The popularity of “Dear You”, a mostly Teochew-language mainland Chinese film, reveal attachments to ethnic Chinese dialects. Ying-Kit Chan (National University of Singapore) argues that new revisions to restrictions on dialect media reflect an official concern with respecting those attachments, while still affirming the legacy of Lee Kuan Yew’s Speak Mandarin Campaign.
LUKE LU (Nanyang Technological University) analyses conversations among top-performing students from Raffles Institution, using linguistic ethnography to understand their aspirations, attitudes towards state scholarships, and their sense of identity in relation to Singapore and their peers. Lu’s book on this subject has just been released.
In Part 2 of his analysis of media regulation under prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, CHERIAN GEORGE (Hong Kong Baptist University) examines the government’s management of the press. He observes that, as social media grew in importance, the government became less invested in a credible national newspaper than Lee’s predecessors had been. The full article […]
CHERIAN GEORGE assesses the Singapore’s internet regulation under its second prime minister, during whose tenure the government lost patience with online dissent.
Concern is mounting about China’s intelligence agency luring other countries’ citizens, including Singaporeans, with fake consultancy opportunities. Some of these shell organisations are claiming Singapore connections, exploiting the republic’s reputation for trustworthiness. These trends call for new approaches to protecting Singapore’s national security, says CHONG JA IAN (National University of Singapore).
The prime minister has promised to address the strains on family life in his National Day Rally speech. NESSA SWINN YAP and JACQUELINE HO argue that this requires embracing care as core to life and not allowing the market to turn the fulfilment of this human need into a rat race.
The experience with Gillman Barracks and Maju Forest reveals the Singapore public’s appetite for engaging closely with planning processes. There are clear lessons for how we can improve transparency and public participation, argues Melissa Low (National University of Singapore).
The blockbuster Dear You has sparked a wider debate over Chinese identity, exposing competing ideas of culture, language and belonging across China and Southeast Asia. In this article originally published in ThinkChina political scientist Chong Ja Ian (National University of Singapore) examines why.
Seamless progress can edit our lives away, cautions documentary filmmaker TAN PIN PIN, in a Commencement address for NUS College.
Economist NG KOK HOE explains how policies on public rental housing and migrant workers are based on a logic of discrimination that denies people’s common humanity. This article is based on his remarks at the “States of Unease” Public Forum.
