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 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.
Healthcare workers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) outside the emergency department at Caritas Medical Centre hospital in Hong Kong, China, on 8 March 2022. (Lam Yik/Bloomberg)

What's missing from Hong Kong's anti-epidemic fight?

China's central government has repeatedly come to the aid of Hong Kong, saving the latter from financial and resources crises. It has also lent its hand to Hong Kong in the current anti-epidemic fight. However, "trust" may be missing in the trilateral relationships between Beijing, Hong Kong and the Hong Kong people, leading to problems with communication and long-term planning. Editor-in-chief of Chinese Media Group Lee Huay Leng examines the issues and discusses whether Hong Kong has what it takes to weather the pandemic on its own.
A picture of Chinese President Xi Jinping overlooks a street ahead of the National People's Congress (NPC), in Shanghai, China, 1 March 2021. (Aly Song/Reuters)

Why Southeast Asia has a love-hate relationship with China

The State of Southeast Asia: 2021 Survey Report shows that many acknowledge yet fear China’s economic dominance. What is behind this enigma of a Southeast Asia that welcomes yet worries about China? Lee Huay Leng assesses that it is a confluence of factors, both external and internal to China. A change in tone, mindset and behaviour is in order if China is to be truly understood by the people it seeks to influence.