YeinJee's Asian blog

Asian Culture, Lifestyle and Entertainment

Republic of Singapore

Singapore first Starcraft II buyer cries

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Singapore guy cries at Starcraft II launchingHundreds queued up in Singapore for the launching of PC game Starcraft II last week.

And the first in the Q – who led the line for 24 hours – got emotional when interviewed by national TV after grabbing his copy.

People can cry their heart out for whatever reason they see fit. As far as I’m concern, crying over a video game ain’t much different than crying over god… different people, different passion.

It’s just that I can’t understand why people would line up for hours just to grab a product with unlimited stock. But then again, different people, different passion.

Gong Li and Singaporean tycoon divorce

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Gong Li and ex-husband Ooi Hoe SeongChinese actress Gong Li is divorced from her Singaporean tobacco tycoon Ooi Hoe Seong.

The news came as little surprise though; the couple was rarely seen in public since their marriage in 1996, and rumours of their breaking up have been flying around for years.

Gong Li gave up her Chinese citizenship to become a Singaporean in November 2008, a move seen by many as a last ditch attempt to save her marriage. Some netizens are now accusing her of getting the new citizenship simply for her own sake, as it’s believed that her marriage was already virtually ended back then.

There are also rumours that she is seeing American actor John Cusack, but that’s pretty groundless at the moment.

Singapore won World Team Table Tennis Championships

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Singapore stunned China to win the 2010 Women’s World Team Table Tennis Championships in Moscow. The Chinese women won the championship for eight consecutive times prior to the defeat and were hot favourites to retain the title.

Singaporean media are delighted with this, but not all Singaporeans are sharing the joy because of the fact that all their representatives were born in China and converted their citizenship under Singapore’s Foreign Sports Talent Scheme.

I used to be one of those sceptics about these schemes (when I was much younger), but see it in a more positive light as age grows. From individual perspective it’s nothing wrong to look for opportunities elsewhere if the current environment doesn’t offer much. It’s same in any career, professional athletes included.

It’s understandable that many Singaporeans are not sharing the pride, but the girls did nothing wrong, it’s appalling to see the hate they are getting in some forums. The problem is with the scheme itself, not those who seize the chance. And mind that the ladies have to work hard to win a world title, regardless of personal agenda.

As for the supporters of the scheme there’s a bit of irony too. You are happy to see your country doing well with this method, but things could get really awkward when their achievement becomes “too” significant… for example, winning the country’s first gold medal at the Olympic Games, which seems a realistic thing in near future.

SNSD Taeyeon, Singapore, manhunt

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SNSD Taeyeon at Universal Studio, SingaporeThe story begun when popular Korean girl group SNSD was given a rare holiday a few days ago… and one of the members Taeyeon decided to have a vacation with her family at the sunny island of Singapore.

What she didn’t anticipate was the group’s popularity in Singapore. She might have enjoyed a day or two of relative peace, but things broke loose once the news of her where about was exposed… as some fans began a countrywide manhunt for the adorable star.

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