#singaporean influencer

[trevortham]

Trevor Tham

Trevor Tham is a Singaporean content creator and social media influencer. He is the co-founder of the YouTube channel, Trevmonki and also a partner and Creative Producer at Titan Digital Media. He is the Creative Director of Studiomonki, a film production studio that manages the Trevmonki YouTube channel and creates content such as short films and advertisements for various clients.

Education – Trevor Tham is an alumnus of Zhangde Primary School and Outram Secondary School. He studied at Ngee Ann Polytechnic from 2011 to 2014, graduating with a diploma in molecular biotechnology from the School of Life Sciences & Chemical Technology.

Personal life –Trevor Tham was in a relationship with Samantha Ashley Tay, a dance instructor. Trevor and Samantha met while she was his senior in New Revolving Age, a hip-hop dance club in Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

Trevor Tham first founded the Trevmonki YouTube channel with Leonard Lau in October 2013. Trevmonki uploads a variety of content such as comedic skits, web series, short films and travel vlogs. Besides helming the creative direction for the YouTube channel, Trevor also appears in its videos.

[reasonsforhope]

[Warning: Graphic (some very graphic) shark-fishing pictures at the link.]

"Suhardi isn’t your average snorkeling guide. Born on the Indonesian island of Lombok, he’s spent his life on water. While he now seeks out sharks for the enjoyment of tourists, he once hunted sharks to help earn money to feed his family and educate his two children.

Suhardi was a fisherman for more than 20 years. He first started fishing working on his parents’ boat, but was then asked to join the crew of a shark boat where he was told he could earn a lot of money. Back on deck, he looks embarrassed to divulge what a meager wage it was, but finally confesses he earned around $50 for up to a month at sea.

Now he and 12 other former shark fishermen are part of The Dorsal Effect, an ecotourism company that helps ex-shark hunters find a new vocation. Each week, the team takes groups of tourists, schoolchildren and university students to off-the-grid locations and guides them around pristine reefs. Each trip is designed to take guests on an exploratory journey of both the shark trade and marine conservation through the eyes of the Sasak people of Lombok.

Lombok is a hotspot for marine diversity, sitting just east of the Wallace Line, a biogeographical boundary separating Asia and Australia and their respective fauna. Pristine coral gardens and around 80 species of sharks can be found in its waters. The island is also part of the world’s largest shark-fishing nation. Only the whale shark (Rhincondon typus) is protected in Indonesia; all other sharks can be legally caught.

The Dorsal Effect first launched in 2013, a year after Suhardi met Singaporean ecologist Kathy Xu, who had traveled to Lombok to find out more about the shark trade. The diminutive but quietly determined Xu wanted to protect sharks, but because she knew shark fishing was poorly paid and dangerous, she wanted to hear the fishermen’s stories too. They told her how once they could fish for sharks close to shore, but now with the shark population dropping, the fishermen said they needed to travel farther out to sea, only to come home with a relatively poor catch. The reduced catch also meant reduced pay, so they often couldn’t cover their costs...

Yet, when Xu asked why fishers didn’t seek out another trade, she learned they didn’t want to be separated from the sea. They saw it as part of their heritage.

But as they spoke longer, the shark fishermen talked about the coral gardens that could be found under the waves, ones that only they knew about. Inspired by a whale shark diving trip she’d taken with scientists on the Great Barrier Reef, Xu had an idea. “If such spots exist,” she recalls telling the fishers, “I could take tourists out with you and pay you more than you earned shark fishing”.

At first, Xu guided the former shark fishermen on how to become eco-friendly tour operators. They dropped anchor away from the reef, served guests plant-based dishes, and made sure all trash was taken back to shore. But then Xu saw that something special was happening: The former fishermen had started to take the guest experience into their own hands, making sure tourists felt at home. Suhardi painted “Welcome” in large letters over the front of his boat, fitted green baize to the top deck for outdoor seating, and hung curtains in the cabin so his guests could enjoy some shade.

Suhardi has already bought a new boat with his earnings from snorkeling trips. “Every day is my best day,” laughs Suhardi, whose smile always travels from his mouth to his eyes.

While they were receiving tourists from across the globe, there was another group that Xu wanted to reach out to. “I think it was the teacher in me who felt impassioned about influencing the young,” she says. She reached out to schools and created a five-day program that would help students understand the shark trade and local conservation efforts. During the program, paid for by the school and students, participants would not only meet the ex-shark fishermen so they could ask them about their lives, but also hear from NGOs such as the Wildlife Conservation Society about their efforts to slow the trade. The Dorsal Effect also hired marine biologists to host nightly lectures and help the students with their field surveys...

The students were faced with the realities of the fishing trade, but they were also encouraged to take a balanced view by The Dorsal Effect team. The villagers weren’t just taking the fins, and throwing away the rest of the shark; they processed every piece of the animal. While they did sell the meat and fins to buyers at the market, they also sold the teeth to jewelers, and the remains for pet food.

