The hubbub over Zhang Ziyi’s (章子怡) recent sandy sweethearting has prompted considerable moralizing in China. As Pop Stop reported a few weeks back, Zhang and her Israeli fiance, Aviv “Vivi” Nevo, were caught noshing up the beaches of St Barts, a French territory in the Caribbean. A paparazzo snapped pictures of the Memoirs of Geisha and 2046 star in what one blogger from China described as Zhang’s “unpatriotic behavior,” for exposing herself in public so brazenly.
Song Zude (宋組德) blogged that Zhang did this because she was “only interested in her career and money.” Pop Stop must protest. Starlets only expose themselves when their careers are faltering, not when they are at the pinnacle of the celebrity firmament, as Zhang currently is.
Time passes, however, and it seems that nationalistic zeal has taken a backseat to criticism of Zhang’s body — particularly her “tiny” bust size. Which is hardly surprising, given the tabloids’ obsession with this particular part of a woman’s anatomy. This week’s edition of Next Magazine even published a detailed report on why an ageing model wants to have cosmetic surgery done on her breasts. (It’s because they “droop,” if you must know.)
Meanwhile, yWeekend, the online version of the Beijing Youth Daily, caught up with “Fred,” the mystery man from France behind the Zhang photos, who described for readers what he saw.
“Nevo kept rolling his body back and forth. Then he caressed Zhang Ziyi’s back. He caressed it again and again. His hand then slid further and further down. I could not believe what my eyes were seeing. It was getting too hot. Then they went into the ocean to swim. My guess was that they got too ‘hot’ and they had to cool down by jumping into the ocean.”
So this is what constitutes steamy behavior: a man and a woman who plan to marry caressing each other on a beach. Fred probably would have had a heart attack if he’d snapped last year’s photos of Edison Chen (陳冠希) with his coterie.
And speaking of marriage, Hong Kong director and one of the “Four Heavenly Kings of Canto-pop” Andy Lau (劉德華) said that Taiwanese actress Shu Qi (舒淇) would be worth marrying because she is good to her family, according to reports in Apple and the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper).
His comments at a press conference for the release of his new movie Look for a Star (游龍戲鳳) plus a wedding ring on his ring finger predictably sent the assembled gossip hounds into a frenzy. But Lau burst their bubble when he pointed out that the ring was the property of a certain French fashion house and that he and Shu were just old friends.
In other “Heavenly Kings of Cantopop” news, “God of Songs” (歌神) crooner Jacky Cheung (張學友) ended his one-year hiatus from the music industry with a press conference at Hong Kong Disneyland. He said he’ll release a new album, film a movie and hold a concert within the year, according to a report in the Oriental Daily News. He also lamented the lack of solidarity in the music industry and how he was powerless to remedy the situation.
It looks as though pop singer Wen Lan (溫嵐) has hooked up with another woman’s man — again, according to a report in Next. The saga began in July when Wen sent a flurry of text messages to dancer Lin Chun-che (林群哲), who had been in an 11-year relationship with fellow dancer Chen Hsien-he (陳仙禾). Both dancers have collaborated with Wen, and Chen and the singer had been close friends for years. Fast-forward six months and Lin dumps Chen to be with Wen. Par for the course for Lin, really, because the Casanova has allegedly cheated on Chen a number of times.
And finally, no Lunar New Year would be complete without a celebrity prediction. According to a report on Yahoo, a fortune-teller says that Jolin Tsai’s (蔡依林) career will tank this year and that she will be luckless in love because she devotes too much time to her career.
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
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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