Hong Kong's entertainment industry likes to know that its celebrities are willing to do anything to get in front of the camera. Anything, that is, provided the studios are taking the pictures. If, however, a celeb moves behind the camera and begins filming another celeb in compromising positions, then the whole industry develops a prudish morality overnight. This is vigorously supported by a media that condemns the actor, all the while publishing the very photos they are condemning under the bogus excuse that it's the public's "right" to know.
This is precisely what is happening with fellatio-lover Edison Chen (陳冠希). The luckless Chen thought he had deleted videos he shot of some of Hong Kong's most famous female celebrities - including Gillian Chung (鍾欣桐), Bobo Chan (陳文媛), Mandy Chen (陳育嬬), Cecilia Cheung (張柏芝) and Chiu Ching-yu (趙頌茹), just to name a few, in various sexual positions and performing various sex acts that hark back to the good old days of Chu Mei-feng (璩美鳳) - from his computer, which he later took in for repairs. Surprise, surprise! Images from the videos began to appear online two weeks ago.
In the "sex scandal" fallout, Columbia Pictures has allegedly dropped Chen's scenes from its upcoming film Jump (跳出去), a joint production with Stephen Chow's (周星馳) company Star Overseas. The film was scheduled for release in early May. This has now been pushed back to October.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Ming Pao Daily reported that negotiations for Gillian Chung of pop duo Twins, to endorse a toothpaste company in China for NT$16.5 million have fallen through as a result of the scandal. This seems silly, really, because Gillian would be the perfect poster child for why twenty-something women should brush.
On the home front, the Apple Daily reported that Bobo Chan's (陳文媛) wedding to wealthy stock market investor Phillip Kam (金紫耀) has been called off. Cecilia Cheung's marriage to pop star Nicholas Tse (謝霆鋒), on the other hand, remains strong, even though the 141 pictures of her with Edison are among the tastiest of the bunch. Perhaps Tse and Cecilia are sticking it out because of the recent birth of their son.
Incidentally, the Internet is going crazy with rumors that more pictures are yet to be published, including images of actress Maggie Q (李美琪) and pop queen Jolin Tsai (蔡依林).
On the positive side, some of Hong Kong's stars have gone on the record as supporting Edison and his ladies. One blogger quoted Chinese megastar Gong Li (鞏俐) as saying, "Young people may be very impulsive but there is no point blaming them. If we can embrace them with wider arms, they will learn from their mistakes."
Veteran Hong Kong actress Lisa Wang (汪明荃), on the other hand, was more philosophical: "If you don't want others to see you naked, then don't take such pics!" Good advice Lisa, but it will be forgotten within a year.
If newspapers and members of the showbiz firmament have been getting all high and mighty, at least some bloggers were thanking Edison for putting a little extra zing in their sex lives. After looking at the racy photos, couples said they were getting hot under the collar and Pop Stop wouldn't be surprised if sales of condoms have skyrocketed.
Back in Taiwan, disgraced entertainer Hung Chi-te's (洪其德) problems just keep mounting. Busted two years ago after traces of amphetamine, ketamine and ecstasy were found in his hair, he decided to retire to Kenting (墾丁) where he opened a dumpling restaurant with entertainer Jung Hsiung (戎祥). Hung probably won't be serving dumplings in the near future after he hit and killed a woman while driving under the influence. One would have thought that Hung had learned a lesson from his drug days. But hubris, Pop Stops supposes, comes with the territory.
Finally, starlet and Puff the Magic Dragon fan Pei Lin's (裴琳) ex-boyfriend Ye Jin-long (葉金龍) ushered in the Year of the Rat by ratting out model Yvonne Yao (姚采穎), calling her a coke head, according to a report in Apple. Yao has yet to respond to the allegations but if precedent is anything to go by, she'd better hurry up and get a haircut - a full-body haircut, as former Channel V presenter Jason Tang (唐志中) would probably suggest. Meanwhile, Pei Lin will be drying out in a rehab clinic for at least 40 days to kick her own marijuana habit.
The Taipei Times last week reported that the rising share of seniors in the population is reshaping the nation’s housing markets. According to data from the Ministry of the Interior, about 850,000 residences were occupied by elderly people in the first quarter, including 655,000 that housed only one resident. H&B Realty chief researcher Jessica Hsu (徐佳馨), quoted in the article, said that there is rising demand for elderly-friendly housing, including units with elevators, barrier-free layouts and proximity to healthcare services. Hsu and others cited in the article highlighted the changing family residential dynamics, as children no longer live with parents,
It is jarring how differently Taiwan’s politics is portrayed in the international press compared to the local Chinese-language press. Viewed from abroad, Taiwan is seen as a geopolitical hotspot, or “The Most Dangerous Place on Earth,” as the Economist once blazoned across their cover. Meanwhile, tasked with facing down those existential threats, Taiwan’s leaders are dying their hair pink. These include former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), among others. They are demonstrating what big fans they are of South Korean K-pop sensations Blackpink ahead of their concerts this weekend in Kaohsiung.
Taiwan is one of the world’s greatest per-capita consumers of seafood. Whereas the average human is thought to eat around 20kg of seafood per year, each Taiwanese gets through 27kg to 35kg of ocean delicacies annually, depending on which source you find most credible. Given the ubiquity of dishes like oyster omelet (蚵仔煎) and milkfish soup (虱目魚湯), the higher estimate may well be correct. By global standards, let alone local consumption patterns, I’m not much of a seafood fan. It’s not just a matter of taste, although that’s part of it. What I’ve read about the environmental impact of the
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