Kirsten Han 韩俐颖
@kirstenhan.com
🇸🇬 Writer and activist. Author of 'The Singapore I Recognise: Essays on home, community and hope'. Editor-in-Chief of @mekongreview.com. Everything Elf at https://wethecitizens.net. Member of @transformjusticesg.bsky.social and @adpan.bsky.social.
President Tharman rejected the plea for a respite order and Lingkes was executed this afternoon.
With less than 10 hours left before Lingkesvaran's scheduled hanging in Singapore, his mother is pleading with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam to grant him a respite order.
You can read her letter at tinyurl.com/lingkesletter
You can read her letter at tinyurl.com/lingkesletter
February 11, 2026 at 3:36 PM
President Tharman rejected the plea for a respite order and Lingkes was executed this afternoon.
With less than 10 hours left before Lingkesvaran's scheduled hanging in Singapore, his mother is pleading with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam to grant him a respite order.
You can read her letter at tinyurl.com/lingkesletter
You can read her letter at tinyurl.com/lingkesletter
February 10, 2026 at 1:50 PM
With less than 10 hours left before Lingkesvaran's scheduled hanging in Singapore, his mother is pleading with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam to grant him a respite order.
You can read her letter at tinyurl.com/lingkesletter
You can read her letter at tinyurl.com/lingkesletter
Reposted by Kirsten Han 韩俐颖
Ngiam Li Yi, who illustrated our February–April 2026, shares a little of the process.
Subscribe to Mekong Review: mekongreview.com/sub...
Subscribe to Mekong Review: mekongreview.com/sub...
February 8, 2026 at 4:02 AM
Ngiam Li Yi, who illustrated our February–April 2026, shares a little of the process.
Subscribe to Mekong Review: mekongreview.com/sub...
Subscribe to Mekong Review: mekongreview.com/sub...
Reposted by Kirsten Han 韩俐颖
Former Washington Post journalists have launched a GoFundMe to help repatriate fired staff members who are effectively stranded in foreign countries.
One of the richest men in the world fired them from the paper and didn’t even pay to ensure they got home.
Abolish the billionaire class:
One of the richest men in the world fired them from the paper and didn’t even pay to ensure they got home.
Abolish the billionaire class:
Donate to Support for Washington Post international employees, organized by Michelle Lee
Among the hundreds of journalists laid off by The Washington Post on … Michelle Lee needs your support for Support for Washington Post international employees
www.gofundme.com
February 8, 2026 at 4:37 AM
Former Washington Post journalists have launched a GoFundMe to help repatriate fired staff members who are effectively stranded in foreign countries.
One of the richest men in the world fired them from the paper and didn’t even pay to ensure they got home.
Abolish the billionaire class:
One of the richest men in the world fired them from the paper and didn’t even pay to ensure they got home.
Abolish the billionaire class:
Reposted by Kirsten Han 韩俐颖
Don’t mind me, just shamelessly hawking the quarterly I work for! If you’re interested in Asian #literature, consider @mekongreview.com
We're pleased to share that our February–April 2026 issue is now available!
You can order a copy from our online Ko-Fi shop: ko-fi.com/mekongrevi...
(And perhaps consider subscribing annually, too!)
You can order a copy from our online Ko-Fi shop: ko-fi.com/mekongrevi...
(And perhaps consider subscribing annually, too!)
February 6, 2026 at 8:47 AM
Don’t mind me, just shamelessly hawking the quarterly I work for! If you’re interested in Asian #literature, consider @mekongreview.com
The Washington Post’s management slashed their international teams and their Books section and I’d just like to take the opportunity to say that at @mekongreview.com we love reviewing books and bringing you Asian perspectives and don’t run editorials about how it’s a bad idea to tax billionaires
We're pleased to share that our February–April 2026 issue is now available!
You can order a copy from our online Ko-Fi shop: ko-fi.com/mekongrevi...
(And perhaps consider subscribing annually, too!)
You can order a copy from our online Ko-Fi shop: ko-fi.com/mekongrevi...
(And perhaps consider subscribing annually, too!)
