History

In 1914, after the Japanese army violently suppressed the resistance movement by the indigenous Taiwanese, they gathered the survivors and pointed their bayonets at their captives as instructed by the Japanese army photographer, facing the camera in a pose of victors.

[Photo story] The historical aftermath of Japan’s colonisation of Taiwan

Japan’s colonisation of Taiwan after the First Sino-Japanese War is a chapter of history that the Chinese would rather forget, along with the pain and suffering that the Japanese inflicted on the people of China and Taiwan. Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao gives us an idea of that period.
A multiracial dragon dance at the media preview of the Chingay Night Fiesta 2016, held at the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, on 4 February 2016. (SPH Media)

Wang Gungwu: What does it mean to be ethnically Chinese in Singapore?

Speaking at a recent talk co-organised by Yale-NUS College and the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, Professor Wang Gungwu gave a lecture titled "What Does it Mean to be Ethnically Chinese in Singapore?", pondering what Singapore is, what “Chinese” means, and finally, what it means to be Chinese in Singapore. This is an edited transcript of his speech.
On 29 June 1942, Madame Chiang Kai-shek was at a ceremony in Chongqing in recognition of the valour of the pilots of the Doolittle Raid, to boost the morale of the Allied forces.

[Photo story] The Doolittle Raid and the historical bonds between China and the US

Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao recounts the details of the Doolittle Raid, named after US Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle, which saw US and Chinese soldiers fighting together against the Japanese in their first and biggest joint action in WWII.
An illustration in Puck magazine describing China-US relations, 1880s. The US is depicted as Uncle Sam in an armoured vehicle loaded with equipment, facing a Chinese riding a dragon, with neither giving way.

[Photo story] The saga continues: 100 years of China-US relations

For over a century, China and the US have been in a tug-of-war of sorts, involving economics, geopolitics, culture and values. Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao sums up 100 years of friendship and rivalry between arguably the two most powerful countries in the world at the moment.
Nantah's first graduation ceremony, 1960. (SPH Media)

Memories of graduating in a tent at Nanyang University

Hua Language Centre director Chew Wee Kai thinks back to the first time he attended a university graduation — in a tent. However, the solemnity of the event still shone through, in a fitting tribute to the effort of the graduates, as well as the travails of that storied university called Nanyang University (Nantah), and all that it came to represent.
In 1954, First Secretary of the CPSU Nikita Khrushchev visited China and had a good discussion with Chinese President Mao Zedong. This was when China-Soviet relations were at their closest. However, bilateral ties went downhill soon after.

[Photo story] 100 years of China-Russia relations

Over the past century, China’s relations with the Soviet Union — and later Russia — have had its ups and downs. From early communist links and Soviet occupation of China, to today’s economic dealings, China’s leaders have navigated the tricky waters of history and geopolitics. Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao gives us a window into the past.
The album owner when he was 17 and 18 years old.

A Japanese soldier’s photo album: To the hell of war and back

If pictures tell a thousand words, these images tell the harrowing tale of wartime units set up by the Japanese in northeast China to conduct experiments, allegedly on humans, in its chemical warfare programme. Yet sending a chill down the spine, they also depict the banality of life that soldiers return to after war. Life goes on but for aggressors and victims alike, the wounded are never the same again.
Villagers in Adam Park washing clothes near a common well. In the early 1960s, people who lived in kampungs (villages) had to draw water from common wells. (SPH Media)

Old Singapore: Of wells and life

Hua Language Centre director Chew Wee Kai reminisces about the wells that he used to know as a child, and the stories and memories evoked of Singapore in the 1960s, in the days of water rationing and floods, when water did not come from turning on a tap, but tapping into the ground.
Professor Wang Huning (left) with the writer at the international university Chinese language debate competition in Singapore, 1993.

Taiwanese photo collector: How I met Xi's top brain, Wang Huning, in Singapore

Photo collector Hsu Chung-mao tells us how he first met current Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo Standing Committee member Wang Huning over 30 years ago at an international university debate competition in Singapore, when Wang was a university professor in charge of a debate team. Wang subsequently became a prominent strategist for Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, as well as current President Xi Jinping. This article gives a glimpse into Wang’s approach to debating and politics.