Ariel Lin takes in the sights of Vancouver

Taiwanese actress Ariel Lin tied the knot with her businessman husband, Charles Lin four years ago, in 2014. However, the lovebirds have to live apart from each other, due to their work commitments. Charles is based in America, while Ariel’s work usually has her shuttling between China and Taiwan.

Recently, the 36-year-old took off to Vancouver, Canada for a holiday, together with her close friends, as well as Charles.

Throughout the course of her vacation, Ariel managed to tick a number of items off her holiday bucket list, from visiting a Christmas fair and Granville Island, to completing dives at six scenic spots in the area.

On Tuesday, former singer-actress Stella Huang, who is on vacation with Ariel, shared some pictures of their trip. Amongst the pictures was a group picture of everyone, including Ariel’s husband. As Ariel rarely uploads pictures of her husband, fans were delighted at the picture, which showed Charles all bundled up in black, beside Ariel.

The snow-covered landscape also drew the attention of many, with Ariel herself expressing her admiration for the "laid-back and relaxed" vibes in Vancouver.

​Back in 2008, Hong Kong actress Alice Chan stunned everyone when she announced that she will be tying the knot with her boyfriend of three months, Taiwanese businessman James Yen.

Following her marriage, the actress stepped out of the spotlight, becoming a full-time housewife. All seemed well in her marriage, until last year, when she revealed that her marriage had actually ended after four years, in 2012.

A year after the announcement, she decided to share more on her marriage, to shed light on why it eventually ended. 

After tying the knot, she had moved with her ex-husband to Bangkok, Thailand, where he did business. Whilst in Bangkok, she spent her days doing housework, and cooking for her husband. As James was busy with his work, he often neglected her emotionally as well. Though he was not unfaithful to her during their marriage, they were unable to "connect" with each other, said Alice.

Confessing that she felt like a worker, and that she had lost her sense of self, Alice added that there was no physical intimacy in their marriage. “If our relationship was good, and (he) touched me often, then we wouldn’t have divorced,” she said.

However, when James eventually brought up the matter of getting a divorce, Alice was unable to come to terms with it. She had to seek help from a friend, who was a psychiatrist, to come out of her shell and find herself again. As a result, their divorce was not announced until 2017, when James was spotted on vacation with a young singer. 

We’re fast approaching the final leg of 2018, which means it’s that time of the year to dust off our memories of the past few months and get ready to welcome a brand new year.

With just over two weeks left in the year (yes, this is a timely reminder for everyone), we took the opportunity to talk to the cast of upcoming Channel 8 drama Heart to Heart about their year in a nutshell – namely, the happiest and saddest memories that they’ve experienced in the past year, along with their plans and hopes for the new year.

Before we dive into that, here’s a little more about the drama, which will debut on Channel 8 on Christmas Eve. Yue Wen Guang (played by Elvin Ng) returned home to Singapore to see Yue Xiang Lou, a teahouse passed down from his late grandfather, a mere shadow of its former heyday. He joins hands with Liang Na La (played by Joanne Peh) to restore it to its former glory. The 25-episode drama not only explores the themes of family, but also love and friendship.

Joanne Peh stalks Instagram accounts to cast leads in short film project

When we asked Joanne about her 2018, she admitted with a laugh that she hasn’t really had the time to sit down and think about her year because she’s been too busy – not just with filming, but also with her ‘third baby’, The Dimple Loft.

However, she will be jetting off to Japan with Qi Yuwu and her two kids, Baby Qi and Qi Didi, for a much-deserved holiday. “We’ll be heading to Tokyo. Originally, we were thinking of other locations, but we realised that we need to think about what the children will eat, the air quality, and whether we’re familiar with where we’re going… We thought about it for a really long time and ended up going to Japan again!” she said with a mock sigh.

Yuwu, who came back to Singapore shortly before his birthday, will likely be staying until Chinese New Year, and head back to China for filming before hopefully (fingers crossed) coming back to Singapore where he'll be doing a new Channel 8 project.

Joanne will also be dipping her toes into scriptwriting and directing next year, as she will be taking on the challenge to film a 30-minute short film. While she has already started on the pre-production process, the actual filming is slated to take place in March. “I think our everyday lives have a lot going on, so this time around I want to write a story which will make you feel happy and good. The leads are both new faces, and the male lead is someone who’s been working behind-the-scenes in showbiz. The female lead, she’s a model and I found her through Instagram 'stalking',” Joanne shared.