The Dorsal Effect also takes students on an excursion to the fishermen’s village, a small island that lies off the coast of Lombok. Marine biologist Bryan Ng Sai Lin, who was hired by The Dorsal Effect team, says that on one trip with students he was surprised by how quickly the young people understood the situation. “One of them said it’s good to think about conservation, but at the same time these people don’t really have any other choice,” Lin says....

Conservation scientist Hollie Booth of Save Our Seas, which does not work directly with The Dorsal Effect, says the need to provide legal profitable alternatives to shark fishing is critical: “We are never going to solve biodiversity and environment issues unless we think about incentives and take local people’s needs into account. These kinds of programs are really important.”"

-via Mongabay, December 15, 2023

[kopilot-pop]

hi, about the yunjin starbucks controversy.

i’m gonna try to be as fair as possible talking about this controversy, but i’ll be honest i’m leaning more on yunjin’s side. i’ve been getting several requests on yunjin and i feel like i need to get this off my chest every time i see her name on my page.

let’s start off with the facts: yunjin was caught drinking starbucks in Korea (in front of the company building.)

I thought she drank it on a post or somethrong but no, it was just a few pixels of a low quality picture fans took. And that’s my first minor problem; she wasn’t on live, it wasn’t a post, it was a few milliseconds of pixels. But I get the ‘performative activism’ controversy, it DOES feel like she’s hiding it.

However, my take is that she just got out from her car, and wanna know a little fun fact? Most snacks and drinks that all idols are seen eating are most likely bought by their managers. And it’s a fact that Koreans aren’t currently boycotting Starbucks as actively as western foreigners are. So my thought the first time I saw the picture was that. The manager probably just bought coffee from whatever shop was closest, and handed it to her.

But I do understand how that can feel like reaching so I did some more research .

The biggest thing I have to so called ‘defend’ Yunjin is that Starbucks Korea is completely separate from International Starbucks (source: ChosunBiz).

In 2021, 67.5% of Starbucks was comepletely bought by E-Mart (a branch of Shinsegae), and the rest 32.5% was bought by a Singaporean investment comapny (GIC).

So oh, Starbucks Korea has no affiliations with the part of Starbucks that sues their worker’s union.

However, I can make the argument that Yunjin could influence others to ignore the boycott and buy Starbucks. Is it true that she has several international fans and alot of impressionable fans? Yes.

But then we have to go back to our first argument; it was a few milliseconds of a low quality video.

And after finding that out, I started to feel like all the people commenting about “starbucks queen💕” and “omg whats your starbucks order?” is the problem.

YOU guys are the one promoting Starbucks at this point. Do you understand?

I’m not saying don’t hold someone accountable, no, but I’m saying the comments aren’t fucking helping.

Don’t get me wrong, I do live in Korea, and I have been actively avoiding purchasing from them because I saw a few posts on twitter referencing it. I based an activity on a twitter post. And wanna know when I figured out WHY I was supposed to boycott exactly?

After I deleted Twitter because of the stress I got from the app.

That’s when I finally found out about the BDS list, found out oh, Puma is on the list, McDonalds is an even bigger problem than Starbucks (directly supplying food to soldiers), HP APPARENTLY SUPPLIES TECH FOR THE ISRAEL GOVERNMENT, and oh wow! Starbucks isn’t even on the list because theres not enough proof that they financially fund Israel.

In conclusion, the people preaching about how Yunjin is a performative activist is such hypocrites themselves

It’s clear that while some of the comments and criticisms are genuine, trying to hold a person accountable, but its also clear that the repeat of the same mocking comments of Yunjin is just performative and for attention and likes.

That’s what pisses me off. People who don’t give a shit about Palestine, and people even if they do support Palestine not even doinng the bare minimum amount of research just having fun mocking (not criticizing) a person when a tiny bit of wrong doing is shown.

Please, go look in the mirror, and i dont like saying this but go touch grass, do your own research, dont base off your whole ideology on a reddit post or a twitter, tumblr post, read different variety of news articles from several companies, and THEN make your decision on a situation. Not only Starbucks, not only on Yunjin, but on several other ones too.

Media literacy. Look it up.

[buffetlicious]

Today is the seventh day of Lunar New Year, also known as Renri (人日). According to Chinese customs, Renri was the day human beings were created. It is celebrated not only in China, but also in the surrounding region influenced by Chinese culture. In Chinese mythology, Nüwa (女娲) was the goddess who created the world. She created the animals on different days and human beings on the seventh day after the creation of the world. On this day, Singaporeans and Malaysians often crowded around the table to toss Yu Sheng (鱼生) or Prosperity Toss. This is a raw fish salad brought to Singapore with the migration of Cantonese and Teochew people from China in the 19th century.

Our Yu Sheng was bought from Sushi Express (爭鮮) and came with a set of red packets or Hong Bao (红包) along with a card with simple instructions on how to do the prosperity toss (捞鱼生). The Good Luck Yu Sheng Set (S$39.80) came with assorted vegetables in their natural or dyed colours, eight pieces of raw salmon and other condiments. As you poured in various ingredients and sauce, you say the auspicious phrases indicated on the accompanied card and then everyone get ready to toss the ingredients as high as possible and at the same time shouting “Huat Ah” without spilling onto the table. The taste of the salad came from the sweet plum sauce, lime juice, golden crackers, pepper and five-spice powder and it is quite pleasant to the palate. Anyway, after eating the yu sheng, we hope everyone had a prosperous and abundant year ahead.

