Tag Archives: commentary

You’re running ministries, not the military

Lee Hsien Loong’s thinking in managing his team of ministers is, sadly, a reflection of his military background. “Negligent or dishonest ministers will be sacked but ministers who do not perform well despite their best efforts will be moved to a less demanding portfolio, or, if necessary, phased out discreetly,” he said. But he added… Read More »

危机=商机?

Many foreign businessmen and commentators have observed that the word for crisis in Chinese consists of the characters for danger (危) as well as opportunity (机). Their point is that, unlike pessimistic Westerners, the Chinese sees crises as opportunities for improvement. However, the etymology of 危机 does not support this popular wisdom. In most context,… Read More »