Earlier this week, Taiwanese singer Annie Yi made headlines after she was seen at a party in the US with a billionaire named Andy, who, according to netizens, looks a lot like Chinese fugitive Xia Zhu Lin. 

After pictures of Annie and Andy started circulating on Weibo, netizens speculated that Andy and Zhu Lin, who is allegedly involved in a US$50mil (S$69mil) virtual currency scam in China, are the same person. 

One netizen even questioned: “Aren’t they friends? How can she not know he’s a wanted man?” 

In response to the rumours, the actress quickly clarified through her management that she was actually attending a charity event, and is not pals with Andy. 

​According to Annie’s management, the actress was invited by a friend to attend a charity event on Jul 30.

It’s said that Annie was told that there would be media and the entire event would be live streamed.

The singer was also not paid for attending it. 

“During the event, the organiser announced that one of the donors was celebrating his birthday, and Annie was then invited on stage to say a few words and interact with said donor,” said Annie’s management.

They also said that apart from the friend who invited Annie, she wasn't acquainted with anyone else at the event. 

Meanwhile, Andy has also responded to the accusations about him being a wanted man.

According to sources close to him, Andy said: “I can confidently say that I’m proud of the business that I’ve spent the past 10 years building.”

He claimed that he has donated 5mil yuan (S$740K) to charity, paid more than 600mil yuan (S$12.2 mil) in taxes, contributed to society by creating jobs for more than a thousand people, and provided subsidies for cancer patients and students. 

He also boasted about owning more than 86 shops in Sanya and Shanghai, adding that even if he “doesn’t work for the rest of [his] life, he can get by "from just collecting rent". 

​After it was announced that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had touched down in Taiwan for an official visit on Aug 2, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV published a post on their Weibo account, declaring that there is “only one China”.

The term ‘One China’ refers to the stance held by China’s ruling party, where Taiwan is considered part of China.

A large number of Chinese celebs, as well as those hailing from Hongkong and Taiwan then proceeded to share CCTV’s post on their personal Weibo accounts, making their stance clear.

A day later, on Aug 3, a Chinese netizen wrote a post on Weibo calling out all foreign celebs who have yet to share the One China post on their personal Weibo accounts.

The list separated celebs into groups based on their nationality, and included Singaporean, Malaysia, Canadian, American, and Taiwanese celebs.

Apart from calling out S.H.E member Hebe Tien, who became a punching bag after posting a pic of her eating spaghetti, the list also included a large number of Taiwanese celebs.

Those mentioned included Ruby Lin, Jay Chou, Shu Qi, Elva Hsiao, Jolin Tsai, Wu Qing Feng, Dee Hsu, Jeff Chang, Harlem Yu, Aska Yang, Lin Chiling, Alyssa Chia, Emma Wu, Annie Yi, Show Luo, Selina Jen, Ivy Chen, Bea Hayden, Rene Liu, Ady An, Eddy Ou, Ariel Lin, A-Mei, Roy Chiu, and Jam Hsiao.

Wilber Pan and Daniel Zhou were classified under American celebs, while Eddie Peng, Edison Chen and Henry Lau were named as Canadian celebs.

Singaporean celebs like JJ Lin, Stefanie Sun and Jet Li were similarly called out. Malaysian celebs Michelle Yeoh, Fish Leong and Michael Wong were not spared either.

The creator of the list then went on to explain their rationale behind creating the list in the comments section, writing: “Sharing [the post] might just be a surface-level [show of agreement]. But for those who didn’t share it, they definitely have something to hide.”

While there were a large number of netizens who agreed that the celebs should be called out for not supporting China’s stance, some felt that there was no need for foreign celebs to do so.

“Actually, JJ Lin, Stefanie Sun and Fish Leong aren’t [from China] to begin with. There isn’t any need for them to voice out their opinions at this point, is there?” one netizen wrote. However, the creator replied: “Then, did they not earn money in the Mainland? Aren’t they part of our local showbiz scene?”

​Said creator also replied to a different netizen, who felt that it was better for celebs to steer clear of topics related to politics.

They argued that it’s the duty of celebs to share such posts, and that as long as they’ve come to China to earn money, they have to do so.

“If they don’t [share such posts], then it’s obvious what kind of attitude they hold [towards China],”   the creator wrote.

Hongkong star Julian Cheung has promised to tweak his diet after suffering a health scare last week.

The 50-year-old was scheduled to attend a fan meet in Hangzhou last Saturday (Jul 30) when his agency announced that morning that he was feeling unwell and had to be taken to the hospital for emergency treatment.

It added that Julian was diagnosed with an inflammation of the gallbladder and had to undergo surgery to remove gallstones. All his upcoming work has been postponed.

