https://www.scmp.com/rss/324941/feed Pearl Lee is a Singapore-based journalist who writes about education, politics and social issues. Her work has appeared in regional and local newspapers since 2012. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Malaysian account executive Cecilia Chong has been following every twist and turn in Taiwanese-American entertainer Wang Leehom’s very public falling out with his estranged wife Lee Jinglei. A fan of Leehom’s since the late 1990s, Chong said one of her favourite films he starred in is the 2007 erotic espionage period drama Lust, Caution, directed by award-winning Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee. “He played the role of Kuang Yu Min, a patriotic and righteous Chinese college student,” she said. “His... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3160937/wang-leehom-saga-fallen-idol-crushes-dreams-generation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3160937/wang-leehom-saga-fallen-idol-crushes-dreams-generation?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Dec 2021 05:46:44 +0000 Every week, media company The Royal Singapore puts up two to three videos on its Facebook page. The content often revolves around feel-good stories of ordinary people doing upbeat things, and celebrations of grit and determination. There is the funeral director who conducts pro bono funeral services for elderly folks who die alone, and the hairdresser who gives free haircuts to loitering teens in her neighbourhood. The man behind The Royal Singapore, Yang Kaiheng, 32, said he was compelled to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3119754/singaporean-once-jailed-sedition-now-serves-inspiration-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3119754/singaporean-once-jailed-sedition-now-serves-inspiration-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Jan 2021 06:00:13 +0000 Freelance tour guide Matthew Phua hasn’t hosted a group since December. Then, he ferried around business travellers from China in his 13-seater minibus for meetings and filled their free time with trips to attractions such as the Singapore Botanic Gardens, the city state’s only Unesco Heritage Site. When the new year began, it was clear that business was no longer as usual for him. While he typically took on four to five bookings in a month, demand this year has hit rock bottom, as the Covid-19... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3109070/singapores-self-employed-workers-mired-anxiety-amid-glum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3109070/singapores-self-employed-workers-mired-anxiety-amid-glum?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Nov 2020 04:00:26 +0000 Xu Jiayin, the billionaire chairman and founder of China Evergrande, a major developer that also aims to challenge Tesla in mainland China, made two public appearances in Hong Kong and Shenzhen recently, quashing rumours that his movement was restricted by Beijing. Xu, also known as Hui Ka Yan in Hong Kong, is China’s third richest man. There was speculation on Chinese social media that he had been banned from leaving the country. “Investors are quite sensitive to news about Evergrande, with... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3030165/xu-jiayin-chairman-cash-strapped-developer-evergrande-makes-public?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3030165/xu-jiayin-chairman-cash-strapped-developer-evergrande-makes-public?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Sep 2019 11:01:03 +0000 Twice a week, Gary Lee makes his way to a childcare centre in central Singapore, not too far from his home. The 36-year-old logistics executive is there for an unlikely reason: the food. He collects leftovers from the childcare centre, which would otherwise be thrown away. When This Week In Asia tagged along for one such trip, Lee collected two containers of multigrain rice, some vegetable soup, and a box of sliced cod fish with gravy. Lee, who draws a stable salary and can afford to pay for... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3014220/singapores-food-rescuers-salvage-expired-ugly-food?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3014220/singapores-food-rescuers-salvage-expired-ugly-food?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Jun 2019 00:30:12 +0000 The acronym BYOB has taken on a different meaning these days in Singapore – Bring Your Own Baby, whether to the office or even the theatre. Trehaus, now in its third year, is the first co-working space in the city state with childcare and learning facilities. Set up by working mums for working parents, it has two areas separated by glass partitions and doors, allowing parents to work while keeping an eye on their children. “Trehaus is that proverbial modern village; they say it takes a village... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2174767/singapores-fertility-rate-falls-its-baby-businesses-boom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2174767/singapores-fertility-rate-falls-its-baby-businesses-boom?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Nov 2018 04:00:15 +0000 [Sponsored Article] It used to be every Asian parent’s dream – for their children to study hard and enter good schools, graduate with a good degree, and hopefully, move on to a well-paying job. But this looks to be an increasingly outdated mindset today, when higher education has shifted from catering to the elites to a state of massification. The numbers are remarkable. Post-secondary enrolments are estimated to hit over 37 million in China, and over 27 million in India, by 2020 – an... https://www.scmp.com/presented/news/asia/topics/china-conference-sea/article/2167006/bringing-game-b-schools?