Douglas Wong
@douglaswong.bsky.social
Asia Watcher. Bloomberg editor. Culturally incoherent citizen of everywhere. Holder of personal opinions
When Tan Shzr Ee came to the UK in the 1990s, she faced racism for the 1st time, 'so quirkily delivered I didn’t clock it as racism.' On Sept. 14, 'a giggling chorus of youths' overtook her on the A30, their SUV window wound down, to shout: Ching-chong hee-haw! www.straitstimes.com/world/europe...
In race-shifting London, is it just a matter of time before there’s no love lost?
With rising xenophobia, the writer ponders a return to the safe familiarity - and responsibilities - of S'pore. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.
www.straitstimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 7:52 AM
When Tan Shzr Ee came to the UK in the 1990s, she faced racism for the 1st time, 'so quirkily delivered I didn’t clock it as racism.' On Sept. 14, 'a giggling chorus of youths' overtook her on the A30, their SUV window wound down, to shout: Ching-chong hee-haw! www.straitstimes.com/world/europe...
'For decades, free speech & an impartial justice system were assets reassuring allies, attracting talent & offering hope to those living under repressive governments' writes @dantenkate.bsky.social. 'Now it’s becoming increasingly difficult to discern what values the US stands for' bit.ly/4oK7GFh
The United States Is Missing in Action on Free Speech
Once a beacon of democratic ideals, America now struggles to live up to them. From Nepal to Indonesia, a new generation is looking elsewhere for inspiration.
bit.ly
November 2, 2025 at 11:05 AM
'For decades, free speech & an impartial justice system were assets reassuring allies, attracting talent & offering hope to those living under repressive governments' writes @dantenkate.bsky.social. 'Now it’s becoming increasingly difficult to discern what values the US stands for' bit.ly/4oK7GFh
Malaysia, Truly Asia #MalaysiaBoleh www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opi...
What Trump’s dance said about us, not him
The US president may have danced, but Malaysia led — in rhythm, warmth, and grace.
www.freemalaysiatoday.com
November 1, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Malaysia, Truly Asia #MalaysiaBoleh www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opi...
'The underlying structure of Sino-American relations is getting terribly precarious,' says Hal Brands. 'The question is whether Trump grasps this ugly truth' www.bloomberg.com/opinion/feat...
China Is Already Winning the Trade War America Wanted
Trump's “grand bargain” won’t happen at a time when tariffs and export controls have become combat by other means.
www.bloomberg.com
October 20, 2025 at 8:57 PM
'The underlying structure of Sino-American relations is getting terribly precarious,' says Hal Brands. 'The question is whether Trump grasps this ugly truth' www.bloomberg.com/opinion/feat...
'Do you want to polish slides no one will remember, or tackle the problems no one can forget?' asks @simonvanteutem.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/f01c...
How our brightest minds get trapped in the City
Money is just one reason why graduates are drawn to finance, management consulting and corporate law
www.ft.com
October 19, 2025 at 6:33 AM
'Do you want to polish slides no one will remember, or tackle the problems no one can forget?' asks @simonvanteutem.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/f01c...
Reposted by Douglas Wong
The ECHR has taken over post-Brexit as the symbolic oppressor of Britain’s sovereign freedom. But grandiose gesture of leaving would do little to solve the problem it’s designed to address: immigration. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
Britain's Road to a Smaller, Pettier Place
In the days when Britain could still regard itself as a world power, the country played a key role in developing the postwar international architecture that was designed to prevent a repeat of Nazi-er...
www.bloomberg.com
October 14, 2025 at 7:09 AM
The ECHR has taken over post-Brexit as the symbolic oppressor of Britain’s sovereign freedom. But grandiose gesture of leaving would do little to solve the problem it’s designed to address: immigration. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
'The prospect of pledging allegiance to a country out of fear that said country might deport me is an unsettling one,' says @meganjgibson.bsky.social 'Who can feel settled in a system this arbitrary or a state this cruel?' www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
No one will escape Reform’s immigration plans
Faced with the prospect of being deported, I feel a need to justify my existence in the UK
www.newstatesman.com
October 5, 2025 at 5:15 PM
'The prospect of pledging allegiance to a country out of fear that said country might deport me is an unsettling one,' says @meganjgibson.bsky.social 'Who can feel settled in a system this arbitrary or a state this cruel?' www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
Reposted by Douglas Wong
Japan could soon make history with its first-ever female prime minister.
Hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi has been elected the new leader of Japan's ruling party, putting her on track to lead the world's fourth-biggest economy: https://bloom.bg/4gRaKNc
Hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi has been elected the new leader of Japan's ruling party, putting her on track to lead the world's fourth-biggest economy: https://bloom.bg/4gRaKNc
October 4, 2025 at 6:41 AM
Japan could soon make history with its first-ever female prime minister.
Hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi has been elected the new leader of Japan's ruling party, putting her on track to lead the world's fourth-biggest economy: https://bloom.bg/4gRaKNc
Hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi has been elected the new leader of Japan's ruling party, putting her on track to lead the world's fourth-biggest economy: https://bloom.bg/4gRaKNc
'Britain already feels like a less tolerant country than when my family moved here from Asia three years ago,' writes @mbrooker.bsky.social 'This anti-immigrant environment will impact the high-skilled, high-value workers the UK would like to attract' www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
UK Immigration Policy Is Dancing to a Dutch Economic Tune
A University of Amsterdam research paper has made the question of migrants a financial issue.
www.bloomberg.com
October 2, 2025 at 6:59 AM
'Britain already feels like a less tolerant country than when my family moved here from Asia three years ago,' writes @mbrooker.bsky.social 'This anti-immigrant environment will impact the high-skilled, high-value workers the UK would like to attract' www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
'Together, political predators & digital conquistadors have decided to wipe out the old elites & their rules,' says Giuliano da Empoli 'If they succeed it will not only be the parties of lawyers & technocrats that will be swept away, but liberal democracy as we have known' www.ft.com/content/85ee...
How tech lords and populists changed the rules of power
Digital moguls and strongman leaders are far more than disrupters of the old liberal order. Together they seek to sweep it away, writes Giuliano da Empoli
www.ft.com
September 27, 2025 at 6:42 AM
'Together, political predators & digital conquistadors have decided to wipe out the old elites & their rules,' says Giuliano da Empoli 'If they succeed it will not only be the parties of lawyers & technocrats that will be swept away, but liberal democracy as we have known' www.ft.com/content/85ee...
“I had this terrible thirst for contact with Chinese people,” Jerome Cohen, RIP, once said. He went on to spend decades influencing the country’s legal, trade and human-rights policies. www.wsj.com/world/china/...
Jerome Cohen, the First American to Practice Law in China, Dies at 95
An expert on China—and a sometime critic—Cohen defended companies and dissidents.
www.wsj.com
September 23, 2025 at 4:35 PM
“I had this terrible thirst for contact with Chinese people,” Jerome Cohen, RIP, once said. He went on to spend decades influencing the country’s legal, trade and human-rights policies. www.wsj.com/world/china/...
'Has Dubai, which has much higher numbers of immigrants but essentially no permanent path to citizenship,' asks @stephenkb.bsky.social 'really done a better job of integrating people and preserving its identity than the UK has?' www.ft.com/content/43da...
The truth about immigration
Ageing societies seeking to preserve living standards will continue to rely on new arrivals — but governments can be clearer about the trade-offs
www.ft.com
September 20, 2025 at 5:48 AM
'Has Dubai, which has much higher numbers of immigrants but essentially no permanent path to citizenship,' asks @stephenkb.bsky.social 'really done a better job of integrating people and preserving its identity than the UK has?' www.ft.com/content/43da...
'Doubling the visa pathway to 10 years would damage the UK’s global reputation for integrity, dependability and fairness — and hand a propaganda coup to China,' writes @mbrooker.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
Britain Must Keep Its Promise to Hong Kongers
The UK has a moral obligation and an economic interest in safeguarding the path to citizenship for migrants from the territory it formerly ruled.
www.bloomberg.com
September 18, 2025 at 6:57 AM
'Doubling the visa pathway to 10 years would damage the UK’s global reputation for integrity, dependability and fairness — and hand a propaganda coup to China,' writes @mbrooker.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
'How have conditions led to so many feeling unheard, frustrated and angry?' asks @helenpidd.bsky.social 'Until the foundations of Britain are fixed – the NHS, schools, potholes, fuel prices – I can’t see this movement doing anything other than growing' www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I left the Tommy Robinson rally with the worrying realisation: this movement is only going to get bigger | Helen Pidd
Some in Whitehall were aggressive, some openly racist – but more still felt this far-right gathering was the only place they could be heard, says Guardian journalist Helen Pidd
www.theguardian.com
September 17, 2025 at 1:59 PM
'How have conditions led to so many feeling unheard, frustrated and angry?' asks @helenpidd.bsky.social 'Until the foundations of Britain are fixed – the NHS, schools, potholes, fuel prices – I can’t see this movement doing anything other than growing' www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
London: sunny with gale ⚠️
September 14, 2025 at 7:17 AM
London: sunny with gale ⚠️
'You either fight back or you die,' Elon Musk told yesterday's crowd in London. @robynvinter.bsky.social was at the front line www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Far right’s show of force leaves Met desperately kettling counter-protesters
Police almost overwhelmed by brawlers whipped up by Tommy Robinson and his guest demagogues
www.theguardian.com
September 14, 2025 at 4:59 AM
'You either fight back or you die,' Elon Musk told yesterday's crowd in London. @robynvinter.bsky.social was at the front line www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
London's transport chaos adds to the impression of an administration adrift, says @mbrooker.bsky.social, but rather than driverless subway trains , what Britain really needs is a driver for the country www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
London’s Tube Strike Signals a Driverless Nation
Starmer’s Labour government is the big loser as commuters keep calm and carry on.