February 6, 2026 at 8:00 AM
The Washington Post’s management slashed their international teams and their Books section and I’d just like to take the opportunity to say that at @mekongreview.com we love reviewing books and bringing you Asian perspectives and don’t run editorials about how it’s a bad idea to tax billionaires
Reposted by Kirsten Han 韩俐颖
Genius! Blackmail countries which have significant human rights concerns to take back people who often should not be being sent back and then celebrate it by threatening more countries with similar blackmail. Labour really is digging down with its xenophobic policies.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Three African countries agree to UK migrant returns after sanctions threat
The Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia and Angola have said they will cooperate on migrant returns.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 6, 2026 at 6:49 AM
Genius! Blackmail countries which have significant human rights concerns to take back people who often should not be being sent back and then celebrate it by threatening more countries with similar blackmail. Labour really is digging down with its xenophobic policies.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Kirsten Han 韩俐颖
We're pleased to share that our February–April 2026 issue is now available!
You can order a copy from our online Ko-Fi shop: ko-fi.com/mekongrevi...
(And perhaps consider subscribing annually, too!)
You can order a copy from our online Ko-Fi shop: ko-fi.com/mekongrevi...
(And perhaps consider subscribing annually, too!)
February 6, 2026 at 5:34 AM
We're pleased to share that our February–April 2026 issue is now available!
You can order a copy from our online Ko-Fi shop: ko-fi.com/mekongrevi...
(And perhaps consider subscribing annually, too!)
You can order a copy from our online Ko-Fi shop: ko-fi.com/mekongrevi...
(And perhaps consider subscribing annually, too!)
Reposted by Kirsten Han 韩俐颖
I've reread this like 3 times. Freed herself from slavery by running away, *went back a week later bc the slaver was talking shit, set his house on fire, and then escaped again is absolutely incredible queen shit
As an aside, Rachel is a legend. (From Fischer’s “African Founders”)
February 4, 2026 at 1:51 PM
I've reread this like 3 times. Freed herself from slavery by running away, *went back a week later bc the slaver was talking shit, set his house on fire, and then escaped again is absolutely incredible queen shit
Reposted by Kirsten Han 韩俐颖
WaPo laying off entire Middle East team
February 4, 2026 at 3:01 PM
WaPo laying off entire Middle East team
Reposted by Kirsten Han 韩俐颖
WaPo specifically making cuts to its most subscriber load-bearing sections like Sports and Metro while doubling down on commentary, which frequently does little for your bottom line, really underlines how much this is about what they want the Post to be, rather than what a good newspaper actually is
February 4, 2026 at 4:35 PM
WaPo specifically making cuts to its most subscriber load-bearing sections like Sports and Metro while doubling down on commentary, which frequently does little for your bottom line, really underlines how much this is about what they want the Post to be, rather than what a good newspaper actually is
Reposted by Kirsten Han 韩俐颖
always bears repeating that this is NOT a financial decision. jeff bezos is worth over 250 billion dollars. he can afford to lose many millions and never even notice it. this is, at its core, a political and personal decision by bezos to destroy the post
WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Post says one-third of its staff across all departments, not just the newsroom, is being laid off.
February 4, 2026 at 3:04 PM
always bears repeating that this is NOT a financial decision. jeff bezos is worth over 250 billion dollars. he can afford to lose many millions and never even notice it. this is, at its core, a political and personal decision by bezos to destroy the post
Even if WaPo needed adjustments to its business model, having a rich as fuck owner like that should mean that he can support/float things while changes are being made—not gut the newsroom. Of course, Bezos doesn’t actually give a shit about whether democracy dies in darkness anymore. If he ever did.
February 4, 2026 at 5:53 PM
Even if WaPo needed adjustments to its business model, having a rich as fuck owner like that should mean that he can support/float things while changes are being made—not gut the newsroom. Of course, Bezos doesn’t actually give a shit about whether democracy dies in darkness anymore. If he ever did.
These cuts won’t make the paper more essential to people’s lives. The paper is being run into the ground and Bezos is rich enough to walk away from it unscathed when he decides to cut it loose—it’s all the people who actually do the work and society at large that will foot the bill at the end.
Speaking to WaPo employees, editor Matt Murray says cuts are about “positioning ourselves to become more essential to people's lives, and what is becoming a more crowded, competitive and complicated media landscape, and after some years when, candidly, the Post has had struggles to do that."
February 4, 2026 at 5:50 PM
These cuts won’t make the paper more essential to people’s lives. The paper is being run into the ground and Bezos is rich enough to walk away from it unscathed when he decides to cut it loose—it’s all the people who actually do the work and society at large that will foot the bill at the end.