Topmost image from Sushi Express.

[southeastasianists]

On 5th July 2023, The Washington Post published ‘In Singapore, loud echoes of Beijing’s positions generate anxiety’. Written by Singaporean journalist Shibani Mahtani, it alleged that local Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao “now routinely echoes some of Beijing’s most strident falsehoods” and “has been running regular opinion columns since 2016 from at least two [Chinese Communist Party] officials without noting their party affiliation”. 

The article argued this was a symptom of more extensive efforts by China to influence Singapore’s Chinese population. 

It sparked immediate (and anxious) reactions. Lianhe Zaobao rebutted that they take in “Chinese and Western viewpoints while preserving [their] unique stance and independence”. Lui Tuck Yew, Singapore’s Ambassador to the US, published a letter saying the article “wrongly suggests that Lianhe Zaobao […] echoes Beijing’s propaganda” and that the article was “misguided for American news outlets to expect Zaobao to resemble The Washington Post or for Singapore to follow either the US or China”. 

Prime Minister-in-waiting Lawrence Wong briefly discussed the article during his US trip, affirming that Singapore is vigilant about external influences, including “Western liberal ideals”.

“To be candid, there is no shortage of criticism about Singapore in the Western media, no shortage of commentaries and articles highlighting the shortcomings in our system and asking us to be more like Western liberal ideals,” DPM Wong clarifies.

Naturally, it was the first thing I asked her about. 

On Lianhe Zaobao

As expected of someone who interviews public figures for a living, Shibani’s relaxed manner instantly puts you at ease. Her speech—liberally peppered with “you know” and “right?”—draws you into the same wavelength. 

Learned from years of journalism, the 35-year-old balances her claims with caveats. Her neutral-sounding English is flawless, void of the full ‘R’s characterising American accents or the poshness of British accents. In her own words, she speaks like “someone very privileged to have experienced different cultures, societies, and ways of life”.

When I bring up the Lianhe Zaobao kerfuffle, her demeanour turns serious. 

“Nowhere did I advocate for Singaporean media to be like Western media,” she begins. 

“The story didn’t argue from a US-China perspective at all, honestly. It was an investigation into the discourses and the narratives around Chinese-ness.”

While acknowledging Western ideas and narratives have long been embedded in Singapore, she argues China’s resurgence makes examining Chinese influence more urgent. 

“Ethnicity has historically been very fragile in this part of the world. Most of Singapore’s population is ethnic Chinese. As [Ambassador-at-Large] Bilahari said, there’s something very different about the CCP propagating the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, which involves ethnic Chinese from all over the world,” she notes. “The US cannot have that same claim here.”

Probing Shibani is an exercise in probing the Singaporean identity. Born and bred in Singapore, she’s highly invested in the way things operate here.

However, the values she developed from Singapore’s environment differed from most. Where political apathy (even cynicism) prevails, Shibani champions ‘flowery’ values like free speech and transparency. Such values inform her work, birthing social media comments accusing her and her work—like her Lianhe Zaobao article—of being “Western” and a “foreign influence”.

Shibani’s interest in examining China’s influence on Singapore began upon returning home while covering the 2019 Hong Kong protests.

“People around us would be like, ‘Oh, these people are unhinged’.” She suspected these narratives parroted CCP talking points.

After asking friends and consulting academics, she learned how Chinese state narratives can be spread through various channels in Singapore: WeChat, WhatsApp, forum posts, cable TV and print media. 

Shibani focused on Lianhe Zaobao because it was quantifiable. 

Working with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, an Australian government-linked think tank that declared receiving $1.48 million from the US State Department in 2021-22, The Washington Post could “run a scraper through” Zaobao’s articles for references to pro-China sources.

She notes another reason. 

“The way Singapore views the media is not as a check and balance but to positively aid national development and discourse. I felt that if it were true that Chinese narratives were seeping in, that would run counter to the Singapore government’s efforts to ensure that our narratives are self-defined and driven by Singapore’s interests.”

A proponent of free speech, she claims pro-China views have a place in Singapore’s media landscape. Her gripe, however, is transparency—publications need to clarify the writer’s affiliations to readers.

“You could not get away with having a US State Department official write for The Straits Times as a neutral analyst.”

A Singaporean, Born and Bred

Her conversations with fellow Singaporeans informed Shibani’s story of Chinese influence in Singapore. It’s far from the first story birthed from her connections here.

“One of the first stories I did—and it remains a story I’m very, very proud of—was writing in the Wall Street Journal about racial discrimination within Singapore’s housing ads. People can—even today—advertise ‘no Indians’ or ‘Chinese preferred’ or ‘light-skin only.'” 

It presented a disconnect from narratives she grew up hearing about Singapore’s racial harmony and the Housing Development Board’s Ethnic Integration Policy preventing ethnic enclaves. 

