China looks worse and worse in the public eye. H&M closures have drawn more Western attention. Chinese ads showing a purportedly happy Xinjiang backfired among Facebook staff. The Philippines are evermore concerned about a swelling number of Chinese militia boats… Read More ›
Once a cautionary tale of the pandemic era, Singapore is beginning 2021 boasting a comeback story. Having once had the highest Covid-19 caseload in Southeast Asia when daily infections were at their peak in April, the city-state has nearly eradicated… Read More ›
Kaitlyn Lin has had the song “Fate” running through her head for over a decade. She has finally been able to perform and record the piece and is now releasing it to the world. While some people seem to fall… Read More ›
In Singapore, traditional coffee shops are known as kopitiam. The colloquial term is a combination of the word kopi, which means coffee in Malay, and tiam, which translates to shop in Hokkien. This is just one example of how a… Read More ›
Money doesn’t lie; it’s in the airline figures. Cathay is reducing its capacity, largely from loss of demand for flights in and out of China. Hong Kong Airlines is dropping long hauls to and from Australia, the US, and Canada…. Read More ›
Russia’s efforts to influence elections in the United States and Europe were a wake-up call about the threat of foreign influence in domestic public opinion and politics, blatantly violating norms of non-interference. China is not guilty of Russia’s excesses, but… Read More ›
The “Symphony Asian Mad Scientist Theorem” continues to play out. Trump engaged North Korea in talks that led to a calm without North Korea changing its DNA. Trump eventually reminded North Korea what everyone knew would be necessary to reach… Read More ›
In Taiwanese politics, a mayor candidate’s comments about his own benefits from drinking honey-lemonade sparked retribution from the medical community. After a lump under his eye went away, apparently from a vegetarian and honey-lemonade diet, he actually said so. A… Read More ›
The historians and experts are all hysterical about the historic meeting between Trump and Kim. They warn that JFK appeared too week while Nixon’s aggression didn’t intimidate. No one can win in the eyes of the hindsight expert who sees… Read More ›
High-speed rails, Alipay, shared bikes and online shopping are China’s new four great ‘inventions’, said a number of foreign youngsters in China, mostly students from the Third World countries, when responding to a survey by the Silk Road Research Institute… Read More ›
At this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, China sent a lower-ranking delegation than in years past. Previously, China’s representative was a deputy chief from Joint Staff; this year Beijing sent a lieutenant general. India did not attend. US Defense Secretary… Read More ›
China seems to be the talk of town, especially with hitting. China cyberattacks hit the US less, but more strategically, says a study. A hailstorm tornado hit China and killed 98, critically wounded 200 and injured another 600 in a… Read More ›
China moves more and more with money. The economy is crashing, largely due to the Communist doctrine that citizens do not own land—something we rarely read about. China also gears up for both war and investment contingency. BRICS was ratified… Read More ›
Four US warships designed to fight in coastal areas similar to south-east Asian waters will operate out of Singapore by 2018, a senior US Navy official said Tuesday, further underscoring Washington’s military tilt to Asia. The “rotational deployment” of the… Read More ›
There was an article on development of the weapons industry in Southeast Asia, ascribing it to the fear of China’s rise among countries there. However, we can blame China for the rising military budgets and purchases of weapon there, but… Read More ›
The United States has warned China to stop using “destabilising” tactics in its bid to claim parts of the South China Sea. US defence secretary Chuck Hagel made the comments at an Asia-Pacific security forum in Singapore, also attended by… Read More ›
Japanese companies‘ investments in Southeast Asia surged last year to almost three times the amount invested in China, after relations between Beijing and Tokyo soured in 2012 and Chinese labor costs rose, a government agency of Japan said on Friday…. Read More ›
The submerged reef would be easy to miss, under turquoise seas about 80 km (50 miles) off Malaysia’s Borneo island state of Sarawak. But two Chinese naval exercises in less than a year around the James Shoal have shocked Malaysia… Read More ›
The Program of International Student Assessment (PISA) scores for 15 year olds around the world were recently released. While these scores do offer some indication as to how students from a given country compare, we should be reticent to make took much of… Read More ›
Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has signed up the fourth and final destination, Hong Kong, for next year’s trial of the government’s New Colombo Plan, which will send Australian undergraduates into the region for study, internships and long-term diplomacy. “Australian… Read More ›
China does not dispute Japanese sovereignty over Okinawa and recent comments in Chinese newspapers merely reflects the views of some academics, a senior Chinese military leader said on Sunday. “China’s position has not changed… Scholars can put forth any idea… Read More ›
Great progress has been made in the talks on mutual establishment of representative offices across the Taiwan Strait. Now both sides have begun to make preparations. We can foresee that in the future, the mainland’s agency stationed in Taiwan will… Read More ›
Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday affirmed China’s government’s bond rating of Aa3 but cut the outlook to stable from positive, the second pessimistic revision by a foreign ratings agency this month. Last week, Fitch Ratings cut China’s long-term local currency… Read More ›
Lawyer Suzanne Chin is convinced that what happened to her four years ago is nothing short of a miracle. The mother of two was living and working in Hong Kong when she suffered a heart attack, was hospitalised in a… Read More ›
China’s role in operating a strategically important port in Pakistan is a matter of concern for India, its defence minister said on Wednesday, as New Delhi and Beijing jostle for influence in the region. Indian policy-makers have long been wary… Read More ›
China and Europe must end their business-as-usual stance this year and get their houses in order for a better future, said experts at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies’ regional outlook forum 2013 in Singapore. While China had, last year, averted… Read More ›
Profile: Carson Block, the 36-year-old short seller whose Muddy Waters fund is embroiled in a knock-down, drag-out fight with Singapore-based Olam International Ltd. The story’s not just essential background to the Olam fight that has been in the news recently; it’s a… Read More ›
China is facing increasing difficulties in feeding its growing population, which is at the same time becoming more affluent. Although China has achieved nine consecutive years of increases in grain production, from 2003 to 2012, its grain demand and… Read More ›
Singapore expressed concern on Monday over China‘s plan to board and search ships sailing in what it considers its territory in the South China Sea, as tension grows over Beijing’s sovereignty claims in busy Southeast Asian waters. “Singapore is concerned… Read More ›
The Chinese are getting richer – but not necessarily democratic. Hu Jintao, the outgoing President of the Republic of China, has had few surprises in his farewell address. The core message was: continued rapid economic growth and one-party rule. And… Read More ›
The assumption that Mandarin will grow with China’s economic rise may be flawed. Consider Japan which, after spectacular post-war economic growth, became the world’s second-biggest economy. The Japanese language saw no comparable rise in power and prestige. The same may… Read More ›
SCMP reports from Beijing: “Weeks ahead of the Communist Party’s once-in-a-decade reshuffle, the party’s leading policy journal has called on leaders to look to Singapore for an example of how to run the country.” Mao Zedong had this Mao Zedong… Read More ›
A growing number of U.S. companies plan to shift some operations from China to Southeast Asia in the next two years as confidence in countries such as the Philippines improves, a survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore… Read More ›
SCMP’s George Chen says on June 28, “Australia‘s main financial centre is in talks to follow London and Singapore, and Beijing and Hong Kong are said to be receptive to the idea”. An unidentified source says, “Beijing has made clear… Read More ›
The state media’s unusually extensive coverage of Li Keqiang‘s European tour showed the vicepremier remains well positioned to succeed Wen Jiabao as premier despite rumours to the contrary, analysts said. State broadcaster CCTV featured several lengthy and detailed reports on… Read More ›
The first of a new class of U.S. coastal warships will be sent to Singapore next spring for a roughly 10-month deployment, the Navy said on Wednesday, spotlighting a move that may stir China’s fears of U.S. involvement in South… Read More ›
Temasek Holdings TEM.UL is selling about $2.4 billion worth of stakes in two of China’s largest banks, as the Singapore state investor reshuffles its financial sector portfolio. Temasek, which is the single-biggest shareholder in Standard Chartered Bank, is offering about… Read More ›
Wilmar International’s billionaire founder Kuok Khoon Hong has tripled his stake in a China property trust and set up a S$500 million ($400 million) investment firm with a former CapitaLand executive, raising his exposure to the real estate sector. Kuok,… Read More ›
