The media has been closely following the trials and tribulations of Taiwanese baseball sensation Wang Chien-ming (王建民), who last week became the center of attention after revelations surfaced that he had an extramarital affair with an Asian American woman two years ago. Efforts to give the story legs have been largely unsuccessful, as Wang’s wife, Wu Chia-ling (吳嘉姈), though keeping a low profile, is said to have forgiven him this transgression. Rumors that Wang may have been the victim of blackmail sparked interest for a while, putting the spotlight on Cyndi Cho, Wang’s erstwhile lover.
This week, Next Magazine published a report dealing with Cho’s side of the story, and concluded, “after interviews with the principals and extensive investigation,” that Cho is innocent of any wrongdoing.
The affair came to light after the publication of photos of Wang together with Cho taken when the pitcher was recovering from a shoulder injury in 2009.
Photo: Taipei Times
According to the report, Cho had in fact used the publicizing of photos on her cellphone as a threat when seeking to maintain a relationship that Wang was trying to break off. It added that the leaked photos did come from Cho’s cellphone, but that this phone had been lost and Cho was not the person who tried to sell the photos to the media. Cho said she had never extorted money from Wang, though he had always been generous in his gifts of jewelry and designer fashion accessories.
There remain suspicions that the person who leaked the photos was someone close to Cho, or who was familiar with her background. Next revealed that the blackmailer had originally sought a payoff from Wang of US$180,000 (approximately NT$5.24 million), but having been refused, had hawked the pics to media outlets for US$10,000 (NT$290,000). Cho is quoted in the magazine as saying that she felt Wang was both a “good man and a good father to his son.” That and other positive aspects of Wang’s acceptance of blame and apology seem to have ensured that he will emerge from this crisis unscathed.
Pop star Edison Chen (陳冠希) is still hurting from the effects of his sex scandal. It is hard to believe that it is nearly three years since graphic details of his sexual exploits with a number of celebrities, some married, hit the Net. Since then, Chen has been in the wilderness, trying every possible means to get back into the charmed circle of Asian celebrity life from which he was expelled for his impropriety. He is not without strong supporters, including Taiwan’s pop superstar Jay Chou (周杰倫) and Hong Kong singer Sammi Cheng (鄭秀文). He is now hanging on the skirt of Lady Gaga, who is visiting the region for her sellout Born This Way Ball tour, posting photos of himself with the pop star.
“You see, I consort with the biggest stars in the business,” he seems to be saying to anyone who will listen. Unfortunately, he still seems a long way from being welcomed back as a prodigal son.
Another person who seems unable to stay out of the media is TV entertainer Frankie Kao (高凌風). His separation from his third wife Chin Yu-chuang (金友莊) kept entertainment editors busy until February, after which Kao has been relatively quiet. Last week, he burst onto the pages of the gossip rags once again after announcing to media in China that since February he has had two one-night stands, and talking expansively about the profound impact of these encounters. When subsequently contacted by the China Times for confirmation, Kao denied these exploits, saying that he thought the Chinese media would be too conservative to print this material and he had made up the encounters so he would not look like he had lost his virility. Whether they are true or not, the whole affair seems to suggest that Kao is losing his grip. The situation is given an ironic twist by the fact that Kao is in China as a regular guest of the dating show whose title translates as Mad About Marriage (結婚也瘋狂).
Ukrainian-born model and wannabe actress Larisa Angela Bakurova (瑞莎) may not be making a huge impact in her professions of choice, but her active love life has certainly drawn media attention. Next Magazine’s intrepid paparazzi have been on her heels and have come up trumps as they caught her getting it on with former boyfriend Jiro Wang (汪東城) after seeing current boyfriend Mike off in the morning of the same day. Bakurova has no scruples about playing the field, and why should she: the boys are fair game.
May 26 to June 1 When the Qing Dynasty first took control over many parts of Taiwan in 1684, it roughly continued the Kingdom of Tungning’s administrative borders (see below), setting up one prefecture and three counties. The actual area of control covered today’s Chiayi, Tainan and Kaohsiung. The administrative center was in Taiwan Prefecture, in today’s Tainan. But as Han settlement expanded and due to rebellions and other international incidents, the administrative units became more complex. By the time Taiwan became a province of the Qing in 1887, there were three prefectures, eleven counties, three subprefectures and one directly-administered prefecture, with
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday delivered an address marking the first anniversary of his presidency. In the speech, Lai affirmed Taiwan’s global role in technology, trade and security. He announced economic and national security initiatives, and emphasized democratic values and cross-party cooperation. The following is the full text of his speech: Yesterday, outside of Beida Elementary School in New Taipei City’s Sanxia District (三峽), there was a major traffic accident that, sadly, claimed several lives and resulted in multiple injuries. The Executive Yuan immediately formed a task force, and last night I personally visited the victims in hospital. Central government agencies and the
Among Thailand’s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) villages, a certain rivalry exists between Arunothai, the largest of these villages, and Mae Salong, which is currently the most prosperous. Historically, the rivalry stems from a split in KMT military factions in the early 1960s, which divided command and opium territories after Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) cut off open support in 1961 due to international pressure (see part two, “The KMT opium lords of the Golden Triangle,” on May 20). But today this rivalry manifests as a different kind of split, with Arunothai leading a pro-China faction and Mae Salong staunchly aligned to Taiwan.
As with most of northern Thailand’s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) settlements, the village of Arunothai was only given a Thai name once the Thai government began in the 1970s to assert control over the border region and initiate a decades-long process of political integration. The village’s original name, bestowed by its Yunnanese founders when they first settled the valley in the late 1960s, was a Chinese name, Dagudi (大谷地), which literally translates as “a place for threshing rice.” At that time, these village founders did not know how permanent their settlement would be. Most of Arunothai’s first generation were soldiers
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