Swiss standard of living? My foot!
The price of million-dollar salaries for Singapore ministers…
Tag Archives: society
Taiwan’s betel nut beauties (檳榔西施)
Here’s something for you to chew on before I upload more photos from my recent Taipei trip. The sight of scantily-clad girls selling betel nuts from kiosks decorated with bright neon lights is a uniquely Taiwanese phenomenon. Named after the legendary beauty Xi Shi (西施) from the Spring and Autumn Period (春秋時代) of ancient China,… Read More »
Banned Singapore Rebel video for download
This is the film Singapore’s censorship board doesn’t want people to see. It’s the story of opposition politician Chee Soon Juan, who has been imprisoned twice for championing democratic change in the city state. Previously, I blogged about this issue and included a short videp clip. Now the full video is available for download. Note… Read More »
Decline in public confidence
Here’s a quote by Stéphane Dion from “Rising Cynicism: Who is to Blame?” that is especially pertinent in the light of recent developments in Singapore: “The public image of politics has deteriorated steadily…The three most sensitive issues seem to be frankness, probity and misuse of public funds. A growing proportion of the public thinks that… Read More »
Do the ends always justify the means?
A blogger, Fearfully Opinionated, tried to offer new insights into the ministerial salary issue, claiming that related blog posts so far were “unoriginal, recycled and boring”. He goes on to say that “perhaps in being so eager to voice discontent, we fail to think. And when there is mass-unthinking on the plogosphere [sic], this is… Read More »
Have your cake and eat it
In his two-hour speech in parliament defending the proposed ministerial salary hike, Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong justified the move by saying that “I’m worried about somebody wanting to be Prime Minister, hoping to be paid not a single cent but still collect $400 million — under the table…” This is a flawed argument.… Read More »