Yuwu, who was the first reader of her story, gave her invaluable input while she was in the creative process. “He read through what I wrote, and he told me what he thought of the message I meant to convey. As it turns out, what he perceived it as and what I meant wasn’t the same, so I had to work on how to express what I wanted to,” Joanne explained. “Just like the viewers and everyone else, not everyone will know what exactly goes on in my head, so he helped me a lot with that.”

Elvin Ng’s shattered dreams of becoming a bad guy

Elvin has had a bumper year, not only filming his first Channel 5 drama, 20 Days, but also jetting to China to film his first period drama, Till We Meet Again, among other projects. Currently filming Hello Miss Driver, Elvin shared that he will be tied down with work for the next few months, but being busy is a good thing, at least for this workaholic.

The bad, however, had Elvin rather disappointed. “I was told that I would be playing the villain in All Is Well, so I was quite excited about that. I went to see the director (Wang Shaudi) and after that, I was told that I would be playing a good guy instead,” he said with a sigh and chuckle. “I asked why that was the case, and apparently, the director said that I gave her a feeling that I was very filial and real, which was why. I don’t know how that happened but it just did!”

That being said, Elvin shared that he’s excited to be heading to Taiwan, alongside good friend Romeo Tan, for this co-production early next year. As for his dreams of becoming a baddie – in reel-life at least – he’ll say that he’ll just have to wait for the next time.

The silver lining for Zhang Yaodong’s surgery

Zhang Yaodong tore his Achilles tendon on his left leg in August while playing badminton, which caused him to have to undergo surgery and be hospitalised for a month.

“The moment I lay down on the floor, I think that was the worst memory of 2018,” he confessed. “I was thinking about all the work that had to be delayed because of me, and that feeling was just terrible.”

Thankfully, the production crew managed to shuffle the filming schedule around and change some of the scenes so that Yaodong would be sitting down instead, and filming wrapped without a hitch. It wasn’t all doom and gloom as well, as the 40-year-old smiled that he’s realised that he’s made quite a number of showbiz friends in his almost two-decade career.

“Joanne would cook soup for me and visit me almost every day,” he shared. “Terence Cao was the one who was with me when I was wheeled in for my surgery, and there were quite a lot of the people from showbiz that visited me in hospital during that time. I think my people relations aren’t too bad!”

Chen Xiu Huan’s very fulfilling, very busy 2018

Chen Xiu Huan made her showbiz comeback this year, and the actress has admittedly had a bumper year filming both dramas and movies.

“When I first came back, it was like, wow, do we say all these lines at one go now? It wasn’t like this in the past!” she chuckled. “I think this year, I spent some time getting used to filming again, and I was very happy because I was doing what I love.” Looking to the future, she shared that she hopes that she will be able to film more projects that have more emotional scenes instead.

For the short term, she will be jetting off for a holiday (as we speak, she’ll likely be on the plane) with her family, following which she will return to Singapore and go for another holiday with her daughter, Shalynn Tsai.

She shared that she will be taking the opportunity to spend some quality time with Shalynn, who has just completed her ‘A’-levels, and talk about their respective futures together.

Xiang Yun’s Little Nyonya dreams

Currently filming The Little Nyonya in Malaysia, Xiang Yun came back to Singapore specially to attend the press conference. She shared that when she first found out that she would be part of the cast, she was extremely excited to be part of a cross-country collaboration.

However, her work will see her working all the way through Christmas and the New Year, which means that her family, Edmund Chen, Chen Yixi and Chen Yixin, will be flying over to see her over in Malaysia. “They won’t be staying for long because I’ll be working,” she said.

As for her children recently passing the Motown audition in China, the actress chuckled, “We actually only found out what a big deal it was through the reports. It’s been Addy (Lee) who has been arranging for all of this, so when we realised that there were thousands of people who participated in the audition process, we were like, wow! For our kids to be able to make it to the top 100, that means that they’re not too bad, either.”

Hong Kong singer-actress Fiona Sit attended a beauty brand event in Hong Kong. "I like to do my own makeup because I've learned how to paint before, so my face is just like a 3D canvas," she said.

Fiona shared that she had just arrived from Beijing and that she only managed to get three hours of sleep after being up for 30 hours straight. "I think now is the time for me to work really hard - I will only think about having fun when I have retired!" she said.

