Online Desk, Author at The Singapore Post

Keep the bling down! Why Singapore’s Lee Hsien Loong is warning immigrants to tone it down?

29Oct

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Keep the bling down! Why Singapore’s Lee Hsien Loong is warning immigrants to tone it down?

Singapore’s Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong has a message for the city’s flashier newcomers — tone it down. In a candid reminder that wealth alone doesn’t earn respect in the island nation, the former prime minister urged immigrants to “keep the bling down” and avoid ostentatious displays of luxury that could rub locals the wrong way. “Do not go around popping champagne, which is $20,000 a bottle with sparklers,” Lee said. “And do not zoom your Ferrari or Lotus or whatever down the middle of the road in the middle of the night just to let everybody know that you have arrived.” A delicate balance for Singapore: welcoming talent, protecting harmony Speaking at a recent event, Lee reflected on how immigration — long a cornerstone of Singapore’s success — remains a tightrope act.

Reeling from Trump’s tariffs, India and China seek a business reboot

31Aug

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Reeling from Trump’s tariffs, India and China seek a business reboot

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in China on Sunday with the sting of Donald Trump's US tariffs still at the top of his mind. Since Wednesday, tariffs on Indian goods imported into the US, like diamonds and prawns, now stand at 50% – which the US president says is punishment for Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil. Experts say the levies threaten to leave lasting bruises on India's vibrant export sector, and its ambitious growth targets. China's President Xi Jinping, too, is trying to revive a sluggish economy at a time when sky-high US tariffs threaten to derail his plans. Against this backdrop, the leaders of the world's two most populous countries may both be looking for a reset in their relationship, which has previously been marked by mistrust, in lar

Solomon Islands blocks US, China, Taiwan from Pacific’s top political meet

7Aug

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Solomon Islands blocks US, China, Taiwan from Pacific’s top political meet

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele has said that 21 donor countries, including the United States and China, will not be invited to the region’s top political meeting, a move that follows pressure from Beijing to exclude Taiwan. China’s biggest security ally in the Pacific Islands, the Solomon Islands is hosting the annual meeting of the 18-member bloc’s forum in September. Three island states have diplomatic ties with Taiwan and not China, and they had expressed concern Taiwanese officials would be blocked from entering the country. Solomon Islands switched ties from Taiwan to China in 2019, and removed Taiwan from a list of countries eligible for concessional entry in April. Beijing, which has deepened its ties in the Pacific, claims Taiwan as its own territory.

Deciphering China’s New National Security White Paper: The Positioning of Japan in the Security Strategy of China

16Jul

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Deciphering China’s New National Security White Paper: The Positioning of Japan in the Security Strategy of China

On May 12, 2025, China published a white paper titled China’s National Security in the New Era.[1] President Xi Jinping has shown a strong interest in national security since his administration was first inaugurated, and to date the establishment of the National Security Commission of the Chinese Communist Party was decided in the meeting of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo in January 2014, [2] the “holistic view of national security” was proposed by Xi Jinping in the first meeting of the National Security Commission in May the same year [3] and was enacted into law as the National Security Law in July 2015, [4] and the National Security Strategy (2021–2025) was deliberated on in the Chinese Communist Party Politburo in November 2021. [5] The new white paper builds on these devel

Elon Musk vows to start a new political party after Trump feud. Here’s why that’s harder than it sounds.

8Jul

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Elon Musk vows to start a new political party after Trump feud. Here’s why that’s harder than it sounds.

As billionaire Elon Musk feuds with President Trump over his signature tax and domestic policy legislation, Musk has reupped his calls to launch a new political party — a daunting task even for the wealthiest person on Earth. Musk first floated launching a third party, dubbed the "America Party," earlier this month, part of a nasty back-and-forth between the president and the Tesla CEO that marked the likely end of their political alliance. The billionaire raised the idea of a third party again last week as lawmakers raced to send the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to Mr. Trump's desk — saying he would start the party if Congress passed what he described as an "insane spending bill." On Saturday, a day after Mr. Trump signed the bill into law, Musk wrote in a social media post that

How the US-China trade war affected Hong Kong and why a WTO case would not be successful

15Feb

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How the US-China trade war affected Hong Kong and why a WTO case would not be successful

Trump issued an executive order on February 1 to impose an additional 10 per cent tariff on all imports from China and Hong Kong – on top of the duties they already endure. The new levy includes low-value packages that previously could enter the US duty-free. Beijing retaliated by imposing tariffs on US imports such as energy and machinery. Trump’s move is part of the broader global trade war the US president has unleashed since he took office in January. On Thursday, he announced a plan for “reciprocal tariffs” on US trade partners, adjusting tariffs to match the levies other countries charge on imports. In response to Trump’s latest tariff policy, the Hong Kong government slammed the US for disregarding the city’s status as a “separate customs territory” from mainland China.

Hong Kong’s finance head exhibits cautious confidence about stock market

14Feb

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Hong Kong’s finance head exhibits cautious confidence about stock market

Paul Chan, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, on Thursday expressed cautious optimism about the Hong Kong stock market this year and hoped for even better performance. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index has risen by nearly 1,600 points in about two weeks since the beginning of the Year of the Snake, which began on Jan. 29, according to the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar, with an average daily turnover exceeding HK$220 billion (about $28.24 billion). Chan said that the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) received dozens of new listing applications in January, and he believed that more good companies will enter the stock market this year. Additionally, international investors in the Hong Kong market remained active an...

30Sep

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Revocation of China’s permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status and its effects on the economy

The United States’ granting of permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status, formerly known as most favored nation status, to China in 2000 resulted in a large expansion of bilateral trade. Concerns over Chinese trade practices and the impact of Chinese exports on US import-competing sectors have contributed to US political discontent and calls for the revocation of PNTR, including by former president Donald Trump in his reelection campaign and in the 2024 Republican Party Platform. The authors find that revoking China’s PNTR status would cause higher inflation and a short-term decline in US gross domestic product relative to baseline from which the economy never fully recovers. The loss of output and employment would be felt unevenly across the economy, with agriculture, durable manufa

30Sep

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The strategy underlying China’s financial transactions and the reasons behind its desire for increased involvement in Africa

China’s relationship with Africa is set to deepen. At a summit in Beijing in early September, China’s president, Xi Jinping, pledged to deliver US$51 billion (£39 billion) in loans, investment and aid to the continent over the next three years, as well as upgrading diplomatic ties. Beijing’s close engagement with Africa is not new. Since 1950, the first overseas trip of the year for Chinese foreign ministers has almost always been to one or more African countries. But Xi’s commitments are still sure to raise concerns in the US and other western countries, which are competing with China for global influence. They may well also bring back fears of China using “debt-trap diplomacy” to push African countries into default and thereby gain leverage over them. Such is the st

Opinion | Don’t despise people for the wars and crimes committed by their political leaders

30Sep

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Opinion | Don’t despise people for the wars and crimes committed by their political leaders

This year, I attended a seminar on the 918 Incident. On that fateful day of September 18, 1931, an explosion destroyed a section of railway track near the Manchurian city of Mukden, now Shenyang. The Japanese used the incident as a pretext for retaliation against China and an invasion of Manchuria. That was the prelude to the fully fledged invasion of China, following the Lugou Bridge Incident on July 7, 1937. The war dragged on until September 2, 1945 when the Imperial Japanese Army surrendered unconditionally. The Japanese invasion had caused untold suffering, with an estimated death toll of over 10 million Chinese. We sorely need to learn from history. Although wars in the past led to conquests, expansion of political power, exploitation of resources and peoples, a...