“I don’t know if I would have caught on to that issue if I had not been born and raised here,” she affirms.

Growing up an ethnic minority, she didn’t see her experiences and views validated. 

Without social media or alternative media back then, she could only read from The Straits Times or Business Times and what foreigners wrote about Singapore in overseas publications. There was little available discourse divorced from those lenses. Her current endeavours in journalism aim to fill that gap: To present perspectives on Singapore she wasn’t able to read growing up.

Her childhood fascination with travel and language evolved into a fixation on journalism as her political awareness developed. 

“I remember the WIRED piece that called Singapore a ‘Disneyland with the death penalty‘”, she says. Reading international coverage of Singapore spurred her to interrogate the place she calls home.

She focused on writing. She contributed to the school paper at Raffles Junior College and became Executive Editor of the student newspaper at the London School of Economics. 

“When I went to grad school [at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2010], I wanted to learn how big global news organisations operate. They are much better resourced and offered a more international career, which can be hard to carve out at somewhere like The Straits Times.” 

Yet, it felt far-fetched. 

“When I started writing for The Wall Street Journal [in 2011], it was rare for them to have non-white, non-Western journalists,” she recalls. 

Her opportunity was borne from need: WSJ’s foreign journalists on employment passes got their passes cut.

“So they said okay, instead of hiring foreigners, we should hire Singaporeans.”

Beyond the Bubble

Working in global news organisations meant Shibani was often overseas, starting with Myanmar in 2013. She volunteered for the job—a leap of faith stemming from her interest in Southeast Asia.

Adapting to Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar, was a “crazy experience”. Internet was virtually nonexistent and absurdly priced.

“SIM cards still cost US$150 before the liberalisation of the telecom sector.” She often loitered in the Traders Hotel (now Shangri-La) lobby, trying to connect to decent internet.

For correspondents, living in the country they’re covering gives a valuable taste of life there to inform their perspectives.

Contrary to places like Hong Kong or Singapore, where expatriates have the ability to somewhat detach from local life, Shibani notes that it was much harder in Yangon circa 2013.

“Living in Yangon is a bit of a bubble [for expatriates], but our issues with the internet were shared [with locals]. If it flooded, everything flooded. If the power cuts, the power cuts for everybody—not to equate; I was a privileged expat, but we lived in a pretty local neighbourhood.”

She regales tales from her travels, recalling the poppy-infested Northern areas of Myanmar, where opium is produced.  

“I remember feeling very shaken visiting these shacks, which were treatment centres for recovering addicts. Their eyes were just so hollow and their expressions so blank.”

She remembers interviewing Khin Nyunt, Myanmar’s former Chief of Intelligence—infamous for ruthlessly running the pervasive state security apparatus and cracking down on anyone opposing the regime. 

“What a difficult interview, man. Imagine you’re sitting across from someone who you essentially know is a really bad person, for lack of a better word,” she grimaces.

“And you have to smile at them and go: ‘So. About torturing and disappearing people.'”

She shudders as she recalls speaking to Aung San Suu Kyi—her toughest interviewee yet. When she tried to press Aung San Suu Kyi on the national economy and internal political party dynamics, Aung San Suu Kyi got angry and refused to talk. Shibani crumpled up internally.

Fighting for Something

Then, there was the time when she covered the Hong Kong protests in 2019.

“It was incredibly fast-moving every weekend. […] Protests were so dispersed. Journalists were in WhatsApp groups together so we could crowdsource or trade info.”

It fell into a routine. Mornings and afternoons were peaceful, while at night, there’d be pockets of radical action like vandalism or police chases. 

That soon devolved into chaos. “You didn’t know whether to expect Molotov cocktails being thrown or crackdowns from the police.” That escalation only waned after local elections in November 2019 and the advent of COVID-19.

Despite the violence, it was the tender moments that stuck with her. “We would see people helping each other and giving out food and drinks, young couples holding hands and walking through the streets. It was surreal to see those spaces you’d drive down occupied by people sitting and holding hands.”

“You see what it meant to people to be part of a collective and a community fighting for something,” she reminisces. “That stayed with me.”

Journalists aren’t immune to the heightened emotions: “It’s very hard not to be affected by seeing kids beaten up on the street or seeing your friends flee home.” 

She tries to channel these emotions into her writing, as with her recently published book, Among The Braves. Co-written with her husband, Timothy McLaughlin, the book explores the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement through the eyes of people on the ground. 

“In 2021, when they started mass arresting groups of people, our whole contact list disappeared. We identified a few people [to profile in the book], and they started going to jail, one by one. Local Hong Kong outlets we referenced, like Apple Daily or Stand News, began shutting down.” 

She stressed the urgency. “I think the power of the Chinese Communist Party to do this forced mass amnesia has been well-documented post-Tiananmen. If we didn’t do it now, we’d lose the opportunity to put down what we saw in these people’s life experiences.”

‘A Different Approach’

Today, Shibani is back in Singapore after returning home with her husband and Bean, her dog.

