Renowned Taiwanese chef Cheng Yen-chi (鄭衍基), better known as A-chi-shih (阿基師), yesterday dismissed speculation that he had sex with a woman he was photographed with entering a motel, saying that they had merely “hugged and had mouth-to-mouth contact.”
Cheng made the remarks at a press conference in Taipei yesterday afternoon, during which he bowed deeply to a large group of reporters before acknowledging that everything reported by the Chinese-language Next Magazine was true.
The 60-year-old chef-turned-TV personality was referring to an article in yesterday’s edition of the magazine, which alleges that Cheng arrived outside the WeGo Motel on Taipei’s Linsen N Road on a motorcycle at approximately 8pm on Dec. 2 before hopping into a black car being driven by a long-haired, middle-aged woman.
Photo: Chen I-chuan, Taipei Times
The article said that the pair then drove into the Bellezza Taipei Hotel in Zhongshan District (中山) and stayed there for nearly 40 minutes, adding that the woman subsequently dropped Cheng off where he had parked his motorcycle.
The magazine added that it was not the first time Cheng has been spotted entering a motel with the woman, alleging that they also spent 30 minutes at the WeGo Motel on Nov. 20.
“The woman pictured by Next Magazine’s paparazzi is a 40-year-old fan of my cooking show, surnamed Chen (陳)... I became acquainted with her after she started asking me about my cooking skills in private ... because as a worker in the service sector for decades, I do not turn down my customers’ requests without good reason,” Cheng told the press conference.
Cheng, who was once voted the nation’s most eligible bachelor, said he gradually established an emotional bond with Chen and began helping her deal with distress caused by financial issues.
The chef said he met with Chen on Dec. 2 to “enlighten her on her problems,” but she then drove him into the Bellezza without consulting him first, saying she wanted to talk in a quieter place.
“We did not go into the room and stayed in the car the whole time, but I have to admit that we did hug and had mouth-to-mouth contact when we were overwhelmed with emotions,” Cheng said.
Cheng said his wife was informed of every meeting they had, and he even told her that Chen was rather passionate about him, adding that he did not harbor any “dirty thoughts” about Chen despite her addressing him as “Dear hubby” in several text messages.
He then apologized to the public and urged Chen to stand on her own feet from now on because his kindness in helping her put him in an awkward predicament.
“I am innocent and both my wife and daughters are very supportive of me. [One of] my daughters called me this morning, telling me that she supports me because [she knows] her father is not a playboy,” Cheng said.
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
ECONOMIC COERCION: Such actions are often inconsistently applied, sometimes resumed, and sometimes just halted, the Presidential Office spokeswoman said The government backs healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but such arrangements should not be made with political conditions attached and never be used as leverage for political maneuvering or partisan agendas, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks after China earlier in the day announced 10 new “incentive measures” for Taiwan, following a landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in Beijing on Friday. The measures, unveiled by China’s Xinhua news agency, include plans to resume individual travel by residents of Shanghai and China’s Fujian
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