Singapore’s George Yeo hails Jin Yong’s works as ‘good wine’ while Taylor Swift concerts are like ‘enjoying a soda’, fizzy and sweet
- Jin Yong’s work is ‘multilayered’ and ‘of the past and of the future’, while Swift’s concerts have immediate sweet kick, city state’s former foreign minister says
- Yeo offers compliments after attending the opening of two exhibitions titled ‘A Path to Glory – Jin Yong’s Centennial Memorial’ to celebrate the novelist
Singapore’s former foreign minister George Yeo has given a sterling endorsement of late Hong Kong wuxia novelist Louis Cha Leung-yung, or Jin Yong, recognising his works as “good wine with multi-layers” while the much-touted Taylor Swift concerts in the city state are like “enjoying a soda” with an immediate sweet kick.
Yeo offered his compliments on Friday after attending the opening of the “A Path to Glory – Jin Yong’s Centennial Memorial” exhibit to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the novelist’s birth.
It is the latest mega event following a recent debate in Hong Kong among lawmakers and business leaders about whether the city should bring in big concerts by superstars such as Taylor Swift who had her Southeast Asian tour exclusive to Singapore earlier this month.
“Taylor Swift is like enjoying a soda. It will give you an immediate kick. It’s fizzy, it’s sweet,” said the Hong Kong-based Yeo, who is a fan of Jin Yong.
“[For] Jin Yong, it is like enjoying a very, very good wine. It’s multilayered. And it is of the past and of the future. There’s no comparison in my mind between Taylor Swift and Jin Yong.”
Concerts by the American star in Singapore became a hot topic in Hong Kong after the latter pledged to boost its local economy through hosting a string of mega events.