Although Fiona has been without an agency for close to six months, she said that she did not feel like she was struggling. "I may sign on with a company in the future, but I'm happy to have learned so many things finding work by myself over the past half a year," she said. "It's an experience that money can't buy."

When asked about her upcoming Christmas plans, Fiona said that she will still be busy working. "Not a single man asked me out on a date," she laughed. "That's because my assistant and I only have each other to look at!"

Hong Kong actresses Kara Wai and Joyce Tang had rehearsals for their upcoming stage play The Glass Menagerie in Hong Kong.

Kara shared that she has become less nervous over the past few days compared to when rehearsals first started, and that she is confident that she will do a good job and not forget her lines. "I may only have a little bit of stage fright on the day itself!" she said.

On the other hand, Joyce admitted that she is feeling very nervous about acting opposite Kara as her daughter. "Kara is very experienced in performing and has a fantastic memory, so I think all my pressure is because of her!" she laughed.

Since the show will be on during the New Year period, Kara and Joyce may not be able to celebrate with their families. "It's not unusual for me to have to work over the New Year," said Kara. "But this time, my family will be coming to watch me perform, so that's not too bad!"

Last year, Zheng Ge Ping and Hong Hui Fang’s son, Calvert Tay, made his showbiz debut with his first Channel 8 drama, While We Are Young. Even from then, Ge Ping made it clear that he’s not one to mollycoddle his kids, especially when it comes to work.

This time around, he’s turning his words into actions with upcoming Channel 8 drama The Good Fight, which he is helming as the executive producer (EP). Tay Ying, who will be taking on her first drama with the character Elaine, a bright, headstrong person – who, coincidentally, is versatile in martial arts – shared that her dad has been incessantly nagging at her to do a good job.

“At the training sessions, he would tell Rebecca and Paige that they’re doing well, but when it came to me, he would be like, ‘Okay’ and move on!” the 22-year-old chuckled during an interview in the midst of their imaging session two weeks ago. “Even at home, he’s been nagging quite a lot. Like, we might be having dinner with everyone else and he’ll suddenly ask, ‘Did you work out today?’ and I have to remind him that we’re with the family.”

The ever-concerned father explained in a separate interview, “I trust my daughter. I’ve never needed to remind her to do the things she has to do even when she was in school, because I know that she’s a very disciplined person. She has her foundations in martial arts (Tay Ying is a black belt in Taekwondo), so I’m not too worried about her in this aspect.”

For those of you who might be wondering how Tay Ying got her role, rest assured that we did the probing, to which Ge Ping confirmed that just like every other actress, she went through the audition process and was eventually chosen by not just him, but the rest of the production team as she best fit the role.

Meanwhile, Tay Ying shared that her character has a lot of lines in this drama, which means that she’s been practicing her lines back at home – not with her dad, who’s been busy with other matters – but with her mum.

“I’ve asked her for help practicing, and she’s pointed out that I have to work on my pronunciation. She’s also demonstrated how I should express different emotions, and not just use the same tone for all my scenes,” Tay Ying mused. “I have a number of emotional dialogues, so I’m working on those.”

The budding actress, who is set to graduate from SIM-RMIT university, where she’s doing a Bachelor of Business (Marketing), in mid-2019, shared that she’ll likely be heading to Shanghai after her graduation, as she has successfully auditioned for an acting school named Motown there. She, along with Edmund Chen and Xiang Yun’s kids, Chen Yixi and Chen Yixin, jetted off to Shanghai for the auditions last month, and while all three made the cut, Tay Ying explained that due to their different schedules, they will unlikely be able to attend classes together.

Tay Ying tells us about the dating ban that was imposed on her

To get accepted into this acting school, she had to undergo a series of tests, said Tay Ying. She was tested on her acting chops – with a period drama’s script, no less, and had to perform one of her talents, which—surprise, surprise—was martial arts and dance.

Beyond that, there are no definite plans for Tay Ying to shift her focus overseas, despite previous reports that she will be heading to China to kick start her career in the mainland.

We also took the opportunity to check in with the actress about how her social media habits might have been affected after the public falling out of Pan Ling Ling and her mum, seeing how Tay Ying’s social media posts in support of Julie Tan about the matter might have ruffled the feathers of some.

“There hasn’t been any change in how we’re allowed to use social media (… But) I’ve had to delete quite a lot of my Instagram posts that I made before (I made my showbiz debut),” she shared, saying that it came at the advice of Addy Lee. “I used to take photos of everything, like even when I eat something, so I’ve gotten rid of 500 or 600 of these posts.”

