Category: Singapore & Everyday Life

From “Speak Mandarin” to “Preserve Dialects”: Singapore’s Language Policy Has Reached the Point of Shifting Gears

AI & the Future of Technology2026.06.24
From “Speak Mandarin” to “Preserve Dialects”: Singapore’s Language Policy Has Reached the Point of Shifting Gears
Hu Yilin on language policy, the revival of dialects, and the boundaries of freedom IntroductionA Chinese film led mainly in Teochew, Dear You, has recently sparked discussion in Singapore. The film was originally released in Singapore mainly with Mandarin dubbing, but after audiences responded enthusiastically to screenings of the original Teochew version, Golden Village added Teochew showings and continued to apply to IMDA for more screenings. The Straits Times reported that some Teochew screenings quickly sold out, and the cinema chain is seeking approval to add more original-language screenings.Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/golden-village-seeking-imda-approval-for-up-to-50-screenings-of-dear-you-in-teochew This controversy is worth paying attention to not only because of a film’s screening choices, but because it once again…
China scholarship Chinese language
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Jun 24, 2026
Freedom is the root, plurality is the end; one cannot sacrifice freedom in order to protect plurality

Enlightenment & the Spirit of Freedom2026.06.24
Freedom is the root, plurality is the end; one cannot sacrifice freedom in order to protect plurality
The Singapore government recently required YouTube, Facebook, and X to block 14 pieces of online content targeting the Indian community. Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs said these posts attacked the Indian community and undermined Singapore’s multiracial social model, and that the relevant content may have originated on Chinese platforms. The police issued directives to the platforms under the Online Criminal Harms Act, requiring them to bar Singapore users from accessing the relevant content. This incident has drawn attention not only because it involves racial issues, but also because it touches the core of Singapore’s mode of governance: in a modern city-state that places a high value on social harmony, multiracial…
freedom politics pluralism state
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Jun 24, 2026
The Street Is Not a Tourist Attraction—Afterword to I, My Singapore, My Street, My Walks

Life & Notes2025.11.19
The Street Is Not a Tourist Attraction—Afterword to I, My Singapore, My Street, My Walks
Thanks to the introduction by Unfinished Bookstore and the invitation from Teacher Ye Xiaozhong, I wrote a postscript for this reissued local Singapore book. 《My Singapore, My Street, My Walk》 Chen Zhirui, Ye Xiaozhong, Zhou Decheng / 𨑨迌 Publishing, ISBN: 9789819444915 This book brought together many literati and writers living in Singapore, inviting them to depict, from their personal perspectives, various streets or places in Singapore. The styles are diverse: essays, poems, as well as textual research and arguments. Like the city of Singapore itself, this anthology is multiple and mixed, each beauty prized in its own way. Although there are many differences in form and style, these pieces still…
book reading culture book review sociology
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Nov 19, 2025
Encrypted Flight Vol. 11 | Will Tsinghua People Who Have Gone Out Dream of a Bitcoin-Standard World? An Interview with Hu Yilin

Culture & Public Commentary2025.04.27
Encrypted Flight Vol. 11 | Will Tsinghua People Who Have Gone Out Dream of a Bitcoin-Standard World? An Interview with Hu Yilin
My most recent long-form interview. Thanks to uncommons @fulihang2009 — it was a delightful conversation, with rich content and excellent editing. Condensed version https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/2ZQVRTshnxU7tlT5fCESYQ Full version https://blog.uncommons.cc/cryptoflight-v Reporter's note/访者记 If one were to name the thinkers in the Chinese-speaking crypto world and seasoned Bitcoin players, Hu Yilin, who once taught philosophy of technology at Tsinghua University, is a name one cannot avoid. I first met Teacher Hu at the Bitcoin conference in Singapore last March; afterward, on a sweltering afternoon, we arranged to walk around Geylang until our legs nearly gave out, then found a café and talked about everything under the sun for two hours. But Bitcoin and, more…
philosophy China technology scholarship
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Apr 27, 2025
Heavenly Endowment

Life & Notes2022.04.01
Heavenly Endowment
At 11:39 a.m. on April 1, 2022, a new life came squalling into the world. Yes, I have a daughter now~ I chose her name a few days earlier: Hu Tianyu. Don’t worry, I’m not suddenly going to turn into a shameless kid-showoff. Writing in the public sphere will not become excessively intimate. On the one hand, this post is a special commemoration; on the other, it is also an excuse to talk about certain general topics through my daughter’s name. Back in the day my grandfather gave me a name: “Tian Ding,” meaning roughly that my fate was decreed by Heaven. In the end, though, it was never used….
everyday life freedom Heidegger democracy
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Apr 1, 2022