“It’s pretty surreal,” Shibani reflects, sipping coffee as her eyes linger on the Singapore skyline. “It feels like we’re in a corner of the world untouched by the insanity everywhere.”

“For all of Singapore’s flaws, we should feel fortunate to have a good, stable and functional government,” Shibani notes.

“In Hong Kong, all people wanted is to vote for their government,” she says. “I’m not saying that stuff like gerrymandering doesn’t exist. Singapore’s not a perfect system, but we still have that right [to vote] many people are fighting for.” 

Shibani pauses. “I sometimes wonder if it is valued as much as it should be.”

Despite being well-travelled, she doesn’t consider herself an international citizen.

“Being Singaporean is at the heart of everything I do, everything I believe in, and everything I am.”

From Shibani’s perspective, many of her contrasting beliefs are because of her Singaporean experiences “formed in opposition to narratives [she] heard since young”.

Not all her beliefs are oppositional. She attributes positive experiences in Singapore to her strong belief in multiculturalism, the virtues of an open immigration system (relative to other countries), and diversity within our neighbourhoods.

Shibani reflects Singapore’s difficulties balancing a desire to be an open, cosmopolitan city while nurturing a nationalism that, in its quest to unite, may exclude Singaporeans who stray from conventions of how a Singaporean should think or act.

Being critical of these perspectives is one thing. Shunning these viewpoints altogether strangles Singapore’s social diversity and vibrancy of thought. 

Those differences in values influence her views on Singaporean journalism. “I don’t want to criticise traditional SPH media, honestly. They inform society on things only they will cover right, like day-to-day concerns of Singaporeans.”

“Perhaps the only point I would make is, generally, I believe journalism should be free of government interference, red lines, and tacit control, but that’s not the way Singapore’s government sees its media; they see it as having a civic role. And that’s just a different approach.”

A Journalist’s Role

In comparison, she recalls, “When I was in the US [between 2016 and 2019], I was highly critical of the Chicago local government, the Chicago Mayor, and the Illinois state government. That’s our role as journalists: To be a check on government.”

This principle also holds in Hong Kong. She rejects claims that her writing, often critical of the Hong Kong government, represents Western influence in a larger East vs West ideological conflict. After all, she scrutinises Western governments using similar criteria, too.

“[Journalists] mean it when we say we want all perspectives,” she says, citing her own extensive interviews with people within the Hong Kong government.

That includes police officers on the ground. “We worked with a local journalist who—this is a true story, and RICE Media fodder—Tinder matched with two cops. When the movement started, she was like, ‘Oh my god. Let me reach out to my Tinder contacts.'”

However, those core disagreements with journalism’s role in Singapore are also why she’s so excited about the burgeoning independent media scene. “I feel like this landscape now is so much more diverse and interesting than I could have imagined in its history.”

After her book tour, she intends to add to that diversity by writing for The Washington Post on topics like trafficking or refugees in Southeast Asia. I ask what sustains her dedication to pure journalism. 

“So cheesy, but I’m just interested in hearing people’s stories,” she laughs.

“We can’t escape the confines in which we grew up—the schools we go to, the countries we live in. All that means we interact with only specific subsets or groups of people. The amazing thing about journalism is that all those boundaries don’t exist.”

She’s talked with so many people: Hardcore gun-toting Republicans in Southern Illinois, Rohingya refugees on the Thai border, and millionaires relinquishing everything to support the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement.

“It’s like therapy, I think, for them,” she ponders.

“It’s a testament to how so many people have stories to tell—it’s just about drawing it out.”

[the-greatest-fool]

I personally find it very, very strange people chalk up American foreign policy wrt the PRC to Sinophobia. I preface the rest of this creed by stating that I believe there are racists in the government and especially on the right, BUT nonetheless that American competition or even outright hostility to China IS JUSTIFIED.

I begin with a story. When TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was asked, as were Mark Zuckerberg and other tech CEOs, to testify in front of Congress, there was special scrutiny to TikTok’s treatment of content the CCP would find problematic. Chew, a Singaporean citizen educated in elite American universities, was asked a disappointingly naive line of questioning from Senator Tom Cotton.

Tiktok is owned by ByteDance, headquartered in Beijing and incorporated in the Cayman Islands (famously for scrupulous business). He was repeatedly asked if he had or any point had any relation to the Chinese Communist Party, to which he replied, facially bemused, “Senator, I’m Singaporean.”

This went viral. Online, people commented (somewhat accurately) on Cotton’s racist questions—for instance, asking if Chew was himself Chinese. However, this story seems to have undergone a game of telephone. In the midst of American discussions in Congress over whether TikTok should be banned conditional on being owned by a Chinese company, some TikTokers, aside from blaming the American Israeli lobby for (in my strong opinion) short-sighted and misguided reasons, blamed this on Congressmen “mistakenly” taking TikTok for a Chinese enterprise when it “is Singaporean, Senator.”

