be intentionally of poor quality to mimic the bad overdubs of 1970s martial-arts movies. Whether the lines will be re-dubbed in Mandarin for Chinese-speaking audiences was unclear.
The government released figures for October showing that, year on year, exports increased 49 percent to a record US$61.8 billion for the month. The dramatic increases were partly due to fall being the high season, but largely due to the AI boom driving demand for exports, which many investors fear is rapidly turning into a massive bubble. An editorial in this newspaper last month warned that the government should be ready in case the boom turns to bust. In previous boom-bust cycles, from shoes and textiles, through computer parts and accessories, to tools, bicycles and sporting goods, Taiwan has survived in
Nov. 30 to Dec. 6 It is said that those who refused to vacate Kipatauw’s upper settlement were knocked unconscious by Japanese agents and dragged to fingerprint the deeds. The Japanese coveted the site’s valuable white clay for Beitou District’s (北投) growing ceramics industry, and they were determined to acquire it by any means. The Indigenous Ketagalan settlement of Kipatauw had withstood centuries of external pressures and cultural erosion. Despite gradually losing much of their territory to Han settlers, they remained distinct into the early 20th century. By 1895, three communities persisted: the upper settlement near
Spicy, scarlet red Sichuan food isn’t normally my suggestion for a first date. But hear me out, if you can both handle a three-chili rating, this spot could be the one. The vibe is intimate and in-the-know cool, the food is fantastic and will spur many a conversation, the cocktail list is wacky and fun — and they do offer free mouthwash in the restroom. Old Seat (老位) is tucked down an unassuming alleyway in the bustling Zhongxiao Dunhua (忠孝敦化) area, warm red lighting and fairy lights leading the way. It’s elegant, overtly hipster and even our table by the
This week, President William Lai (賴清德) and his administration launched a major publicity blitz to drum up support for a proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$40 billion) special defense budget. This was well-planned and executed, and politically astute, but it is still far from becoming a reality: He needs to convince the opposition-controlled legislature to pass it. The chance that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislative caucuses vote to approve everything that the administration wants is low, but Lai and his team have gone to great lengths to optimize the chances of getting some, or even most