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Chen Kun's son: is Yoyo adopted or illegitimate?

This week, my gossip radar has been seized by Yoyo, the mysterious son of actor Chen Kun. Chen, with his rumored homosexuality and no marriage to speak of, has never acknowledged Yoyo's identity as his biological or adopted son.

According to a Taiwan media report Monday, Chen claimed to be "Yoyo's real father" after being asked a serial of sharp questions about the child during a Taiwan talk show.

Despite his publicist later denying the claim by saying that the "real father is different from the biological father," Southern Metropolis Entertainment Weekly, one of the few local gossip magazines, could not be stopped from revealing that that Yoyo was conceived by a local A-list actress and Chen was indeed his biological father.

Alarm bells ringing, I got straight onto my super sleuths and uncovered the story's loophole with just a little research.

Yoyo is currently 8 years old, which has been previously confirmed by Chen's stepfather.

Turning back time eight years to 2002, we are faced with a situation where current A-list actresses including Zhang Ziyi, Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei, Li Bingbing and Fan Bingbing were all far too busy to put aside nine months to carry a child without being noticed by the media.

For more information, I dialed my personal friend Lee who coached Chen in English back in 2004 and 2005, when learning the language and preparing for Hollywood were high on local stars' agendas.

Lee said that at that time he was aware of Yoyo's existence, long before media spilled the news in 2007.

According to his observation, Yoyo does not resemble Chen in terms of his appearance. "I'm 80 percent positive that he is adopted," Lee said, although he never had the courage to ask Chen personally during their lessons, a regret for himself and the world at large.

One assumption from a solid source was definitely not enough for a professional like me. With the help of a search engine and several insider tips, I found a short interview with Chen when he guest-starred on a TV series in 2003.

In the interview, he admitted that he had adopted a child as his son. Considering he was just starting his showbiz career at the time, one may assume that he quite probably was telling the truth for once.

So, with the myth seemingly solved, another question followed: why would he later decline to reveal the child's identity? To me, the answer is glaringly obvious. On the bright side, maybe Chen does not want Yoyo to find out that he is adopted; on the more-likely flip side and a perspective much more interesting to most, the timing of the media's attention on Yoyo is far too coincidental not to be suspicious.

Local media started filing reports on Yoyo in May, 2007, when Chen had a new film coming out; this time, he is promoting his latest album in Taiwan. The media seem to be a little too helpful and timely for my liking.

Celebrity wannabes, you should be inspired by Chen's curious case and adopt children right away because:

1. It is charity and does good to society and your personal image;

2. Being gay, a child can shift the focus away from your sexuality, though in Chen's case, it is not that helpful;

3. A child is always the best propaganda tool to get you on front pages and in the public eye and last and best, in Doriah Morrison's Rumor Mill!

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