NEWS STORY
Taiwan actor arrested
while shopping in wig and miniskirt
TAIPEI - Taiwanese actor Chen Chun-sheng has played some
tough roles but none as difficult as the real-life one he has now as a man
explaining to police why they caught him in a wig, miniskirt and high heels at
a shopping centre.
The incident last weekend has been a hot topic in the
Taiwanese media, and Taipei city council members weighed in yesterday,
criticising the way police had handled the case.
The handsome soap-opera star told reporters he dressed up as
a woman and went for a midnight stroll near an upscale Taipei shopping centre
because he was researching a cross-dressing role.
When asked if he was bisexual or a transvestite, he told
reporters: 'Absolutely not.'
Police stopped Chen after residents reported there was a
strange person in the area.
After giving the police a fake name, Chen tried to run away
but he was caught by a passer-by, according to police. He was released later
without being charged.
At a news conference yesterday, two members of Taipei's city
council, Mr Chen Hsiu-hwei and Mr Hsu Fu-nan, held up the pair of black, fake
Gucci pumps that Chen left behind and criticised police for letting him go so
easily.
The politicians acknowledged that cross-dressing is legal in
Taipei but it is illegal to give police a false name and try to flee during
questioning.
Police said they did not bother pursuing the case because
the actor had no criminal record and was not breaking any law when they
stopped him.
Chen acted in Very Important People last year and The
Daughter-in-Law of The Elder Brother in 2000.
Both shows were well received by Taiwanese viewers.
In 1999, he played an evil character in a sword-fighting
series entitled White Hair Devil Woman.
A graduate in business management, Chen gained fame last
year teaching people how to improve their memory.
He is now the executive supervisor of the Digital Learning
System Consultant Company.--AP
Singapore
Straits Times 22 May 2002
