Peter Ong

Associate Editor, Lianhe Zaobao

Peter Ong is an associate editor of Lianhe Zaobao.

Crowds of people cross the street at Shibuya Crossing, one of the busiest intersections in the world, in the Shibuya district of Tokyo on 5 April 2023. (Richard A. Brooks/AFP)

Globalisation's end could mean the end of good times

Lianhe Zaobao associate editor Peter Ong assesses that the world is moving away from globalisation as friction between countries have led to the need for self-sufficiency and “friendshoring”. Modern history has shown the ills of such moves, but then again, isn’t the worst human failing that of forgetting history?
A woman walks along a street with two children in Beijing, China, on 3 February 2023. (Jade Gao/AFP)

It's not just China: Asia faces a shrinking population

Lianhe Zaobao associate editor Peter Ong looks into why Asian countries are facing a declining population, especially those that have witnessed successful economic transformation. What social conditions have led to the staggeringly low birth rates? And is migration a solution?
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an exhibition marking the anniversary of a historical parade in 1941, when Soviet soldiers marched towards the front lines during World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia, 8 November 2022. (Aleksey Nikolskyi/Kremlin/Sputnik via Reuters)

The world is no longer safe from a nuclear war

Lianhe Zaobao associate editor Peter Ong remarks that the likelihood of a nuclear war has suddenly increased manyfold since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. Besides Russia, the US has also become the main actor that could initiate the use of nuclear weapons. He shares his thoughts on these major powers’ historic and present-day views of nuclear weapons. Are they willing to risk it all?
Children play with sand near a Taiwan Navy supply ship at a beach on Nangan island of the Matsu Islands in Taiwan, 16 August 2022. (Ann Wang/Reuters)

Why Chinese Singaporeans will be torn if war breaks out over the Taiwan Strait

Zaobao associate editor Peter Ong observes that members of the Chinese community in Singapore hold diverse views on reunification and other issues, and have varying levels of emotional ties to the mainland and Taiwan. If war breaks out, it will not be distant like the war in Ukraine, but stir up different feelings in the Chinese community. Remaining objective would be hard but necessary.