Edison Chen (陳冠希) has left the building, but the storm he has stirred up is likely to rage a while longer. After all, it's all grist to the media mill. Next magazine plumbed new depths this week with its feature story on one of the hookers who reportedly provided services for the former Canto-crooner.
Besides the stars who were involved in the sex photo scandal and the others rumored to feature in the unreleased photos confiscated by police, old friend and staunch supporter, Shu Qi (舒淇), has been tainted by association.
A series of T-shirts released by Original Fake in association with Clot depicts the ex-sex kitten in lace knickers with garters and a backless nurse costume. On another shirt she is portrayed getting intimate with a cartoon sperm. Internet gossipmongers have been quick to spot similarities in the provocative pose with those in the photos taken from Chen's computer. The fact that Shu has been a staunch supporter of Chen even after the scandal broke has only lent fuel to the fire. Then again, Shu's sex life has hardly been a closely guarded secret, so even though she has now given up her vampish ways and is a bad girl gone good, the whole business of being seen getting naked on camera must just seem so last year.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
In other news, the first celebrity feud stemming from CTV's One Million Star (超級星光大道) pop idol reality show is about to begin. Jam Xiao (蕭敬騰) and Aska Yang (楊宗緯), who managed to manipulate press hype surrounding his disqualification into stardom, are going at it. Though Xiao defeated Yang during the first season of the show, both have been signed to Warner, but Yang once again seems to have gotten the short end of the stick. Jam is in the hands of Chen Tse-shan (陳澤杉), the celebrated music impressario who the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister paper) says will return to Warner Music in May, after two-and-a-half years as director of EMI. Chen, who is rumored to be taking many high-powered EMI artists with him, has procured for Xiao a lucrative eight-figure deal which includes all of Warner's international marketing muscle. Yang, whose recently released album Dove (鴿子) hit number one on the G-Music charts this week, is hardly complaining, but according to Next magazine, the fact that he is being handled by showbiz entrepreneur Hsu An-chin (許安進) means that Warner will view him as an "outsider," denying him the perks of their own house artists.
Yang has further competition from Lin You-jia (林宥嘉), who won the first season of One Million Star. Yang will be holding his first major concert on May 17, and is likely to be compared with Lin, who will start an nationwide tour on May 24 following the release of his first album. A report in the United Daily News (UDN) says that tickets are already selling well and that he is likely to perform before 12,000 people.
A-Mei (張惠妹) is over 20 and has wowed stadiums seating thousands, but "the light of Taiwan" (台灣之光), as she is described in a UDN report, is suffering from sleepless nights as she prepares to take the stage in a Japanese production of Turandot. She is currently in Tokyo working day and night on this unconventional role. UDN quoted A-Mei as saying that she is so nervous that she has broken out in pimples, but at least she doesn't have the pressure of being a superstar over there. "It's like when I was a student in Boston," she said. "Nobody knows me here, so there isn't the pressure of being A-Mei."
That US assistance was a model for Taiwan’s spectacular development success was early recognized by policymakers and analysts. In a report to the US Congress for the fiscal year 1962, former President John F. Kennedy noted Taiwan’s “rapid economic growth,” was “producing a substantial net gain in living.” Kennedy had a stake in Taiwan’s achievements and the US’ official development assistance (ODA) in general: In September 1961, his entreaty to make the 1960s a “decade of development,” and an accompanying proposal for dedicated legislation to this end, had been formalized by congressional passage of the Foreign Assistance Act. Two
Despite the intense sunshine, we were hardly breaking a sweat as we cruised along the flat, dedicated bike lane, well protected from the heat by a canopy of trees. The electric assist on the bikes likely made a difference, too. Far removed from the bustle and noise of the Taichung traffic, we admired the serene rural scenery, making our way over rivers, alongside rice paddies and through pear orchards. Our route for the day covered two bike paths that connect in Fengyuan District (豐原) and are best done together. The Hou-Feng Bike Path (后豐鐵馬道) runs southward from Houli District (后里) while the
March 31 to April 6 On May 13, 1950, National Taiwan University Hospital otolaryngologist Su You-peng (蘇友鵬) was summoned to the director’s office. He thought someone had complained about him practicing the violin at night, but when he entered the room, he knew something was terribly wrong. He saw several burly men who appeared to be government secret agents, and three other resident doctors: internist Hsu Chiang (許強), dermatologist Hu Pao-chen (胡寶珍) and ophthalmologist Hu Hsin-lin (胡鑫麟). They were handcuffed, herded onto two jeeps and taken to the Secrecy Bureau (保密局) for questioning. Su was still in his doctor’s robes at
Mirror mirror on the wall, what’s the fairest Disney live-action remake of them all? Wait, mirror. Hold on a second. Maybe choosing from the likes of Alice in Wonderland (2010), Mulan (2020) and The Lion King (2019) isn’t such a good idea. Mirror, on second thought, what’s on Netflix? Even the most devoted fans would have to acknowledge that these have not been the most illustrious illustrations of Disney magic. At their best (Pete’s Dragon? Cinderella?) they breathe life into old classics that could use a little updating. At their worst, well, blue Will Smith. Given the rapacious rate of remakes in modern
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