It’s 1-odd hour into 2009, so let me wish all my family, friends, colleagues and business contacts a better 2009 than 2008 has been. I chose to stay away from the crowds on the final day, and instead went for a run with my girlfriend, before packing my bag for our trip to Telunas Beach tomorrow,...

I was on a taxi heading back to town after a board meeting at Yishun yesterday afternoon, and was privy to some ‘grassroot sentiments’ from my 61-year old taxi driver uncle that I thought I’d share and comment upon. The gahmen (poorly pronounced Singlish, read as government) will collect...

I would be enormously amused by the non-stop one-upping of showmanship, ego-fluffing, chest-thumping going on among the space-faring nations on this puny third rock from the Sun called Earth. Over the past few weeks, I have received countless streams of terrestrial broadcasts concerning ‘major...

Yesterday, the Chinese government announced their intention to marketize China’s countryside, by allowing peasants to trade or rent out their land tenancies for a profit in a land transaction market. Details are scarce, as to be expected - the policy mongers need to be given time to mull over the...

It’s really hard to catch a falling knife without getting caught. I’m sure the recent whip-saw movements in Wall Street (and the resulting effects in global equity markets) have left many of you breathless, and hopefully none less worse the wear. Unfortunately, our friends over in the Valley...

We Chinks have this silly superstition that misfortune would befall us if we gloat over others’ misfortune or brag about our good luck. As I type this entry, my wrists are firmly planted on my wooden table top (touchwood!) for good measure - I wouldn’t want to jinx my perfect driving record...

This time round, I have spent an inordinate amount of time out in the field, meeting countless startups and VCs. Although it was too long to be away from my loved ones, my job gives me an excuse to meet all sorts of cool startups and catch a glimpse of what they’re up to. Here’s the complete...

I first caught sight of this on a note in Facebook by a friend, and was surprised by the tremendous amount of negative comments that resulted. Full letter over at TODAYonline. As far as I could tell, they came from a good mix of Singaporeans and foreigners. I republish some of these here. I am absolutely...

Below is a speech to the graduating class of 2008 at the NTU convocation ceremony last week by Adrian Tan, a litigation lawyer and the author of the Teenage Textbook. I must say thank you to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information for inviting me to give your...

These days, I make it a daily routine to flip the newspapers and check out the medal tally tussle going on between China and the United States. Beneath all that talk about sportsmanship and brotherhood, smiling faces and gleaming medals, there’s a battle going on between one world-superpower-on-the-decline...

If you haven’t signed up for your iPhone from SingTel’s pre-launch website, you’re too late - they’ve closed it. Little worry though, if you’re not hopping onto the iPhone hype/bandwagon with both feet. I don’t know how reliable this source is, but those price plans...

As the economies of both nations continue playing important roles in the Asia in the macroeconomic landscape in the years ahead, it would be foolhardy for us (or US, however your geopolitical inclination may be) to prognosticate Western ways and ignore the oft-subtler ways in which things get done in...

And off I go! This whirlwind trip sees me kissing the shores of Tokyo, Guangzhou, Hong Kong (transit) and Silicon Valley and saying farewell before the week is over. I know you seasoned business travellers probably have done way crazier itineraries…but hey, go easy on me man! I’m just starting...

Did you watch the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony earlier at 8:00pm? I did, and I couldn’t shut my jaw the entire time. I knew Zhang Yimou and the Chinese Government had something up their sleeves - I just didn’t know their sleeves were that deep! The world watched with abated breath...