This is insanity. I wish to remind readers of TikTok’s empirical bias towards CCP-aligned content; of its promotion of denial of Chinese genocide and violence against the Uigher Muslims, Tibetans, and other Hui; of its tendency to promote anti-American and otherwise anti-social content; and the strong, strong incentive the PRC has (and the great example it has in Russia’s well-documented manipulation of media) to amplify messages that let the American public become complacent to its agenda to invade and destroy a democratic, sovereign nation (Taiwan).

This is no Sinophobia. Listen to your Chinese American peers (at least the ones not so drunk on racial resentiment they’ve begun supporting foreign authoritarians). China is NO MODEL for democracy, social equality, or liberal rights. It despises free expression outside its party mandate. It cracks down on artists too deviant, too *queer*, and too fluid for it to control. It actively bans Western influence and seeks to maintain a monopoly on public discourse. It abhors the notion of freedom. It hates especially that Asian neighbors have adopted liberal democratic agendas perfectly fine, contrary to its extremely racist argument that Eastern Peoples are not suited for democracy, which it claims is a Western concept for Western people. Hong Kong’s streets have never been the same. Do you wish for the bloody sights in Ukraine to be seen again in Taipei? What of the people of Japan, South Korea?

How is it that we’ve decided criticism of such a regime is comparable to criticism of Chinese descended people, who are of countless different faiths, nationalities, and political orientations? How dare my fellow Americans (white and or well off and or privileged) prostrate themselves to China in a disgusting attempt to cleanse themselves of their liberal guilt? (“I recognize I am a settler. I am White. I have sinned. I pray that my Evil home be defeated by these Orientals.”) How dare they turn a matter of geopolitics—because like it or not, our allies in Asia (billions of people) would prefer China not become an aspiring revanchist, toppling nations and conquering waters as it seeks now, and American attempts to contain it, to prevent it from meddling in elections or our market place of ideas are justified—into their social melodrama

You have *no* idea how much it hurts. The largest country in Asia rejects my existence (queer, ethnically Asian but American, etc.). It hates me. And you think that somehow, conceding to it will…what? Oh, it’s for The Cause. “It’s capitalism,” you argue. “It’s colonialism.” Oh yeah? What is TikTok?

Perhaps a rightist would say, “China is no saint.” I say, it is a long running empire built on conquest, bloodshed, repression, and inequality. Of course I hope China one day liberalizes. I hope its people are happy. But I cannot turn a blind eye to Americans who wish to forget its evils to smooth over their own. That is immature at best, diabolical at worst.

China loves for the diaspora to get angry. It loves for liberal and leftist White Americans to “empathize” and be “allies”, to “Stop Asian Hate.” It loathes genuine, factually-based analysis of its policies and of its treatment of its people. Support freedom for all people. Criticize inequalities and injustices at home all you want, but acknowledge there’s a reason why liberal democracy cannot be accepted across the Pacific—and not for a good reason.

This isn’t some ideological game. Wake up and put yourself in the shoes of the people who live on peninsulas and islands surrounded by waters that could one day be filled with hostile submarines ships ready to tear their freedoms away.

[hellkeepers-if]

Random thought.. you are probably used to these from Me.. sorry 🙈

But your post made me really think about how excited I am to get into the IF. I love learning about different cultures as I come from a verryyy diverse African country. We really are a mix mash of everything and everyone. And I have both Korean and Japanese friends so I know like the barest of basic knowledge but I think both cultures are equally beautiful.

I am however obsessed with boths fantasy genres. More so any anime that's Yōkai related is like a treat to me.

So my question finally lol is how much is the culture gonna be present in the story? Or is gonna be more focused on a mix of myths from all over?

And will you touch on cultural pressures too? Cuz again african child here unrealistic pressure to be successful and also have a family from random aunties is real here too 🤣

Also would be happy to learn more about other asian cultures and their own creatures that scare lil kids. I don't know much about Taiwanese or Filipino cultures at all.

Haha no worries, I love answering questions!

A large portion of Hellkeepers will be based in the chinese underworld, so chinese mythology will take center stage in the worldbuilding.

However, I am also Southeast-Asian, and a Singaporean raised by Malaysian Chinese folks. Southeast-Asians are already underrepresented in fantasy, be in it culture or it's people. I would be remissed if I could not write about them in a story that's so fitting for it.

There will be the opportunity to learn about other asian cultures in the story, be it through the RO's, mythological folktales, and other spoilery stuff I can't quite mention yet 😜

The overarching theme of Hellkeepers is about family, hence you will definitely get to see the influence of an MC that is raised in an asian household 😂

[popperazzi]

quick life update: I moved 12 min walking from my old spot!! I *finally* have a bedroom (in the form of an alcove studio but I’ll take it) and it’s sooo much more spacious. I have 25+ reference photos for decor ranging from Berlin interior design to Singaporean architecture to CDMX-influenced utilization of negative space and how am I gonna incorporate all of this into this apt??? who fuckin knows

pictured: me unexpectedly having my friend over and doing shots, realizing I have no cups unpacked except for a measuring cup…we then found my lone unpacked coffee mug 5 min later

[dkaufmandevelopment]

Why the Key Bridge collapsed.

