Zhang Ziyi (章子怡) was among the first to congratulate Ang Lee (李安) on his recent record-breaking achievement after winning his second Golden Lion trophy in three years. And, according to the Chinese-language media, the Asian megastar expressed keen interest in working with Lee again.
Propelled to international stardom by Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (臥虎藏龍) in 2000, Zhang's desire is understandable since she lined herself up for a role in Lee's latest movie, Lust, Caution (色戒), but lost out to up-and-coming Chinese star Tang Wei (湯唯).
How did Lee respond to Zhang's charming solicitation? The genteel director promised the star he would give her a "better" role next time.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
Aboriginal diva A-mei (張惠妹) consolidated her reign over the Mando-pop music firmament with a concert last Saturday that reportedly attracted 30,000 fans. That figure should put her rumored erstwhile lover, Wang Lee-hom (王力宏), to shame as his concert on the same day managed to muster only 5,000 concertgoers.
A-mei pulled off her classic taimei (台妹) look with pink fishnet stockings, stilettos and a bosom-boosting corset, but failed to divert the media's attention from her ongoing relationship with Super Basketball League player He Shou-cheng (何守正), who is 11 years her junior.
The star responded with the well-worn"we are just friends" speech, but entertainer Blackie (黑人), the pair's go-between, sent gossip hounds into a spin by saying the 35-year-old singer is childish and the age difference is not an issue in the pair's relationship.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
Top stylists, designer outfits and her taimei getup also help, of course, to keep A-mei looking hip and sexy.
In other babe-related news, queen of cute Rainie Yang's (楊丞琳) status as the "first lady" at music giant Sony BMG was reinforced as her third album hit store shelves last week, ready for a duel with Sony BMG deserter Jolin Tsai (蔡依林), whose new album is slated to be released by the end of this month.
Known as local show biz's dancing diva, Tsai is expected to take the battle to the dance floor with her improved pole dancing, acrobatic and yoga stunts in tight and glittering attire.
The other contender, known as the founder of the cult of cuteness, has practiced her splits, somersaults and twirls, but is said to face a tough fight ahead since she has hitherto built her entire career solely on her baby-doll visage.
The fight is on.
One week after his commendable donation of NT$15 billion to National Taiwan University for the construction of a cancer center and biomedical engineering projects, tycoon Terry Gou (郭台銘) has reportedly given NT$13 million to veteran producer and funny man Wang Wei-chung's (王偉忠) new television program, which is slated to go on air by the end of the year.
Audiences shouldn't expect to see anything like the zany cast of The Big Pressure Cooker (全民大悶鍋), a TV program that caricatures politicians and celebrities, on the show, but academics, professionals and entrepreneurs lecturing on different topics. The aim of the program is "to help people find new directions or inspirations in life," Wang is reported as saying.
It looks like the country's favorite comic sketch writer is cleaning up his act to suit Gou's charitable ethos.
Taiwan’s English education system is being pulled apart by three opposing forces. Bilingual Nation 2030 pulls students toward English and global communication. Artificial Intelligence (AI) readiness pulls them toward digital judgment, verification and AI-mediated work. But Taiwan’s old exam culture pulls them back toward memorization, grammar drills, timed reading and correct answers. If the education system keeps using old exams to define success, it risks producing graduates who are neither genuinely bilingual nor genuinely AI-ready, but trained for tasks machines can already perform. The first force is Bilingual Nation 2030. Launched in 2018, the policy aimed to “help Taiwan’s workforce connect
“Taiwan’s Opposition Leader Comes to US With a Message Straight Out of Beijing” read a May 31 headline in the Wall Street Journal. Top US administration officials and members of Congress almost certainly read the WSJ, and if there was a bullet point takeaway that people in Washington should absorb ahead of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chair Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) arrival in DC on June 9, that headline is it. The last few columns have discussed this very topic, and the timing is not coincidental. While those top officials likely do not read the Taipei Times, judging by the number
With weighty, anxiety-inducing geopolitical topics dominating the headlines, checking in on the wild and weird state of local politics can take some of the edge off. This November’s elections will determine who will be in charge of fixing potholes in your neighborhood, not the potholes in Taiwan’s complicated geopolitical space. Recently, after an online interview with a Taipei-based journalist, I commented that Taipei journalists never go further than the MRT can take them. He laughed and agreed. Naturally, the Taipei mayoral race is eating up much of the press attention. TAIPEI CITY Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Puma Shen (沈伯洋) has
In December of 2008 Lee E-tin (李乙廷), a Miaoli county legislative hopeful, was convicted of vote-buying. Rather than buy votes retail, voter by voter, in the usual manner, Lee had done it wholesale, in a commendably efficient manner: he had visited local temples and made donations to gain their support. Because he did not normally make donations to temples, the court ruled he was attempting to improperly influence voter behavior. The case indicates how important temples are in influencing political life. Both judge and politician appeared to see them in the same way. Beijing sees them that way as well. Democratic Progressive
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