Looking Back In Wonder
admin I started the year with something which could have been regarded as inauspicious. Just days before Chinese New Year, I went for surgery to correct my bunions. You an read…
2019
Traitors To Their Own Conscience
Called the 五毛党 or simply 五毛 , it is impossible to miss them if you ever engage in discussions on China. They belong to the same breed as Singapore’s “internet…
Buried Alive
There is strong indication that a heinous crime was committed last week. Three victims of a sinkhole accident could have been buried alive some 3 hours after they were discovered.…
Standing Up For Singaporeans?
Singaporean skater Chloe Ing won a gold medal at the SEA Games in Manila on 1 December 2019. 21-year-old Ing won silver at the 2017 SEA Games, which was the…
China Gave Them Democracy
The results are out for Hong Kong’s district council elections 2019. The pro-establishment camp suffered an unprecedented landslide defeat. Despite all the videos shared on social media condemning the protesters,…
Chinese Chauvinism?
I just came back from a very rewarding and adventurous trip to Myanmar. While my main focus was on the more remote and “offbeat” places, it was still necessary to…
More The People Than The Government?
Edited on 1 July 2024. Veteran diplomat Tommy Koh has described with lament that Singapore is a First World country with Third World people. He pointed out that many Singaporeans…
Do We Deserve Our Writers & Poets?
I used to have a lot of respect for Prof Boey Khim Cheng. He is a very talented poet and I’ve been moved by his essays on how the system…
Skin & Money Colour
It has been some 36 years since we’ve heard sermons from our great leader, urging everyone to seek fortunes in China, defending the respectability of “guanxi”, touting the virtues of…
My Belt, My Road, My Way
Published in 1987, Chinese science fiction author Ni Kuang’s book Chasing the Dragon tells the story of a dying astrologer who pointed to changes in distant constellations that would lead…