The post sparked concerns over his health, with some of fans reportedly going to Hangzhou's Lingyin Temple to pray for his health.

Fans also implored his wife, actress Anita Yuen, to take good care of him.

According to reports, Julian has since been discharged and is at home recuperating.

On Monday (Aug 1), Julian took to Weibo to update fans on his condition and thank them for their concern.

​“Hi friends, I have recovered, don’t worry! I will eat less oily food in future,” he said.

“It is through this incident that I felt the warmth of the world again. Thanks to everyone who showed their concern and sent me well wishes. I love you."

Apparently, Julian’s has had gallbladder issues for years.

In an interview with the Hongkong media, he said: "It hurts really bad!... Whenever I have food that is a tad oily, I will [be in pain]. In future, I will eat light.”

Netizens have since left messages on Weibo urging Julian to eat more nutritious and high-protein food.

“Our Guangdong stomachs cannot handle eating [rich] Changsha food every day!", wrote one fan, while another advised him to “pay attention to [his] diet and have a healthy balance of work and rest”.

Leon Lai’s 1991 hit 'Will You Come Tonight' has been trending on Chinese social media, and it surprisingly has very little to do with the Heavenly King himself.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is now in Taiwan and is the highest-ranking American politician to visit the island in 25 years.

The visit sparked tensions between US and China, who view such visits as an acknowledgement of Taiwan’s sovereignty and going against its One China policy.  

Prior to Nancy Pelosi’s arrival in Taiwan, there were doubts as to whether she would actually turn up.

Many then took to Weibo to leave comments asking “Will you come tonight?” which, yes, happens to be the title of Leon's song.

​The chorus of the song goes: "Will you come tonight? Is your love still here?", which some Chinese netizens have said is a perfect representation of the situation.

Some have also joked that 'Will You Come Tonight' should be the theme song to this saga.

However, their humour was not well received by the Chinese government, who temporarily banned the song from being played in the country.

Tensions between China and Taiwan heightened again after it was announced that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, would be visiting Taiwan.

Nancy is second in line to the US presidency after Vice-President Kamala Harris, and her visit has rankled China, who views it as a sign of US support for Taiwan.

Earlier today, Nancy formally met with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen.

And now, as a result of the heightened tensions, it seems like Chinese netizens have latched on to S.H.E member Hebe Tien, as a way of expressing their anger.

The 39-year-old posted two pictures of her eating spaghetti, which is also known as ‘Italian noodles’ in Chinese, on her IG Story.

What initially was an innocuous way for Hebe to update her fans about her daily life somehow became a politically-charged post.

You see, Chinese netizens took Hebe’s post as a sign that she’s in favour of Nancy’s visit to Taiwan 'cos Nancy is of Italian descent.

They then went on to declare that this means Hebe "supports Taiwan's independence from China".

Incensed, these netizens then took to leaving heated comments on Hebe’s social media, demanding that the singer-actress explain herself.

As of press time, Hebe has not addressed this issue.

​Hebe’s latest Instagram post, which documented a recent hike she took, was flooded with netizens mocking Hebe for “deleting her post”. IG Stories are an Instagram feature, with all content disappearing after 24 hours.

There are also many comments in support of Hebe.

One netizen wrote: “Getting scolded just 'cos [she] ate spaghetti. Is there no one selling spaghetti in the Mainland then?”

In early July, it was reported that Chinese actor and TFBOYS member, Jackson Yee, 22, was provisionally accepted for a job as an actor at the National Theatre of China.

The theatre is the largest state-level performing art organization of the People's Republic of China, and competition for a job as an actor there is exceptionally tough.

The position is considered a government job, and according to Bloomberg, it comes with “bianzhi,” which usually means protections against dismissal, housing subsidies as well as other benefits.

You know, basically an iron rice bowl.

Initially, many viewed Jackson’s move as a sign that the movie industry in China might not be doing so well.

After all, it was reported that Jackson also shuttered his company, which was involved in filmmaking and talent management.

However, netizens soon cried foul.

Reports have stated that the country is currently facing an escalating unemployment rate among youths.

Some felt that Jackson, who topped Forbes’ list of China celebrities in 2021, and is one of the the country's most well-paid stars, had no need for the job, and that it should’ve gone to an ordinary citizen instead.

Others felt that Jackson likely received preferential treatment as a celeb, and demanded for more clarity regarding the audition process.

A hashtag demanding answers topped Weibo’s trending search list.

Eventually, both Jackson, as well as the National Theatre of China responded.

The theatre shared that they’d conducted an investigation, and found no signs of foul play. They wrote that all successful applicants had followed the recruitment process strictly, and that everyone was adequately qualified.

