Makiyo madness engulfs Taiwan

What's the big story in Taiwan? You might think it is Linsanity, but when I opened the Taipei Times just moments ago, the top 5 stories were:

1 Makiyo, friend released on bail
2 Makiyo, friend charged with assaulting driver
3 Police face charges in Makiyo case
4 Watchdog urges media restraint in Makiyo case
5 Fong Fei-fei, the ‘Queen of Hats,’ passes away at 58

Makiyo was also the week's most read story at the China Post as well.

The Makiyo story is gigantic. A bare bones summary from the first story:

The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday wrapped up its investigation into a case involving singer-actress Makiyo and her friend Takateru Tomoyori, charging both with assault and asking for four and six years imprisonment respectively over the alleged beating of a taxi driver last week.

Another taxi driver had filmed the half-Japanese Makiyo and a friend in the act of beating the driver. Two other actresses in the vehicle were also charged with giving false testimony to the police. The police themselves may face charges since apparently the tape, available at the scene, was not given to the prosecutors until after it had appeared on TV, suggesting that policemen may have been trying to suppress it.

This event has led to much breathless Taiwan media Golden Retriever style "investigation" and reporting into the woman's alleged past as if it somehow meant something. From the same story:

Asked to comment on the singer-actress’ character, some sources within the Japanese community in Taipei said that Makiyo, who is half-Japanese, was not a well-behaved student when she attended the Taipei Japanese School.

Many parents were really troubled by some of her behavior, the source said, such as kissing her boyfriends in school.

Also involved was the famous staunchly pro-KMT gangster Chang An-lo, the White Wolf (long post, shorter one). In China, Chang stuck a finger into the case to offer cash and to stir up anti-Japanese sentiment. Not to mention get his name in the papers.

The case, which has been all over the internet here, sparked public concern that Makiyo was being tried in the media. Part of the problem was that Taiwan's news market is saturated with news stations demanding an endless supply of news, meaning that the event was repeatedly in the news as the stations updated their stories throughout the ensuing days. Even worse, some of the accused appeared on TV to discuss the case though it is still under investigation. Indeed, one deponent claimed that his testimony had been orchestrated by Makiyo's talent agency....

After being indicted by the prosecutor, Takateru Tomoyori, the Japanese man who participated with Makiyo in an attack on a taxi driver, revealed in a TV talk show that it was under the guidance of the agency that he made a false statement to the police. Tomoyori had said that only he, and not Makiyo, carried out the attack. This statement led to the police's investigation into possible perjury by Makiyo's agency.

Prosecutors said Makiyo herself faces a four year jail sentence in the case, Takateru Tomoyori is looking at six years.

The drunken beat down was triggered by the taxi driver's request that the people in the back buckle up as the law now requires.... *sigh*
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Daily Links

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• Database of Taiwan laws in English
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• Bruce Cumings, the longtime scholar of US involvement in Asia, excerpted his new book on US naval ascendancy in the Pacific over at JapanFocus 
• The Taipei Times reports housing prices to fall, market to remain sluggish. Next year is not going to be a very good year for the economy here in Taiwan....

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