But what of the memories that came with these? “Actually, you don’t see it anymore, but I can… Basically I archived all of them lah,” she revealed sheepishly. Apart from the random posts on food and such, we asked if her past photos of herself with male friends were also axed.

“I don’t really take photos with guys, and even if I do it’s in a whole group of us, so that’s not a problem,” she said. “I used to have a dating ban before I turned 21, but now that I’m over 21, I haven’t really asked (Addy Lee) about this leh. Maybe I should!”

We then had to bring up the not-quite-happy topic of Calvert being caught up in relationship rumours with her close friend Julie Tan, something that Tay Ying thankfully took in her stride.

“When I first heard the news, I thought it was really funny. One is my brother, the other is my good friend, and age-wise, I’m in between the two of them,” she grinned. “But I told my brother, there’s no need to distance yourself from a friend just because of what others say, because at the end of the day, we’re all in a clique of friends and it doesn’t make sense to alienate yourself from your friends just because you’re worried about how others look at you.”

Bruneian singer-actor Wu Chun’s schedule is packed to the brim, with the 39-year-old just touching down in Singapore mere hours before his interview session with the media. Before that, he was busy filming for an upcoming episode of the Chinese variety show, The Most Beautiful Time.​​​​​​​

In town to grace the opening of the Mark Nason x Skechers store in Bugis Junction, Wu Cut cut a fine figure dressed head-to-toe in atheleisure, complete with a pair of Mark Nason X Skechers kicks on his feet. 

13 years after first making his debut as a member of the Taiwanese boyband Fahrenheit in 2005, Wu Chun has transformed into a family man. First, was his appearance on the wildly popular reality show, Where Are We Going, Dad?, which catapulted his kids, 7-year-old Nei Nei and 4-year-old Max, to fame in China last year. Now, the 39-year-old and his 72-year-old father, property tycoon Goh Kim Tian, are making waves with their appearance on The Most Beautiful Time.

Though only three episodes have aired as of press time, the older Wu has already topped search rankings in China, with numerous articles waxing lyrical about the age-defying features of the 72-year-old.

Thus, it was no surprise that the biggest topic of discussion at the interview session was the star’s fit and fab father.

Wu Chun and his dad on 'The Most Beautiful Time'

Sharing that his dad is actually pretty shy in real life, Wu Chun laughed that he was taken aback by how confident he is in front of the cameras. 

“My dad’s usually quite shy, but when we were on stage yesterday (while shooting for The Most Beautiful Time), he stepped out and sang with so much confidence. It was a big stage, almost similar to that of a concert, but he was not nervous at all,” he said.

When it comes to singing chops, Wu Chun admits that his father “is better at singing than me", though the acting crown in the family still belongs to him.

However, life as a ‘celebrity' as opposed to just a ‘celebrity's dad’ is not that different after all, especially if one lives in Brunei. 

“He’s not the type to search for himself online, to see what other people are saying about him. Someone told him that he had topped the trending searches on Weibo the other day, but he actually didn’t even know what a trending search was,” Wu Chun shared, adding that his father has only watched one out of the three broadcasted episodes so far.

“In Brunei, they don’t treat him any differently as well, so life is still pretty simple,” he said.

What is the secret behind his family’s age-defying youth?

When asked for the ‘secret' behind his family’s age-defying looks, Wu Chun credited exercise, as their fountain of youth. 

“My dad was really quite handsome when he was younger. I might look good now with the help of stylists and makeup artists, but for my dad, he was already handsome even without all these. The reason why my dad looks so youthful, is because he really loves exercise. So, I feel that as long as you exercise frequently, you’ll seem as if you’re 10 years younger,” he said.

Sharing that his dad, a former national athlete, had first brought him to the basketball courts when he was 10, and then to the gym five years later, Wu Chun revealed that the older Wu is pretty much a gym freak, and can be found working out five days a week. 

Of course, as the owner of a chain of gyms, it is no surprise that exercise features prominently in Wu Chun schedule. In fact, the 39-year-old shared that his two kids, Nei Nei and Max often come to the gym with him as well. Nei Nei takes wushu and dance classes there, while Max can be found at the basketball courts with his dad and grandpa, who is Wu Chun’s basketball coach.