Jackson also shared more details about his application process, revealing that he’d taken three separate examinations on April 14, 25, and May 2.

He added that it has always been his dream to become an actor with the National Theatre of China.

​“In the process [of my application], I've neither negotiated or discussed anything about a 'tailor-made' position with the teachers of the National Theatre of China, nor used any so-called "shortcut" to get a place,” he clarified.

He added: “In order not to give everyone any more trouble, after careful consideration, I’ve decided to give up my position with the National Theatre of China. But if there’s a chance, I’ll still continue to try and enter the world of theatre, to learn and upgrade myself.”

Former F4 member Vic Chou, 41, and his actress wife Reen Yu, 34, tied the knot in 2015 and have a five-year-old daughter, whom they affectionately refer to as “Little Trumpet”.

The couple are known to be fiercely private about their lives and hardly share any pics of each other on social media.

Recently, Taiwanese media claimed that the pair had fallen victim to an insurance scam and were cheated out of S$1.5mil by their insurance agent.

It was reported that the couple have sued their agent, who is known only as Ms Feng. 

In 2019, the couple bought a S$2mil investment insurance plan from Ms Feng under Vic’s name, and had to pay S$31K in premiums each time.

Although the agreement was that the premiums were to be deducted from Reen’s bank account when they were due, Ms Feng started asking the couple for cash instead from their second payment onwards.

She had lied and convinced the couple by saying that transferring such a huge sum each time would arouse the suspicions of the government, who would then think that the couple was dealing with “dirty money”.

The couple initially did not think anything was amiss, until their insurance agent started spinning stories of discounts and promotions for the cash payments.

It was only in 2021, when the insurance company called Vic and Reen to inform them that they were years behind on their payments. 

After Ms Feng was confronted with a lawsuit, she admitted she had kept the cash she received, but denied scamming the couple.

A representative of the insurance company later informed the couple that there were no special promotions for cash payments, confirming that they were indeed victims of fraud.

According to reports, Ms Feng has been ordered to return the money she took from them.

The producer for Hongkong boyband Mirror's concert, where a falling LED screen had left two dancers injured, has apologised for last Thursday’s accident. One of dancers is still hospitalised in intensive care.

On Monday (Aug 1) – four days after the accident – Lam Ho Yuen issued a statement on Instagram apologising to the injured dancers, performers, and audience members.

He said that he “did not intend to evade responsibility” but as the accident is undergoing police investigation, it was inappropriate for him to make any comment.

Ho Yuen said that the incident has been a “heavy blow” to him and his team and he did not address the accident sooner because he felt the “censure [he] faced was nothing compared to the pain suffered by the injured”.

He added that he eventually decided to speak out as there had been a lot of speculation on the internet, and that he reserves the right to take legal action against those who had spread false information.

“I have been in this business for more than 20 years, and it is truly heartbreaking to see such a major accident occur at a concert that I produced,” he said.

There had been prior accidents though.

​According to someone who claimed to be a backstage staff at the concert, the band’s rehearsals were fraught with accidents.

There had been at least three incidents and Mirror’s manager was so furious that she told Ho Yuen to fix the stage mechanism before proceeding with rehearsals.

Another staff member told Hongkong media that the LED screen that fell had initially been placed at a different position during rehearsals and the first two nights of the concert. Subsequently, it was moved to a lower position, and this was when the accident happened.

Preliminary investigation into the accident revealed that one of the two steel cables attached to the screen had broken. However, it was too early to tell who is responsible for the mishap.

Two dancers were injured after the screen fell from a height and crashed onto the stage. One of the performers was discharged last Friday, while the other, Mo Lee, remains in critical condition.

​According to reports, Mo, who suffered a fractured cervical vertebra and internal bleeding in the brain, is fighting for his life after undergoing two operations on his spine and neck area.

He is in danger of being paralysed from the neck down.

On July 31, a five-minute clip posted by a sales assistant working at a wig shop in Taiwan started making the rounds online.

In the video, which consisted of footage taken from a CCTV, a man can be seen approaching the sales assistant and constantly invading her space. He was later identified as Andrew Chou aka Machi Didi, 32, a former member of Taiwanese hiphop group Machi.

The sales assistant provided more context in her post, revealing that the incident happed on July 16.

She was brushing out the wigs in the shop when a man entered her shop, and asked for a glass of water in American-accented Mandarin.

When the sales assistant walked into the back of the store to get a glass of water, Andrew began dancing on the spot. Later, he walked towards the back of the store, and reached his hands out to the sales assistant, seemingly asking for a hug.

The sales assistant shared in her post that she was frightened at the man’s actions. However, she managed to side-step him, and returned to the shop’s main area.