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/presented/news/asia/topics/china-conference-sea/article/2167006/bringing-game-b-schools?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Oct 2018 07:30:30 +0000 When Singapore won the bid in 2002 to host the International Olympic Committee (IOC) session, the question on most people’s minds was where the tiny country could hold the mega event.  The session would decide the host of the 2012 Olympic Games and was expected to draw world leaders and celebrities on a scale rarely seen in the city at the time.  The organisers decided on Raffles City Convention Centre as a hub, with delegates like Tony Blair, Jacques Chirac, Hillary Clinton, Mohammad Ali, David... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2145765/singapores-trump-kim-summit-leading-venues-play-host?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2145765/singapores-trump-kim-summit-leading-venues-play-host?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 May 2018 12:15:30 +0000 It is 4.30am on a Saturday and Raja*, 35, is sprawled on the Marina Bay Waterfront Promenade in Singapore, watching a YouTube clip on his mobile phone. He’s had a long night and there’s still some time to go – the migrant worker from Chennai in India is waiting for subway services to begin so he can return to his dormitory some 25km away. Raja does not have much money on him, not after a night gambling and losing S$300 (US$221) at the nearby Marina Bay Sands casino. That amounts to nearly a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2118342/migrant-workers-falling-debt-traps-singapores-casinos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2118342/migrant-workers-falling-debt-traps-singapores-casinos?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Nov 2017 04:03:04 +0000 On tat son dou was one of the most searched Cantonese phrases online in Hong Kong last week, according to Google. It means Anderson Road and is the repository of hope for many young couples. The government plans to build “starter homes” there for young, middle-income families. For too long, these households who earn too much to enter public housing but too little to afford private housing have been unable to own a piece of Hong Kong. Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s government signalled a shift... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2115423/how-hong-kongs-starter-homes-scheme-young-couples-compares?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2115423/how-hong-kongs-starter-homes-scheme-young-couples-compares?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Oct 2017 06:45:45 +0000 Singaporean Olinda Cho kept her eyes shut through most of her performance on popular reality singing competition Sing! China, and it was a good thing she did. When she stepped off stage and could finally observe the studio in Hangzhou, the scene stunned her. “It wasn’t a studio,” said Cho, 37. “It was like an arena. The place was packed with people. Cameras were flying around the stage. I had never seen anything like this.” She is no rookie singer, having made a name at home 14 years ago when... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2108333/sing-china-hits-right-note-beijings-soft-power-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2108333/sing-china-hits-right-note-beijings-soft-power-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Aug 2017 12:03:06 +0000 After years buying clothes online, Singapore civil servant Olivia Chin brought internet shopping closer to home – she furnished her flat almost entirely from Taobao, China’s biggest e-commerce platform. She bought a coffee table, dining table, sofa, television console, bar stools and lights. Instead of paying S$2,000 (HK$11,460) for a dining table in Singapore, the 25-year-old found it for S$500 online. Shipping charges from China to Singapore were S$2.99. “I also bought bar stools at S$10 each... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/business/article/2106477/trouble-shoppers-paradise-how-singapore-malls-rethought-retail?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/business/article/2106477/trouble-shoppers-paradise-how-singapore-malls-rethought-retail?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Aug 2017 00:30:30 +0000 ONCE A MONTH, Singaporean Siti Norindah crosses the border into southern Malaysia with only one item on her shopping list: baby milk formula. She grabs eight to 10 tins at a time for her three children, aged between one and four, grateful that the currency exchange rate is heavily in her favour. With the Singapore dollar at a record high against the Malaysian ringgit at S$1 to 3.08 ringgit (HK$5.52), the savings for the administrative executive are substantial. A tin that would set her back S$86... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2094151/why-singaporeans-buy-baby-milk-formula-malaysia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2094151/why-singaporeans-buy-baby-milk-formula-malaysia?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 May 2017 08:00:30 +0000