Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew, who stepped down from the cabinet this year following the ruling People's Action Party's worst showing in post-independence elections, revealed recently that he considered Taiwan to have been independent since 1989. more ›

Taking a gander at the various viewpoints on China's recent large-scale campaigns, Jeffrey Wasserstrom finds similar threads through the old leaders much more than they mirror anything Mao Zedong did. more ›

On Wednesday we told you about how the recent comments of Singapore's elder statesman Lee Kuan Yew made during his latest trip to the US have caused an uproar among Chinese netizens. Aside from his more controversial statements that Asia needs the United States to counterbalance a rising China and that the US needs to be "an important part" of any new East Asian architecture, Lee also gave a wide-ranging interview to the Charlie Rose Show of the PBS network. China featured heavily in the 60 minute interview which kicked off with Lee's proclamation that the United States may have half a century left as the world's dominant power. In the new world order, said Lee, the US would have to make space for China and India at the top table of the world. For the next hour or so, sit back with us and gaze into Lee Kuan Yew's crystal ball as he looks back into the past and divines the future. As always, if you're in China and still not able to watch Youtube videos, now is the time to get your VPN. Meanwhile, a full transcript of this interview is available here. more ›

While his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has been busy meeting up with former US President George Bush, Singapore's ever so feisty and sprightly 86 year old Minister Mentor¹ Lee Kuan Yew has gone halfway around the globe to meet US President Barack Obama in Washington ahead of his debut Asian tour that will include China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. Lee's tour also saw him meeting two key Cabinet members of the Obama administration - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. more ›

In this weekend's edition of Opinionist, we present to you the China-relevant portions of Lee Kuan Yew's latest interview with Haslinda Amin of Bloomberg News. At 84 this year, Lee was Singapore's first Prime Minister and current Minister Mentor. In this excerpt, Lee gives his take on recent anti-Chinese sentiment, China's challenges going forward and what China can learn from Singapore in handling the Western media. The full transcript (PDF) of the interview can be downloaded from the Straits Times. more ›

PLUS LEE KUAN YEW AND HIS ROLE IN SINO-SINGAPORE RELATIONS The last week has seen top leaders zipping between China and Singapore to cement ties and sign new deals. Let's take you through the high-profile visits one by one before diving deeper into more detail (Warning: Long article!): Goh Chok Tong visits new Shanghai party chief and the Singapore-Suzhou Industrial Park Last week, Singapore's Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong swung by Shanghai to visit her... more ›

Image of Yang Huiyan, now China's richest person, from China Daily. more ›