Michael, Farrah were icons in Taiwan

According to Yu, Jackson's agent spoke to him several times about Jackson's desire to perform in mainland China. Unfortunately, conditions on the other side of the Taiwan Strait were not quite yet right for a tour by Jackson, and he never got the chance to make his dream come true.

Still, Jackson stayed close friends with fans in Taiwan and was known to occasionally exchange letters and phone calls with them.

While American music has always had its fans here in Taiwan, Jackson was one of a handful of American performers who was able to magically connect with his audiences here.

Remarkably, Jackson also happened to be in Taiwan when news broke about him being accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy at his Neverland Ranch estate in California.

When the news hit the wires, Jackson locked himself in his hotel room at a fancy Taipei hotel and family members came to Taiwan to defend his reputation, making worldwide headlines.

Even more young people in Taiwan do not realize that Farrah Fawcett was also a household name here in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The TV series that made Farrah famous in the United States and around the world, “Charlie's Angels,” was one of a handful of American television series broadcast in prime time on domestic television here.

At a time when television content was strictly controlled under martial law, the series “Charlie's Angels” was broadcast by CTS from 1977 to 1981 and widely watched by local people.

At that time, there was no cable television service, video cassette recorders were far too expensive for ordinary people to buy or use, and people would schedule their lives around their favorite evening TV shows.

Farrah's layered hairstyle was also a hit with Taiwanese women and the so-called “fala tou,” meaning “Farrah head,” remained popular for years after Farrah herself quit appearing on the series.

It is impossible to describe in today's world, where video content is available on demand through the Internet and cable and celebrities tend to come and go in a matter of months, just how famous Farrah Fawcett was in Taiwan back in that era.

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