Though attention has been heaped on his father’s youthful looks, Wu Chun professes that he does not feel any added pressure or stress to maintain his own looks, so as to keep up with his father.

“I think it’s a given for us to age, and have wrinkles. I wouldn’t feel scared of these signs, or undergo cosmetic procedures because of (wrinkles). (I’m confident that I’ll age as gracefully as my dad), in 20 years time, the change wouldn’t be that drastic. Now that I’m a father, I hope to be able to live a long life (to spend more time with my children),” he shared.

Charlene Choi, Pakho Chau, Jeana Ho and more attended the lensing ceremony for their new film 77 Heartburns in Hong Kong.
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Charlene and Pakho revealed that this movie continues the story of their characters from the previous film 77 Heartbreaks. This time, however, Charlene was not as involved in the behind-the-scenes work as last time, and she did not incorporate her own romantic experiences into the script.

Since Pakho has to bare his arms for boxing scenes in the movie, he especially focused on them while working out, leading Charlene to praise his improvement in his skills.

When asked if Charlene is worried that her filming schedule will clash with Gillian Chung's wedding ceremony, she happily shared that she already requested to take leave on that day a long time ago. She also shared her thoughts on Gillian's pre-wedding fitness journey that she has been sharing on social media, saying, "Her gym videos have become like food for my soul because her coach is too funny!"

Charlene then reported that the results of Gillian's weight loss efforts have been quite good, and that she hopes that they work out together one day.

​Celebrity couple Sun Peng and Di Ying’s son, Sun An Tzo has been deported from America yesterday, and is scheduled to arrive in Taiwan tonight, bringing an end to the overseas legal battle.

An Tzo, who was studying at a high school in Pennsylvania, was arrested after he warned a friend not to come to school on a particular day, as he was planning a school massacre. After his arrest, an array of weapons was found in his room, including a crossbow, an assembled handgun, as well as 1,600 bullets in a duffle bag. 

He was charged with making a terror-related threat in state courts, and later, for possessing ammunition while being in the states on a non-immigration visa  by the federal courts.

However, his sentence was backdated to the day of his initial arrest, March 27. In court on Monday, An Tzo apologised for the trouble he had caused America and Taiwan, as well as his parents. 

Before making her ruling, the judge also spoke to An Tzo’s parents, who were present for his hearing, impressing upon them the need to ensure that their son “grows up and becomes a mature person”. 

After that, it was ruled that An Tzo will be deported back to Taiwan immediately, with no chance of ever re-entering America again.

Though the legal battle in America has been concluded, Taiwanese media are reporting that An Tzo might have to face further legal action in Taiwan. It is said that he will be sent to the district prosecutor’s office in Shihlin, Taipei, for interrogation immediately upon his arrival. Following the interrogation, the authorities will decide whether to apply for an arrest warrant for An Tzo, or to restrict his ability to travel overseas in the future.

​Jimmy Lin makes frequent trips overseas for work-related matters, and has been spotted multiple times shuttling between Taiwan and neighbouring cities such as Hong Kong.

However, it seems that he might have stepped on some travellers’ toes during his recent trip to Hong Kong, as a netizen claiming to have been on the same flight as the actor-singer shared that he caused the flight that he was on to be delayed for half an hour.

In her rant, the woman, who is only known to the media as Ms. Chen, shared that Jimmy, along with three other companions, were traveling in business class. Just as flight attendants were preparing the cabin for takeoff and closing the cabin doors, Jimmy suddenly requested that one of his checked-in luggage be retrieved.

“All the passengers were seated but he suddenly asked for his luggage. Even though his attitude (towards the crew) was okay, but his actions caused the entire flight to be delayed,” Ms. Chen wrote.

As the crew required someone from his party to be present to verify that the luggage that they were retrieving was the right one, one of the members of Jimmy’s traveling party disembarked and followed as instructed. Ms. Chen went on to claim that the flight was delayed for “half an hour” due to this entire episode.

The netizen went on to say that Jimmy’s selfish act was inexcusable, especially since he is a public figure whose every action is under the scrutiny of the public. At press time, Jimmy Lin has yet to respond to the accusations.

Ms. Chen claimed that she was on a flight scheduled to depart from Hong Kong at 10.55pm on November 29. A quick check online showed that the only flight that fits that description is Cathay Pacific’s flight CX408. However, according to flight tracking websites, the plane departed Hong Kong airport at 10.58pm on that night, which was similar to its scheduled departure time.