Wong Siew Fong

Correspondent, Lianhe Zaobao

Wong Siew Fong is Lianhe Zaobao’s Beijing correspondent. She has been working at Zaobao for more than five years, previously covering special features and Singapore local news, before moving on to her Beijing posting in May 2021.

People use umbrellas as they walk along Qianmen street in Beijing, China, on 18 August 2022. (Noel Celis/AFP)

Why Chinese youths are not spending

Zaobao correspondent Wong Siew Fong notes that consumer spending attitudes have changed since the pandemic, especially among Chinese youths — the biggest spending market. This spells a more difficult road to recovery for China’s ailing economy.
People line up to be tested for Covid-19 next to a poster showing China's President Xi Jinping on a bulletin board in Beijing, China, on 31 August 2022. (Jade Gao/AFP)

China censors discussion on WHO's assessment of pandemic

Despite state media dispelling the misunderstanding that China’s zero-Covid policy would become a long-lasting basic national policy, Zaobao correspondent Wong Siew Fong notes that the Chinese people are still wary of how much longer the strict measures will persist, especially amid the sudden censorship of specific search terms related to the end of the pandemic on social media. Is there an end in sight for the strict anti-epidemic measures?
People visit the BYD booth during a media day for the Auto Shanghai show in Shanghai, China, 19 April 2021. (Aly Song/Reuters)

China’s electric vehicle makers race for Southeast Asia market share

In this fifth instalment of a seven-part Lianhe Zaobao-Business Times series on China and ASEAN, we look at how China’s electric vehicle manufacturers are making inroads in Singapore and the region.
A woman uses her mobile phone as she rides an escalator past an advertising board at a business district in Beijing, China, on 16 May 2022. (Wang Zhao/AFP)

The dwindling space for public opinion in China

Chinese social media platforms such as Weibo, Bilibili and Douyin have announced measures to clean up the use of miswritten words and homonyms that could be related to sensitive terms, sparking backlash from netizens. Zaobao correspondent Wong Siew Fong tells us more.
Men in China's rural areas find themselves in a tough situation when it comes to marriage. (Noel Celis/AFP)

When millions of rural Chinese men are desperate for a wife

In China’s rural areas, despite traditional pressures to get married, young men are finding themselves in a difficult position as the high gender imbalance has led to a short supply of marriageable women. Furthermore, men who are not well-off cannot find wives, with many of the women looking to marry men with better prospects in other towns and cities as a means of upward social mobility. These social problems have led to the abduction and trafficking of women in rural China. Zaobao correspondent Wong Siew Fong visits some villages to find out more about these crimes.
This file photo taken on 25 April 2021 shows a medical staff member taking care of a newborn baby in the paediatric ward of a hospital in Fuyang in China's eastern Anhui province. (AFP)

China wants to reverse its high abortion rate with pro-birth policies, and young women are not happy

As a result of the country’s now-abolished one-child policy and other factors, abortion has gained wide acceptance among women in China. A recent work plan by the national family planning unit stated its intention to “intervene” in abortions for unmarried women has sparked backlash that women would lose their reproductive autonomy. Zaobao correspondent Wong Siew Fong speaks with researchers and Chinese women to understand the policy implications on women’s rights and how the issue will impact China’s shrinking birth rate.
Students, tourists and visitors gather in front of the Harry Elkins Widener Library on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, on 21 June 2011. (Kelvin Ma/Bloomberg)

Chinese returning talents losing their shine?

With Chinese returning talents (海归, haigui) increasingly becoming a dime a dozen amid worsening US-China relations and less Chinese students venturing abroad, the aura of prestige that such returnees used to enjoy is fast diminishing. In fact, many of them were ostracised in the early days of the pandemic for bringing the virus back to China. But all is not lost, as many among them feel their years spent abroad will still open doors.
Students attend a lesson at a school in Qingyuan county, Lishui city, Zhejiang province, China, on 9 December 2021. (AFP)

Students snitching on teachers in Chinese classrooms: Return of Cultural Revolution?

Another internet furore has erupted, this time over a Shanghai college lecturer who was ratted out by her student and accused of being “spiritually Japanese” for questioning the death toll of the Nanjing Massacre. Are fears of a Cultural Revolution returning justified as people feel emboldened to tell on others without much thought?
China's pet economy is taking off, driven by the one-child generation born in the 1980s and 1990s. (Internet/SPH)

China’s pet industry booms as the post-90s generation seeks to fill a void

The pet economy is thriving in China, driven mostly by the one-child generation who crave an emotional connection and young job seekers taking up “animal communication” gigs during the pandemic. Analysts are optimistic about this sector, where middle class households are more than willing to spend more on the physical and emotional well-being of their furkids. Zaobao correspondent Wong Siew Fong speaks to pet owners and business owners to uncover more about this emerging industry.