As the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge attracted global attention to Baltimore Tuesday, first responders continued a rescue and recovery effort and the president pledged support to rebuild the structure.

The Singaporean-flagged cargo ship Dali appeared to lose power twice as it traveled down the channel early Tuesday morning, according to news reports, and the ship’s speed dropped to 8 knots, or about 9 mph, Moore said during the news conference.

Slow velocities can limit the ability of large vessels to steer effectively, but still be fast enough to cause vast damage in the case of a collision. A ship’s course can also be more heavily influenced by tides and currents when traveling at slow speeds.

In news photos from the scene, the ship’s anchor on its port — or left — side, also appeared to be deployed, an action mariners can take in an emergency to stop a vessel’s movement. The ship struck the bridge at around 1:30 a.m., causing the span that workers were performing maintenance on to collapse into the 47 degree Fahrenheit water of the river below.

The Key Bridge was a three-span, continuous steel truss bridge, so the piers used to support the bridge all shared the load, according to Rachel Sangree, associate teaching professor at Johns Hopkins University’s Department of Civil and Systems Engineering.

“Certainly it was a huge vessel in comparison to the pier itself, so it couldn’t have been expected to withstand that impact,” Sangree told Construction Dive in an interview. “For one of those support piers to be removed, it’s not surprising the bridge collapsed the way it did.”

Sangree also pointed to the Sunshine Skyway bridge collapse in Florida in 1980. The Tampa Bay span broke in a similar way when struck by a freighter in a disaster that claimed 35 lives.

As a result of that catastrophe, specifications on bridges over channels were made to protect the piers and implement a warning system to alert drivers and stop them from crossing, Sangree said. The Key Bridge was built in 1977, before those requirements were in place.

Still, the Dali’s crew issued a mayday call about power issues and their loss of control before the crash occurred, which allowed local authorities to stop vehicles before they crossed the bridge Tuesday.

“Those people are heroes,” Moore said on Tuesday. “They saved lives last night.”

As a result of the collapse, vessel traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore is suspended until further notice.

Learn more: https://www.constructiondive.com/news/key-bridge-collapse-impact-engineering/711425/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202024-03-27%20Construction%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:60480%5D&utm_term=Construction%20Dive

[justinther0ck]

Essay

Kogure Kiminobu Vs Kaede Rukawa: A microcosm of Singaporean male beauty standards

A reason why Slam Dunk is such a popular anime is because it revolutionised hot guys doing hot stuff that's present in modern sports anime with volatile fanbases such as Free!! and Haikyuu. When it comes to the poster boy of hotness for Slam Dunk, Kaede Rukawa (no glasses) is the king and even overshadowed the main character, Sakuragi. His appeal as the quiet, mysterious basketball ace of Sohoku made Rukawa a very popular character within the series. For example, the very existence of the Rukawa Fan Club proves this. His popularity was also apparent outside of the series, swooning girls who watched this series in the 90's (half of the cinema for the slam dunk movie were middle aged women).

On the other hand, we have the character of Kiminobu Kogure, the quiet, meek and nerdy 6th man of the Sohoku Basketball Team. Unlike Rukawa, his popularity within the series isn't as apparent. Throughout the series, we had him depicted as a strong foundation of the team but was never shown having any luck with girls compared to Rukawa.

Why did I write this comparison? Walk down the streets of Singapore and tell me what you see.

1 IN 5 GUYS LOOKS LIKE KOGURE

It's obvious that the template for Singaporean guys is like this because of the Korean influence from the popularity of Kdramas and K-pop idols, that's not my point. What I am trying to say is that in the span of 20 years or so, what's considered "attractive" in society has been flipped upside down. If you pull up to a barber and ask for the Rukawa haircut chances are you're gonna end up with a shitty ass bowl cut and I'm sorry most guys won't have Rukawa's God given sharp eyes and facial features. It's just easier to look better with the style of Kogure and it's interesting to observe after watching the recent Slam Dunk movie and seeing the dynamics play out.

This is the end of my essay, it's really pointless but interesting to point out and relate it to our everyday lives. I look nothing like either two characters so it's just an average Joe giving his perspective on things.

(i wish nozaki's style was popular it would be a god send)

[kazifatagar]

Cheryl Chin and Titus Low: Separation Now After 1.5 Years of Marriage

Malaysian influencer Cheryl Chin and Singaporean former OnlyFans creator Titus Low have announced their separation after one-and-a-half years of marriage. The couple, known for their whirlwind romance and engagement after just two weeks of knowing each other, shared the news on their Instagram Stories. Social Media Links Follow us…

[dinamakan]

How I Met Some Books

People often told us the way they met someone. "We were classmates," "I met her at my friend's wedding," or "I think I've seen his face on social media." But how did you come across a book? In what way did a book enchant you? How did a book embrace you warmly like a true friend? I have a few little stories about how I met some books.

