Lee Huay Leng

Lee Huay Leng

Editor-in-Chief, Chinese Media Group, SPH Media

Huay Leng is the editor-in-chief of the Chinese Media Group of SPH Media. The Chinese Media Group includes Lianhe Zaobao, Lianhe Wanbao, Shin Min Daily News, Student Publications, the digital platforms zaobao.sgzaobao.com and thinkchina.sg, radio stations UFM100.3 and 96.3 Hao FM. Huay Leng started her career as a journalist in Lianhe Zaobao in 1994. She was with the paper for 20 years in roles such as the Hong Kong correspondent, the Beijing bureau chief and the China editor.

A group photo at the 16th World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention (WCEC) in Bangkok, Thailand. (Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry)

China's growing influence on overseas Chinese businessmen: Reflections on the 16th WCEC in Bangkok

Lee Huay Leng, editor-in-chief of SPH’s Chinese Media Group, notes that she seems to have witnessed a shift in focus while attending the recent World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention in Bangkok — while earlier editions were targeted at bringing together ethnic Chinese businessmen scattered around the world, a changed world seems to have made the latest edition more China-centric, and it remains to be seen whether this will hold for future editions.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew reacts during a session for him to testify before a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, 23 March 2023. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

What Singapore can learn from the Chew Shou Zi phenomenon

Lee Huay Leng, editor-in-chief of SPH Chinese Media Group, observes that the spotlight cast on Singaporean TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi at a US Congress hearing recently is a good entry point for us to think about the role that Singapore can play in the new world order, besides the larger topics such as TikTok and China-US relations.
A publicity image of the Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems performance. (iSING! Festival/Twitter)

When the arts is more than politics: Reflections on the 50th anniversary of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s China tour

Learning of a recent performance in the US by Suzhou musicians, SPH Chinese Media Group editor-in-chief Lee Huay Leng muses on the role that the Philadelphia Orchestra’s visit to Beijing had played in US-China relations in the 1970s. While no substitute for hard diplomacy, cultural exchanges can sow seeds of friendship among different peoples, and help the world reap something beautiful in the future.
Siong Leng Musical Association during a performance of Fantasia Nanyin Reimagined, January 2021. (SPH Media)

Does Singapore still want to play an active role in the Chinese-speaking world?

Lee Huay Leng, editor-in-chief of SPH Chinese Media Group, looks back at Singapore’s active role in the Chinese-speaking world and in the 1980s and 1990s, and whether it can – or wants to – resume such a role in a changing world.
The President of the People's Republic of China, Jiang Zemin meeting Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who hosted a dinner for the Chinese leader at the Istana. Looking on is BG Lee Hsien Loong, the Minister-in Attendance, November 1994. (SPH Media)

My memories of Jiang Zemin: Editor-in-chief, Chinese Media Group

From her time on the political desk then as Zaobao’s Hong Kong correspondent and Beijing correspondent, Lee Huay Leng, editor-in-chief of SPH Chinese Media Group, recalls her impressions of the late former Chinese President Jiang Zemin. Jiang represented the ideas and workings of an era in Chinese politics, and played a great role in shaping China's domestic policies and international diplomacy.
A mural of the Communist Party of China flag in Beijing, China, on 14 November 2022. (Bloomberg)

What to think about when you think about China under Covid

Lee Huay Leng, editor-in-chief of SPH Chinese Media Group, believes that the personal stories of ordinary people in China during Covid times form a rich tapestry of China’s story too. When all this is past, and one looks back on the present, apart from national pride, will personal dignity and feelings be remembered?
Singaporean conductor Wong Kah Chun conducting the New York Philharmonic during a Chinese New Year concert held at the David Geffen Hall in New York, US, on 6 February 2019. (Photo: Chris Lee)

Building bridges through music: A young Singaporean conductor leads the way

Lee Huay Leng was touched by the live broadcast of a concert in the park put up by the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra with Singaporean conductor Wong Kah Chun at the helm and Singapore Chinese Orchestra musicians taking part. Chinese instruments found their place in Wong’s arrangement of 19th century Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition”. In the aftermath of Covid and an international milieu where politics meddles even in the arts, the young Wong had found a way to stay composed and build a bridge with music. Can countries learn to do the same?
People wearing face masks walk at Orchard Road, in Singapore, on 10 August 2021. (SPH Media)

Challenges of Singapore's Chinese community amid competing influences: Lessons from an old bookstore

Looking back on the history of Union Book Co, one of Singapore’s oldest Chinese language bookstores, editor-in-chief of the Chinese Media Group Lee Huay Leng muses that Singapore has always been a crossroads of different cultures and thinking. Even today, the challenge is to remain open yet stay vigilant against competing influences. Responding with Singapore’s national interest at heart is the mark of a nation’s confidence.
Emergency workers remove debris of a building destroyed in the course of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, 10 April 2022. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)

Walking a tightrope to survive: Singapore's position in the Russia-Ukraine war and beyond

While the Russia-Ukraine war is geographically far from this region, the proxy US-China tussle and information war are having their impact on Singapore and the region all the same. In a recent discussion with Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean, Lee Huay Leng, editor-In-chief of the Chinese Media Group of SPH Media, is reminded that the greatest test of a country’s principles comes when it is most inconvenient to exercise them. And most importantly, it is precisely because countries such as Singapore are small that they must ensure that their interests are protected in the international realm.