Singapore

Southeast Asia’s mixed AI stacks: Pragmatic but not risk-free

Regional initiatives such as Singapore’s SEA-LION and Indonesia’s Sahabat-AI show that Southeast Asia can combine technologies from American, Chinese and regional sources. But mixed AI stacks do not automatically reduce dependence. ISEAS academic Zenobia Chan tells us more.

Zenobia Chan

08 Oct 2026

Singapore planned for success. Why shouldn’t Hong Kong?

Hong Kong’s first five-year plan marks a sharp break from its laissez-faire past, prompting concerns about state intervention. Academic Guanie Lim delves into the issue and compares it with Singapore’s success story — one that was never purely market-driven.

Guanie Lim

08 Oct 2026

In Singapore, a woman knew her harasser. In China, 20 women never met theirs

Who should stop an online crowd? Singapore’s new Online Safety Commission helps victims get harmful posts taken down and find out who harmed them. China’s draft Anti-Cyberviolence Law would make platforms slow a crowd turning on someone before anyone complains. Victims need both, argues academic Ashton Ng. Platforms see the crowd first and should act first. But the crowd is made of individuals, and each of us can refuse to join it.

Ashton Ng

02 Oct 2026

[Big read] How China’s pyramid schemes used ‘state secrets’ to lure victims

China’s pyramid schemes have abandoned centralised communes to recruit via social media, romance-baiting and promises of quick wealth. Lianhe Zaobao associate China news editor Sim Tze Wei examines how state rhetoric is weaponised to keep victims in the dark.

Sim Tze Wei

30 Sep 2026

Chan Chun Sing: Winning the world requires example, not force

Speaking at the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum, Singapore Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing urged nations to build trust, embrace interdependence, and lead by the “power of example” to ensure global stability. This is an edited transcript of his speech.

Chan Chun Sing

21 Sep 2026

Bilahari Kausikan: On international law and foreign policy

Former Singapore diplomat Bilahari Kausikan sounds the reminder that abiding by international law is a choice countries make in their own national interest, and that serving the latter is the only consistency in countries’ foreign policy, in a speech delivered at the Law Society of Singapore’s Public International Law Conference on 3 September 2026. This is an edited version of the transcript.

Bilahari Kausikan

18 Sep 2026

[Big read] As Asia’s food delivery giants rejig the pie, who will win the market?

Asia-Pacific’s food delivery ecosystem is shifting as Delivery Hero retreats and giants like Grab and Meituan fight for the market. Lianhe Zaobao business journalist Thomas Li Tao speaks with market insiders to find out more.

Thomas Li Tao

17 Sep 2026

How Singaporean hotelier Cinn Tan is building a global brand

She chased clients in high heels, endured harsh northern winters on Chinese cabbage and built hotels across China. Now, hotelier Cinn Tan is turning decades of experience into a vision for a truly Singaporean global hotel brand. Lianhe Zaobao senior writer Wang Hwee Wen interviews her to find out more.

Wang Hwee Wen

17 Sep 2026

Are Singaporeans disappearing? The identity challenge behind the baby crisis

To confront a historically low total fertility rate, Singapore is re-engineering social frameworks for parenthood. As the nation turns to global immigrants, it needs to ensure that new arrivals successfully forge a rooted national identity. Han Yong May, deputy editor-in-chief of SPH’s Chinese Media Group, considers the issues at stake.

Han Yong May

08 Sep 2026

I went to Nanning to find the pyramid schemes that lured Singaporeans

After 52 Singaporeans were arrested in Guangxi, Lianhe Zaobao associate China news editor Sim Tze Wei travelled to Nanning to trace the pyramid schemes said to have lured them in — and found a city where real policies and projects can be repackaged as fake investment opportunities.

Sim Tze Wei

07 Sep 2026

Rojak roots: What it means to be Singaporean

Cantonese and Hokkien, Malay and English; kampung food, Hong Kong television, Manchester United and the Catholic faith. Tracing the people, languages and cultures that shaped her, ThinkChina’s Candice Chan reflects on a thoroughly mixed — and thoroughly Singaporean — inheritance in ThinkChina’s Eye on Guangdong series.

Candice Chan

31 Aug 2026

China tech firms drive AI data centre boom in Southeast Asia

China is powering Southeast Asia’s data centre boom. But as demand surges and resources tighten, Chinese companies are localising their operations and reshaping the region’s digital infrastructure.

Caixin Global

28 Aug 2026