Taiwan's Jay Chou steps up fight with paparazzi

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwanese pop king Jay Chou has stepped up his fight with paparazzi, calling them "dogs" and other unflattering names in a video he uploaded on YouTube.

At a news conference Monday, Chou acknowledged making a disrespectful gesture to a photographer from the Apple Daily newspaper who snapped a picture of him and his Australian-Taiwanese girlfriend, Hannah Quinlivan, outside a restaurant in northern Taiwan.

Apple Daily says Chou hit the man during the incident Friday.

Chou's YouTube video contains clips of the confrontation. The clips do not show an attack, and Chou denies hitting the photographer.

Widely known for his hostility to paparazzi, Chou told the news conference that "we shouldn't let them run all over us."