It's not the food they're after

Ever wonder why Taiwanese stars love Japan and China so much? It’s not the food.

A promotional appearance to plug an album, whatever, costs TV companies in Taiwan just NT$1,350, according to Chinese-language newspaper reports.

They pay from NT$6,000 to NT$15,000 for personal appearances. Actors are paid from NT$10,000 to NT$50,000 (US$7,323) for a TV episode.

This compares with Japan, where actors can get around NT$300,000 per episode.

In China recompense for appearing in a TV film or soap opera episode is a minimum of NT$80,000 and up to NT$400,000.

The most popular singing stars are paid at least NT$800,000 for a show. As the saying goes: follow the money.