www.bloomberg.com
September 11, 2025 at 12:58 PM
London's transport chaos adds to the impression of an administration adrift, says @mbrooker.bsky.social, but rather than driverless subway trains , what Britain really needs is a driver for the country www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
'What we so often describe as politics is, in fact, a series of shoves,' writes Jonathan Liew 'Splenetic, emotional and with a wilful blindness to consequence that can so easily be exploited by those with a clear destination in mind' www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
What is the endgame in this toxic immigration debate: is it friends and neighbours thrown out of the country? | Jonthan Liew
The notion of remigration was abstract, but the right is dragging it towards respectability. If the goal is homogeneous whiteness, they should say it, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Liew
www.theguardian.com
September 10, 2025 at 7:54 AM
'What we so often describe as politics is, in fact, a series of shoves,' writes Jonathan Liew 'Splenetic, emotional and with a wilful blindness to consequence that can so easily be exploited by those with a clear destination in mind' www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
'At some point,' writes @roberthutton.co.uk, 'Labour are going to have to accept the possibility that sometimes the advice they get is bad' thecritic.co.uk/free-for-me-...
Free for me but not for thee | Robert Hutton | The Critic Magazine
Dan Jarvis rose with the pained air of a man trying to perform an impossible balancing act. He was there to defend the government’s proscription of Palestine Action. The main impact of this has been…
thecritic.co.uk
September 9, 2025 at 4:49 AM
'At some point,' writes @roberthutton.co.uk, 'Labour are going to have to accept the possibility that sometimes the advice they get is bad' thecritic.co.uk/free-for-me-...
'The US pivot from free trade and global security has the makings of a decades-defining transformation,' write Tom Orlik and Jennifer Welch. '(Now) Donald Trump’s new world order is crashing into the century-defining challenges of climate change and AI' www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
A Guide to the New World Disorder
French historian Fernand Braudel saw history in three cycles, from days to decades to centuries. In Trump’s second term, all three are shifting at once.
www.bloomberg.com
September 6, 2025 at 5:46 AM
'The US pivot from free trade and global security has the makings of a decades-defining transformation,' write Tom Orlik and Jennifer Welch. '(Now) Donald Trump’s new world order is crashing into the century-defining challenges of climate change and AI' www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
'Keir Starmer should be calling out the racists, unashamedly defending British tolerance and embrace of different cultures and not shirking the duty of enhancing the present by critically examining the past,' says Stephen Vines open.substack.com/pub/stephenv...
Flagging a problem
Why mostly flag-free England has suddenly become awash with flags and why it matters
open.substack.com
September 3, 2025 at 3:49 AM
'Keir Starmer should be calling out the racists, unashamedly defending British tolerance and embrace of different cultures and not shirking the duty of enhancing the present by critically examining the past,' says Stephen Vines open.substack.com/pub/stephenv...
'It is absurd to imagine that, in a porn-soaked culture, in which rape is virtually decriminalised, protesting outside migrant hostels should be anyone’s first priority in keeping women and girls safe,' says @glosswitch.bsky.social thecritic.co.uk/reclaiming-p...
Reclaiming “protect girls” | Victoria Smith | The Critic Magazine
Earlier this year, I took part in a radio discussion about feminism, kindness and women’s work. I’d thought it was going quite well, then towards the end it took a slightly odd turn.
thecritic.co.uk
September 2, 2025 at 4:33 AM
'It is absurd to imagine that, in a porn-soaked culture, in which rape is virtually decriminalised, protesting outside migrant hostels should be anyone’s first priority in keeping women and girls safe,' says @glosswitch.bsky.social thecritic.co.uk/reclaiming-p...
'Tolerance, freedom and justice were and are supreme Enlightenment values' writes Will Hutton 'Universal human rights are foundational. And thus, the vital primacy of impartial law to govern all of this' observer.co.uk/news/columni...
observer.co.uk
August 31, 2025 at 7:54 AM
'Tolerance, freedom and justice were and are supreme Enlightenment values' writes Will Hutton 'Universal human rights are foundational. And thus, the vital primacy of impartial law to govern all of this' observer.co.uk/news/columni...
'History shows that many countries have fallen because of obsession with defending language, race or religion,' Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. 'A civilised Malaysia can only have meaning through understanding, commitment and a clear resolve to safeguard unity'
August 31, 2025 at 4:51 AM
'History shows that many countries have fallen because of obsession with defending language, race or religion,' Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. 'A civilised Malaysia can only have meaning through understanding, commitment and a clear resolve to safeguard unity'