#148 Ho Ching, The Enforcers, and Singapore’s Invisible Operating System 何晶、《执法者》与新加坡的隐形操作系统
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#148 Ho Ching, The Enforcers, and Singapore’s Invisible Operating System 何晶、《执法者》与新加坡的隐形操作系统

My previous article, “Professionalism, Restraint, and the Standards We Choose to Uphold,” spoke about slipping standards, public conduct, and the increasingly fragile balance between authority, restraint, and responsibility in modern Singapore. Today, I wish to continue that discussion through a different lens. A woman. A technocrat. An engineer. A steward of capital. And perhaps one…

#147 Professionalism, Restraint, and the Standards We Choose to Uphold 专业、克制,以及我们选择维护的标准
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#147 Professionalism, Restraint, and the Standards We Choose to Uphold 专业、克制,以及我们选择维护的标准

In recent years, Singapore has worked hard to strengthen regional business connectivity across ASEAN. Professional institutions, chambers of commerce, engineering bodies, startup ecosystems, and sustainability communities are increasingly interconnected. This is a good thing. However, with growth also comes an important question: Are we preserving the standards that made these institutions respected in the first…

#146 The Great Polymer Compression: Why ASEAN Waste Infrastructure May Become Strategic 《大聚合物压缩时代:为何东盟废弃物基础设施或将成为战略关键》
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#146 The Great Polymer Compression: Why ASEAN Waste Infrastructure May Become Strategic 《大聚合物压缩时代:为何东盟废弃物基础设施或将成为战略关键》

Over the past few weeks, various stakeholders, partners, traders, and industrial contacts connected to The Thousand Ships ecosystem have been quietly reporting a growing trend emerging across Southeast Asia’s polymer markets. What initially appeared to be temporary pricing softness is beginning to resemble something more structural. Across multiple categories of PE and PP plastics —…

Cross-border capital flows across ASEAN are gradually evolving beyond traditional transactional models. #145
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Cross-border capital flows across ASEAN are gradually evolving beyond traditional transactional models. #145

Cross-border capital flows across ASEAN are gradually evolving beyond traditional transactional models. Over the past weeks, I’ve been having meaningful discussions with various stakeholders across the Philippines ecosystem around several long-term themes: • Capital flows and regional diversification• ASEAN positioning and connectivity• Residency-linked ecosystems• Long-term wealth infrastructure and preservation What is becoming increasingly clear is…

#144 Asia-Pacific Theatre of War III: Two Boys in The Temple of Heaven 《亚太战争剧场 III:天坛里的两个男孩》
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#144 Asia-Pacific Theatre of War III: Two Boys in The Temple of Heaven 《亚太战争剧场 III:天坛里的两个男孩》

This is not a boy band fan article; neither is this new Indiana Jones movie. This is a geopolitical inflection during a time of turmoil where things either can go well or completely south. I. The Korean Peninsula — The Most Dangerous Trigger Point in Asia In my earlier article, “Asia Pacific Theatre of War…

#143 Smaller Nations, Superpower Pressure, and the Grey Zone of Survival 小国、生存压力,与大国夹缝中的灰色地带
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#143 Smaller Nations, Superpower Pressure, and the Grey Zone of Survival 小国、生存压力,与大国夹缝中的灰色地带

One of the least discussed realities in geopolitics is that smaller nations rarely operate in a perfectly clean environment. Publicly, international relations are framed around diplomacy, trade agreements, defence partnerships, and mutual prosperity. But beneath official frameworks often exists another layer: Influence operations. Intelligence bargaining. Unofficial intermediaries. Economic pressure. Elite networks. Strategic kompromat. Underground financial…

#142 Comfort, Vice, and the Burden of Judgment: The Women We Failed to See (With Testimonies) 慰安妇、风月与偏见:我们未曾真正看见的女性(附幸存者证词)
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#142 Comfort, Vice, and the Burden of Judgment: The Women We Failed to See (With Testimonies) 慰安妇、风月与偏见:我们未曾真正看见的女性(附幸存者证词)

In every society, there exists a quiet hypocrisy. We condemn the women. But we rarely interrogate the systems—and the men—that created their circumstances. The Historical Wound We Still Avoid The system of World War II comfort women system remains one of Asia’s deepest unresolved scars. Across Korea, China, and Southeast Asia: But statistics do not…

#140 Racism Within and Beneath Each Racial Line 🔷 种族之内、种族之下的歧视
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#140 Racism Within and Beneath Each Racial Line 🔷 种族之内、种族之下的歧视

In Singapore and at a Larger Civilisation Scale 中文版在下方 In Singapore, we pride ourselves on racial harmony. But harmony across races often hides a more uncomfortable truth: There are fractures within each race—and we rarely talk about them. The Silent Hierarchy Within the Majority As a Chinese Singaporean, I have experienced something many will not…

#139 Asia-Pacific Theatre of War (II): The Land Risk China Cannot Ignore 亚太战场(II):中国不可忽视的陆地风险
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#139 Asia-Pacific Theatre of War (II): The Land Risk China Cannot Ignore 亚太战场(II):中国不可忽视的陆地风险

In the first installment, we examined how time, economic pressure, and maritime chokepoints are reshaping the global balance. But there is a second layer that remains under-discussed: China’s greatest strategic risk may not come from the sea. It may come from the land it believes is secure. The Illusion of Strategic Depth China is often…

#138 What Food & Hospitality Asia 2026 Reveals About the Future of F&B in Southeast Asia
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#138 What Food & Hospitality Asia 2026 Reveals About the Future of F&B in Southeast Asia

#138 What Food & Hospitality Asia 2026 Reveals About the Future of F&B in Southeast Asia 在 Food & Hospitality Asia 2026 上的观察,让我看到一个更大的趋势。 Over the past few days at Food & Hotel Asia 2026, I’ve shared a few observations: • A Taiwan brand (所长) scaling through story, culture, and packaging • A Malaysia player (Daily…