Time magazine's annual search for the 100 most influential people of the entertainment world this year has launched a struggle for cultural dominance between fans of director Ang Lee (
Lee came in first with 34 percent of the vote, with Rain trailing at 29 percent. Clint Eastwood managed to put in a respectable performance with 18 percent, but the cream of celebrity stardom, including George Clooney, Jon Stewart and J.K. Rowling, all polled at 4 percent or under.
Some Taiwan patriots on local BBS where busily posting links to the site. Fearing that South Korean fans would mobilize a mass vote for Rain, they urged Taiwanese fans to support Lee. They even designed a program to allow Internet users to vote multiple times.
PHOTOS: TAIPEI TIMES
You can't help but wonder that given their tech savvy fans, just how much of Lee and Rain's popularity was due to technology. Even Zhang Ziyi (章子怡), Miss Bitch herself, got in with 8 percent. Clearly fans in Asia are willing to go the last mile for the cultural icons, even if it does involve bending the rules.
Broadway musical Westside Story will be performed in Taiwan from May 15 to May 28. The star of this much-anticipated show is Caral Anne Sanita, who is a great fan of Chinese culture, and even has the Chinese character, xin (
"I got this tattoo in China Town in New York two years ago. I like its meaning," she said.
Preparations for the Beijing Olympics 2008 are moving on apace, but even the issue of the official song, which will be sung by a number of Hong Kong stars, has led to some unseemly wrangling, with Jackie Chan (成龍) demanding a bigger slice of the lyrics than had been allotted to him. You would have thought Chan is secure enough in his celebrity status to be above that kind of thing. In any case, his request got knocked back by producer Alan Tan (譚詠麟), who didn't want Chan hogging the whole show.
Chan said he wanted every-body to have an equal share. Like, yeah right.
Hong Kong's notorious paparazzi have been up to their old tricks again, catching Karen Mok (莫文蔚) and boyfriend Stephen Fung (馮德倫) enjoying a bit of domesticity. Mok has denied that the two are living together, but Fung was happy to leave the allegations of cohabitation hanging, and added that he was glad of the opportunity for the media exposure. Nevertheless, he said he would keep the curtains drawn next time.
Popular show host Little S (
Little S will be co-hosting the Golden Melody Awards with Momoko Tao (陶晶瑩) in June. Tao's baby wasn't expected until the end of the month, which had producers worrying she would not be back in shape for the big event, but now the smiling new mother is also the darling of the event organizers, who can expect two young mother hostesses on the award podium.
Perhaps the fuzzy feelings generated by two new, young, and most importantly, slim mothers will be enough to give new life to the sagging spirits of the Golden Melody Awards.
When the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese forces 50 years ago this week, it prompted a mass exodus of some 2 million people — hundreds of thousands fleeing perilously on small boats across open water to escape the communist regime. Many ultimately settled in Southern California’s Orange County in an area now known as “Little Saigon,” not far from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, where the first refugees were airlifted upon reaching the US. The diaspora now also has significant populations in Virginia, Texas and Washington state, as well as in countries including France and Australia.
On April 17, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) launched a bold campaign to revive and revitalize the KMT base by calling for an impromptu rally at the Taipei prosecutor’s offices to protest recent arrests of KMT recall campaigners over allegations of forgery and fraud involving signatures of dead voters. The protest had no time to apply for permits and was illegal, but that played into the sense of opposition grievance at alleged weaponization of the judiciary by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to “annihilate” the opposition parties. Blamed for faltering recall campaigns and faced with a KMT chair
Article 2 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China (中華民國憲法增修條文) stipulates that upon a vote of no confidence in the premier, the president can dissolve the legislature within 10 days. If the legislature is dissolved, a new legislative election must be held within 60 days, and the legislators’ terms will then be reckoned from that election. Two weeks ago Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) proposed that the legislature hold a vote of no confidence in the premier and dare the president to dissolve the legislature. The legislature is currently controlled
Dull functional structures dominate Taiwan’s cityscapes. But that’s slowly changing, thanks to talented architects and patrons with deep pockets. Since the start of the 21st century, the country has gained several alluring landmark buildings, including the two described below. NUNG CHAN MONASTERY Dharma Drum Mountain (法鼓山, DDM) is one of Taiwan’s most prominent religious organizations. Under the leadership of Buddhist Master Sheng Yen (聖嚴), who died in 2009, it developed into an international Buddhist foundation active in the spiritual, cultural and educational spheres. Since 2005, DDM’s principal base has been its sprawling hillside complex in New Taipei City’s Jinshan District (金山). But
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