Straitstimes.com header logo

Choose edition

Search

singapore

asia

world

opinion

life

business

sport

Visual

Podcasts

SPH Rewards

STClassifieds

Paid press releases

Advertise with us

FAQs

Contact us

 

Social divide

News analysis

People versus power? Hong Kong’s fire fallout risks reopening societal divide

mfsplit - The burnt buildings and the sole unburnt one (far left) of Wang Fuk Court housing estate, site of the deadly blaze in Tai Po, Hong Kong, on Dec 2, 2025. 

CREDIT: COURTESY OF BENJAMIN THAM
mfsplit - The burnt buildings and the sole unburnt one (far left) of Wang Fuk Court housing estate, site of the deadly blaze in Tai Po, Hong Kong, on Dec 2, 2025. 

CREDIT: COURTESY OF BENJAMIN THAM

Commentary

With race driving a wedge in the UK, will things get worse before they get better?

Protesters at a rally organised by British anti-immigration activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon in London on Sept 13.
Protesters at a rally organised by British anti-immigration activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon in London on Sept 13.

‘We must break this cycle’: PM Wong on reducing emphasis on single exams, grades

Singapore has to move from a narrow meritocracy based solely on grades to a broader and more inclusive one that values a diversity of talents, said PM Lawrence Wong.
Singapore has to move from a narrow meritocracy based solely on grades to a broader and more inclusive one that values a diversity of talents, said PM Lawrence Wong.

How dark passions came to rule US politics

Trump supporters at a rally in Iowa in July.
Trump supporters at a rally in Iowa in July.

Why I am not a liberal

Thinkers like Irving Kristol and Nathan Glazer were willing to spend money to fight poverty, but they wanted the programmes to nurture the values that they had seen help people rise, says the writer.
Thinkers like Irving Kristol and Nathan Glazer were willing to spend money to fight poverty, but they wanted the programmes to nurture the values that they had seen help people rise, says the writer.

Cuba fires minister who said beggars in the country were all fakes

The minister’s remarks on live television on July 14 were widely circulated on social media and became a lightning rod for popular frustration with years of economic crisis.
The minister’s remarks on live television on July 14 were widely circulated on social media and became a lightning rod for popular frustration with years of economic crisis.

Singapore at the crossroads: Maintaining cohesion in a changing world

Singapore has a unique opportunity to leverage its extraordinary capacities for future-minded policymaking and intentional cohesion-building, says the writer.
Singapore has a unique opportunity to leverage its extraordinary capacities for future-minded policymaking and intentional cohesion-building, says the writer.

E-paper

Newsletters

Podcasts

RSS Feed

About Us

Terms & Conditions

Privacy Policy

Need help? Reach us here.

Advertise with us

Download the app

Get unlimited access to exclusive stories and incisive insights from the ST newsroom
Subscribe Placeholder
MDDI (P) 046/10/2025. Published by SPH Media Limited, Co. Regn. No.202120748H. Copyright © 2025 SPH Media Limited. All rights reserved.