Relativitas - Adi Purnomo

Around 2016, I went to a lovely bookstore in Bandung. I 'scanned' the bookshelves with my eyes while pointing them one by one, hence I found this book. The old version has plain black cover with a tiny title written in serif font— "Relativitas". Kind of mysterious, wasn't it? I read, then it changed my life. I switched my hobby from drawing to writing ever since, as we know drawing is an essential activity in the design field.

Manuscript Found in Accra - Paulo Coelho

Once a year, faculty of fine arts and design in my university holds a book fair. I could get various books at discounted price there including this novel. Just like everyone else, I admire Paulo Coelho's writings because of The Alchemist so I bought Manuscript Found in Accra with no doubt. I read it about a year or two years later, however, it's among my top 5 books of all time.

Homeless - Liyana Dhamirah

I scrolled through a well-known bookstore website from Singapore, finding the right books. I looked at Homeless, then I decided to have it on my Kindle. This book revealed the reality of Singaporean housing, where actually some individuals still couldn't afford home so they should live in a temporary tent just to survive. It left a lasting impression on my mind, but the bookstore has officially closed due to a scandalous issue.

Nunchi - Euny Hong

After 11 years apart, I reunited with my secondary school friends. One of them shared his recommendation— Nunchi —and lent me the book. After I finished it, I honed my awareness at the office, when I met pals, and in the end it all makes sense. We're able to "read someone's mind" if we "take a closer look" at the situation. I influenced several fellow readers to read it, and they acclaimed Nunchi as a life-changing book as well.

Nocturnes - Kazuo Ishiguro

Such a meet-cute— my favorite library in town has a dedicated corner for Kazuo Ishiguro's books. Nocturnes, instead of Never Let Me Go or Klara and the Sun, captivated me because it's a compilation of short stories about music and nightfall. I fell in love with it easily.

---

How did you meet your best books, or even a book you dislike? I'd love to hear your stories. Oh, I'd also like to meet new books.

P.S.: Yesterday I talked to someone about classic sitcoms. "How I Met Your Mother" was on top of my mind. That was how I chose this title.

P.P.S.: I'm writing this on Just Write #1, a session by Journal Kita.

[thedoubteriswise]

speaking of food has someone in the state of washington passed a law stating that all new eating establishments must have influencer decor and serve food that is not good. new singaporean takeout place down the street from my house I believed in you

[icedsodapop]

Singaporean entertainers and influencers never cease to disappoint me:

For non-Singaporeans, Dee Kosh was a Singaporean influencer who was sent to prison for a few months for soliciting sexual favours from teenage boys. Since his release from prison, he's been able to capitalise off his experiences in prison, a privilege many Singaporeans do not get, and many local entertainers have supported his return. Singapore is truly in hell timeline where entertainers and influencers are more public about supporting a sex pest than bringing awareness to Palestine.

[avianii]

hi! for the ask game — what’s your dream place to live?

Man this is a hard one...as a teenager who's been too influenced by American media, my go to is somewhere SoCal or NYC but also that Singaporean passport is looking real good rn lol

[dan6085]

Singapore is famous for its diverse and unique cuisine, influenced by Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Western cultures. Here are 20 of the best Singaporean foods:

Hainanese Chicken Rice: Steamed chicken served with fragrant rice and a variety of dipping sauces.

Laksa: A spicy and creamy noodle soup made with coconut milk, curry, and seafood or chicken.

Char Kway Teow: A stir-fried noodle dish made with flat rice noodles, soy sauce, and a variety of meats and seafood.

Chili Crab: A dish of fresh crab cooked in a spicy tomato-based chili sauce.

Bak Kut Teh: A pork rib soup made with fragrant herbs and spices.

Satay: Grilled meat skewers served with a spicy peanut sauce.

Roti Prata: A flaky Indian flatbread served with curry sauce.

Fried Carrot Cake: A stir-fried dish made with radish cake and eggs, often served as a breakfast item.

Nasi Lemak: A fragrant rice dish cooked with coconut milk and served with a variety of sides such as fried chicken, fish, or sambal chili.

Kaya Toast: A traditional breakfast dish made with toasted bread spread with kaya (coconut jam) and butter.

Hokkien Mee: A stir-fried noodle dish made with egg noodles and rice noodles, seafood, and vegetables.

Popiah: A fresh spring roll filled with vegetables, peanuts, and sauce.

Oyster Omelette: A dish made with fried eggs, oysters, and a variety of herbs and spices.

Nasi Padang: A buffet-style meal of Malay and Indonesian dishes, usually served with rice.

Fish Head Curry: A spicy curry made with fish head, vegetables, and coconut milk.

Mee Rebus: A noodle dish served in a sweet and spicy gravy, topped with a boiled egg, potatoes, and vegetables.

Chwee Kueh: A steamed rice cake served with spicy radish sauce.

Prawn Noodle Soup: A flavorful soup made with prawns, noodles, and spices.

Rojak: A salad made with fruits and vegetables, topped with a sweet and spicy sauce.

Tau Huay: A popular dessert made with soybean pudding and syrup.

These are just a few examples of the many delicious and popular Singaporean dishes available. Singaporean cuisine is diverse and constantly evolving, and there is something for everyone to enjoy.