Hannah Quinlivan’s (昆凌) greatest claim to fame is her relationship with Jay Chou (周杰倫) — gossip columns have even nicknamed her J Girl (J女郎). The two have tried to keep their relationship low profile, but media scrutiny has intensified to the point where Quinlivan’s daily routine is seen as fascinating even when the Chairman of Mandopop is nowhere in sight. A photographer working for our sister newspaper, the Liberty Times (自由時報), recently followed Quinlivan through an entire afternoon of running errands.
The series of snaps starts with Quinlivan going for a manicure at a nail salon in Ximending. After realizing she was low on cash, Quinlivan took her aesthetician to a nearby ATM to get payment. Afterward, Quinlivan accompanied her mother to church, where she was spotted fiddling on her phone during the special Father’s Day service. (Quinlivan’s dad is supposed to be visiting Taiwan from Australia, but so far he has managed to do a better job than his daughter at evading the media.)
Quinlivan’s phone usage during church was the most scandalous thing the Liberty Times photographer captured, and is downright innocent when compared to the exploits of another celebrity partner, Lee Chin-liang (李進良). Readers of Pop Stop will recognize Lee as the soon-to-be former son-in-law of beloved variety show host Hu Gua (胡瓜).
Photo: Taipei Times
Lee and wife Hu Ying-chen (胡盈禎) are currently embroiled in messy divorce proceedings, and the plastic surgeon hit the news last month when he was snapped with two sexily-dressed women. But Lee had been racking up headlines even before the separation. In 2008, he was accused of negligence after a patient said he botched her breast implant surgery and left her with debilitating injuries.
Last week, Lee was photographed heading to the Taipei district prosecutor’s office to pay a NT$184,000 fine in relation to the heavily publicized case. Lee, ambushed by reporters, stayed mum. The fine is just the tip of the financial iceberg Lee is currently facing — he is involved in a NT$200 million financial dispute with his wife and her father, who invested heavily in Lee’s medical career.
Actor Wang Chien-min (汪建民) is being mocked in the press as a “mama’s boy” after starting a relationship with actress Bao Ma (寶媽, real name Wang Mei-hua, 王美華), who is 13 years his senior. The pair initially tried to keep their affair under wraps even after they were spotted shopping for women’s lingerie together. Rumors then surfaced that Wang’s previous girlfriend dumped him after discovering Bao Ma’s belongings in his home.
But 56-year-old Bao Ma let it slip that her 43-year-old paramour’s mother advised him to “take good care of Bao Ma.” It seems like he has been taking his parent’s words to heart. Last week, Wang was pictured waiting two and a half hours in his Mercedes Benz for Bao Ma to emerge from a TV station. The two then grabbed dinner at a noodle shop.
Despite all the clues, the two are still refusing to confirm their relationship. After dropping his supposed girlfriend off at her home, Wang tried to shoo away the reporters who were tailing him by playing down the age gap. “Bao Ma is my elder, but the two of us are both older, so why chase us? Go chase young people instead!” Wang exclaimed. When asked to confirm his romantic involvement with Bao Ma, Wang kept a “poker face,” according to the newspaper.
In happier celebrity news, pop star Selina Jen (任家萱), who suffered horrific burns over her body after a filming accident in 2010, publicly thanked her father for his support during her recovery. The S.H.E. member divulged that she had been furious with her father, Jen Ming-ting (任明廷), after he refused to blame director Chen Ming-chang (陳銘章), even though many fans (and Selina’s fiance) accused him of neglecting safety on the set of I Have a Date With Spring (我和春天有個約會).
Jen, who has said she became suicidal during her painful rehabilitation, said her father’s attitude caused a rift between them. “There was a time when I became very negative. I could not understand [my father’s] strength. I could not accept his forgiving nature and my emotions reached a point where I could not face him,” she posted on her Facebook page.
Now Selina says she admires her father’s grace. “Dad, thanks. I love you!” she wrote.
Cheng Ching-hsiang (鄭青祥) turned a small triangle of concrete jammed between two old shops into a cool little bar called 9dimension. In front of the shop, a steampunk-like structure was welded by himself to serve as a booth where he prepares cocktails. “Yancheng used to be just old people,” he says, “but now young people are coming and creating the New Yancheng.” Around the corner, Yu Hsiu-jao (饒毓琇), opened Tiny Cafe. True to its name, it is the size of a cupboard and serves cold-brewed coffee. “Small shops are so special and have personality,” she says, “people come to Yancheng to find such treasures.” She
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