After getting the cup of water from the sales assistant, Andrew sat down on a couch in the shop, but did not leave.

“Seeing him shaking his head and drinking his water, with no intention of leaving, I was really afraid that he might approach me once again and invade my personal space,” the sales assistant recalled.

She added that she suspected he was a public figure, which was why she posted the video online. Netizens quickly identified the man as Andrew and condemned him for his behaviour.

They also took to Andrew’s Instagram to leave comments calling him a “pervert” and “trash".

A day after the initial video was posted online, Andrew took to his socials to apologise for his actions. He also revealed that he was having a manic episode when the incident happened.

“To be honest, I’ve never known how to handle stress and frustration. As a result, I’ve been under great pressure for a long period of time, and I did not face this issue well. I just felt weak, depressed, and unable to muster up any energy,” he wrote.

He went on to explain that he was feeling out-of-sorts, as he recently received news that a family member in America had been hospitalised, and was severely ill. Additionally, his personal computer had been hacked and all his personal data was wiped.

Apart from that, his official YouTube account was banned, and he lost access to his investment accounts as well, which contained not only his personal funds, but money that had been entrusted to him by his family and friends.

As a result, he had not slept for eight days at the time of the incident.

“Regarding everything that happened that day, I only have fragmented memories of what went on. But I do remember my wife and family picking me up from the ambulance, and bringing me home. I only realised that I was still alive [at that point],” he wrote.

He added that his family brought him to the doctors for an examination two days later, after his condition had stabilised. The doctor then diagnosed that Andrew had a manic episode after an accumulation of stress and trauma.

Andrew admitted that he barely remembers what transpired in the wig shop, but could only recall feeling extremely thirsty and needing to drink water. However, as he had left the house with nothing on him, he had to ask for a glass of water from the sales assistant.

“I'm extremely sorry for frightening her by reaching my hands out towards her. After I sat down and drank the water, I left the shop immediately. However, after seeing the video, I was frightened by my own actions. I am extremely, extremely, apologetic for terrifying her. At the same time, I’m really thankful that she was willing to give me a glass of water when I was not in the right state of mind, and in need of help,” he wrote.

He went on to share that he hopes for the speculation regarding his actions that day to die down, and that he had no ill intentions at all.

​“Actually, I was really reluctant to share about my mental and physical condition, and I took a while before I could accept and learn more about this condition. However, I also wish to use this opportunity to encourage everyone not to silently endure everything when facing great stress and hurt. We definitely must face this head-on, and seek help. Right now, I’m still receiving professional treatment,” he said, adding: “The doctor said that my condition has improved greatly. I believe that I will definitely survive this slump.”

Andrew also thanked his friends and family for their support, as well as the police officers and ambulance technicians, who assisted him and contacted his family on the day of the incident.

Hallyu star PSY, 44, who’s most known for his 2012 mega-hit song 'Gangnam Style' issued an official statement after reports revealed that a construction worker had fallen to his death while taking down the stage at the star’s Gangneung concert.

PSY is known for his summer concerts, which he has held since 2011.

The main-selling point of the tour, which features multiple stops in cities over Korea, is that copious amounts of water will be used at the concert.

Giant water cannons are used to spray water into the crowd during the concert. According to reports, each concert will use up to 300 tons of drinkable water.

The concert tour was put on hold due to COVID-19, making this year’s tour the first in three years. However, even before the concerts, PSY faced criticism from netizens for “wasting water”, as South Korea is currently facing a severe drought.

Nevertheless, the 10-stop concert tour proceeded on as planned.

On July 30, PSY performed in Gangneung. One day later, it was reported that the construction workers dismantling the stage were ordered to stop work at around 3:53pm.

Later reports revealed that a Mongolian worker in his twenties had fallen from a light tower while dismantling it.

The tower was about 15m high, and the worker, who was in a state of cardiac arrest, was rushed to the hospital. Unfortunately, he was pronounced dead upon his arrival.

Initial investigations revealed that the worker most likely slipped from the light tower due to the wet and slippery conditions of the stage.

Currently, investigations are being conducted to ascertain if the proper safety procedures were followed when the accident happened. Additionally, the exact cause of the fall has not been confirmed yet.

PSY’s management agency, P NATION, issued a statement on the day of the accident, confirming the construction worker’s demise.

They revealed that the Mongolian worker was employed by an outsourced contractor, and also expressed their utmost regret.

“We are deeply aware of the hard work put in by the labourers who toil silently behind-the-scenes, and as a result feel even more anguished by this [fall],” the statement read.

P NATION added that they will do their best to assist in matters regarding the labourer’s funeral. They also pledged to review their operating procedures, and incorporate countermeasures, so as to prevent any similar incidents from happening.