Chinese Chauvinism?
admin 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…
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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…
How Many Books Can You Read?
Somebody asked me, “how do you manage to read so many books”? First of all, I’m semi-retired. Next, business has been bad and my part-time work has gotten even more…
The 17 Point Agreement
The 17 Point Agreement was signed between the newly formed People’s Republic of China and the region of Tibet which became nominally and unofficially independent after the fall of dynastic…
Those Horny Activists Part 1
Simon Cheng, 28, a trade and investment officer for Scottish Development International, travelled to Shenzhen, a city that borders Hong Kong, on 8 August 2019. He sent messages to his…
A Tale of Two Nobel Prizes
When the Cold War first started, an American was debating with his Soviet counterpart about whether there’s any freedom of speech in the USSR. “I can stand in front of…
A Joke About Tight Spaces
In 2016, Ms Josephine Teo currently Minister of Manpower and Second Minister of Home Affairs expressed bewilderment that Singaporeans only plan on having children when they get a flat. She…