Thursday, 3 September 2015

Monday, 31 August 2015

China property developers to buy back Tianjin blast homes

People whose apartments were damaged in explosions in the northeastern Chinese port city of Tianjin can sell their homes to a group of property developers or choose to have the government renovate them, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Sunday, 30 August 2015

Improper activities by American officials

Singapore-United States ties were roiled in September 1965 after it was revealed that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had offered the Singapore Government US$10 million to hush up the arrest of an American intelligence officer.

China’s ‘debt termites’

There is no better metaphor for the economic challenge facing China than the futuristic architectural masterpiece designed to house the country’s state television network, CCTV.

Xi faces resistance to political agenda

On the morning of July 24, Hebei party chief Zhou Benshun attended a meeting to promote one of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature projects, a plan to boost growth by building a “supercity” that would integrate Beijing with the region around it. But by the evening, Zhou’s career was over, and he faced years in jail after the party announced it was investigating him on corruption charges.

Thursday, 27 August 2015

Thai police look into Turkish connection in Bangkok blast

Thai police on Thursday said they were looking at arrivals of Turkish nationals in the days before a Bangkok bomb attack that killed 20 people, but said they had not ruled out any group or possibility.

Reuters

Wednesday, 26 August 2015

Filipino who made ‘xenophobic, inflammatory’ remarks convicted under Sedition Act

Philippine national Ello Ed Mundsel Bello, 28, who made disparaging remarks about Singaporeans on Facebook earlier this year, pleaded guilty to three charges on Wednesday (Aug 26).


Saturday, 22 August 2015

Japan warns China against frequent yuan devaluations to prop up economy

The irony in his statement was not lost on analysts, who pointed out that last week’s two successive daily yuan devaluations by the People’s Bank of China had resulted in only a 3 per cent drop in the yuan-dollar rate, while Japan’s own currency, the yen, has crashed 35 per cent in value over the past two years.

Fuck the Japs.


Thursday, 20 August 2015

Asian dating apps from Peekawoo to Paktor offer group dates, group chats and chaperones

Move over Tinder - a crop of dating apps in smartphone-addicted Asia are offering to recruit friends for group dates or send along a chaperone to steer the course of romance.

Retooling Singapore’s economic engine for the next lap

As Singapore surveys the future landscape on its 50th birthday, it has come to the striking realisation that the staying on the frontier of the global economy will entail having a markedly different game plan from that of playing catch-up.

Irish ducks all the rage in Singapore restaurants

Ducks from Ireland are all the rage with restaurants here, with at least 13 serving them.

China’s jobseekers think local as Beijing’s policy switch takes shine off foreign firms

To be, or not to be? That was the question facing Chinese railway signalling engineer William Shen for three years: should he stay where he was, working for a well-known German manufacturing conglomerate, or move on and join a private Chinese firm formed only six years ago?

China plan to expand importance of Singapore

In response to expected flat world trade growth abroad and moderate economic activity at home, China is packaging a series of initiatives to help bolster both. The plans will significantly expand Singapore’s importance to South-east Asia’s financial, trade and logistics services.

Wednesday, 19 August 2015

Thailand ‘exploring possible Uygur revenge plot’ in Bangkok bomb attack investigation

The probe on who could be behind the deadly blast in central Bangkok is focusing on a revenge motive by Uygur militants as it has now emerged that Thai authorities received intelligence that Chinese tourists could be a target of attacks.

Sunday, 16 August 2015

Not so sweet on sugar daddy dating sites

“Sugar dating” sites, which pair young women with rich older men willing to pay lavishly for companionship, have, in recent years, begun targeting people in Singapore. And hundreds have been signing up, leading to some to call for them to be banned as they could draw young women into prostitution.

Saturday, 15 August 2015

Abe Stokes History Wars by Avoiding Apology

The Diplomat

Should the United States Be Blamed for Japan’s Historical Revisionism?

Given the controversy surrounding Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s statement on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, it is perhaps worthwhile to briefly reexamine some of the root causes that lead to conservative Japanese revisionism.

The Diplomat

Thursday, 13 August 2015

WWII: how did Japan and Germany become global powerhouses?

Germany and Japan rose from the ashes of World War II to become global economic powerhouses in a few decades. But how did they achieve this remarkable feat so quickly, and what is the legacy of these parallel economic "miracles" today?

AFP

Tuesday, 11 August 2015

The issue of US 'neutrality' in South China Sea disputes

However, China will likely consider this statement in the context of other US policy statements and actions on these (and other) issues between them, as well as the positions of the disputants. In doing so, China is likely to draw the conclusion that the US is being disingenuous and hypocritical and is actually supporting rival claimants against it.

WWII wounds in Asia continue to fester

Unless Mr Abe makes a really dramatic gesture - for example, going in atonement to Nanjing and/or bowing in front of the Seoul memorial to the sex slaves - it is unlikely that the Japanese national consciousness will be awakened and hence, that genuine reconciliation will occur.