This week’s gossip rags have been dominated by domestic quarrels between retired stars with names that seem to come from another era. A suspected extramarital affair, alcoholism, domestic violence and other unspeakable skeletons in the family wardrobes are playing out in the public sphere like a juicy soup opera plot.
First to kick off the melodrama was actor-turned-hypnotherapist Hsu Ming (徐明) and Ying Tsai-ling (應采靈), who tied the knot with Hsu at the height of her acting career 26 years ago. China Time Weekly (時報週刊) reported that Ying last week moved out of the marital home with four pet dogs after Hsu accused her of having an affair with the couple’s next-door neighbor and, while under the influence, beat up the alleged paramour.
Bouts of grouching and bickering ensued, which were widely interpreted by the media as reenactments of the couple’s past roles in cheesy television drama series some 20 years ago.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
Though the pair reconciled with a big hug in front of the press on Tuesday, a possible lawsuit awaits China Time Weekly as Hsu remains inflamed by the magazine’s accusation of infidelity.
Meanwhile, a different husband-and-wife tiff appears to have taken a tragic turn in the story of the divorced couple Chang Chen-huan (張振寰) and Pao Cheng-fang (鮑正芳).
Once a sought-after TV actor, Chang now lives on loans from friends, works odd jobs and is consumed by alcoholism and depression, or so it seemed as he recounted his miserable life to invited media in front of the food stand he works at.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
Chang was portrayed as a pitiful man denied the chance of visiting his son by his ex-wife. A different side of the story the following day, however, when a tearful Pao suggested Chang had abused her and threatened her with a knife.
In litigation-related news, veteran entertainer Chen Chin-pei (陳今�?as found guilty for publicly insulting retired singer Hsieh Lei (謝雷) by calling him an “old gay” while appearing on a TV variety show about three years ago.
Chen was fined NT$9,000 after failing to convince the judge that the word gay is a neural term for unmarried men. Pop Stop fails to see how being called old and gay could be used as a “serious” insult.
Also on the legal front, political show host Cheng Hung-yi (鄭弘儀) filed both civil and criminal suits against pan-blue-camp entertainer Hsu Nai-lin (徐乃麟) for calling him a black-hearted, or hei xin, (黑心), in public. Hei xin goods refers to Chinese merchandise that is hazardous to public health. Hardly an imaginative putdown.
The squabble began when pan-green-camp host Cheng reportedly expressed his eagerness to host president-elect Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) inaugural ceremony on May 20, free of charge. Hsu later backed down by saying he had borrowed the term “hei xin goods” from entrepreneur Robert Tsao (曹興誠) to refer to political talking heads in general.
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
It seems every few days one bumps into one of those “real man” comments in which Taiwan is urged to “face reality” or similar, and “make a deal,” with the speaker implying that soon it will be too late. “Deal” advocates always present themselves as having a superior grip on reality, and the manly ability to make the “hard choice.” Their testosterone-laden language often echoes that of Taiwan sellout advocates. Note that such commentary always specifies a process (“make a deal, work with, make progress”), never the end state of what occupation by a violent authoritarian colonialist state will entail. In
There are shadowy cabals plotting to sell out Taiwan to be annexed by China, by invasion if necessary. Fortunately, they are buffoons. In 2019, former Bamboo Union gangster and founder of the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP), Chang An-le (張安樂, colorfully known as “White Wolf”), led a protest at the Legislative Yuan against comments made by then-premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) that in the event of an attack by China, he would never surrender, but would protect the nation by fighting to the end, even if he only had a broom. Chang had party members bring a wooden casket that they
June 1 to June 7 "If all Taiwanese were as afraid of dying as you, then what would happen?” Physician Shih Chiang-nan (施江南) reportedly said this to his wife Chen Chiao-tung (陳焦桐) after she urged him to stop intervening on behalf of Taiwanese soldiers stranded overseas after serving in the Japanese Army during World War II. Shih had clashed with high-ranking officials over the issue, engaged in several heated arguments with Taiwan governor-general Chen Yi (陳儀) and allegedly shouted at general Ko Yuan-fen (柯遠芬), chief of staff of the Taiwan Garrison Command, over
RSS