Reposted by Kirsten Han 韩俐颖
INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.
February 4, 2026 at 5:11 PM
INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.
Reposted by Kirsten Han 韩俐颖
Jeff Bezos took over the Washington Post Editorial Board and turned it into a mouthpiece for pro-corporate, pro-billionaire propaganda.
Now, WaPo is laying off hundreds of *real* journalists — including the reporter covering Amazon.
Democracy dies in billionaire hands.
Now, WaPo is laying off hundreds of *real* journalists — including the reporter covering Amazon.
Democracy dies in billionaire hands.
February 4, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Jeff Bezos took over the Washington Post Editorial Board and turned it into a mouthpiece for pro-corporate, pro-billionaire propaganda.
Now, WaPo is laying off hundreds of *real* journalists — including the reporter covering Amazon.
Democracy dies in billionaire hands.
Now, WaPo is laying off hundreds of *real* journalists — including the reporter covering Amazon.
Democracy dies in billionaire hands.
Look at this “recalcitrant” with a “calculated willingness” to
*checks notes*
feed birds
www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/wo...
*checks notes*
feed birds
www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/wo...
Woman, 71, gets fined again for feeding pigeons repeatedly despite conviction last year
At her previous conviction, the 71-year-old woman had given an undertaking not to reoffend.
www.channelnewsasia.com
February 4, 2026 at 10:33 AM
Look at this “recalcitrant” with a “calculated willingness” to
*checks notes*
feed birds
www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/wo...
*checks notes*
feed birds
www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/wo...
I was really glad for the opportunity to interview Hakamata Hideko. It's not at all easy to have to fight for a loved one on death row, and she stuck with it for such a long, long time.
In our November 2025 issue, we interviewed Hakamata Hideko about her decades-long fight for her brother Iwao—likely the world's longest-serving death row prisoner, finally fully acquitted of murder in Japan in 2024.
Read more: mekongreview.com/bri...
Read more: mekongreview.com/bri...
February 4, 2026 at 7:58 AM
I was really glad for the opportunity to interview Hakamata Hideko. It's not at all easy to have to fight for a loved one on death row, and she stuck with it for such a long, long time.
Reposted by Kirsten Han 韩俐颖
Shout out to Taiwan’s unhinged Doritos flavors
February 4, 2026 at 7:19 AM
Shout out to Taiwan’s unhinged Doritos flavors
The latest issue of my newsletter looks at a new report on Singapore's pro-Palestine movement and its struggles with repression. Its experiences and responses can also tell us a lot about how civil society is growing, evolving, and maturing in Singapore.
www.wethecitizens.net/still-steadf...
www.wethecitizens.net/still-steadf...
Still Steadfast
On the launch of a new report about Singapore's pro-Palestine movement, and what its implications for civil society and Singapore as a whole.
www.wethecitizens.net
February 4, 2026 at 4:08 AM
The latest issue of my newsletter looks at a new report on Singapore's pro-Palestine movement and its struggles with repression. Its experiences and responses can also tell us a lot about how civil society is growing, evolving, and maturing in Singapore.
www.wethecitizens.net/still-steadf...
www.wethecitizens.net/still-steadf...
something something eat the rich
February 1, 2026 at 4:03 AM
something something eat the rich
An appeal to the hive mind: I'm hoping to reach out to Tibetan writers to seek reviewers for @mekongreview.com (and also just to be in touch more generally in case there are pitches/ideas/translations Mekong Review could potentially publish)—who should I be talking to?
January 27, 2026 at 12:17 AM
An appeal to the hive mind: I'm hoping to reach out to Tibetan writers to seek reviewers for @mekongreview.com (and also just to be in touch more generally in case there are pitches/ideas/translations Mekong Review could potentially publish)—who should I be talking to?
This week: WP refuses to nominate a new Leader of the Opposition, TJC's upcoming report launch, and some reading for everyone ahead of the Budget.
www.wethecitizens.net/wtc-wrap-24-...
www.wethecitizens.net/wtc-wrap-24-...
WTC Wrap: 24 January 2026
This week: WP refuses to nominate a new Leader of the Opposition, TJC's upcoming report launch, and some reading for everyone ahead of the Budget.
www.wethecitizens.net
January 24, 2026 at 3:55 AM
This week: WP refuses to nominate a new Leader of the Opposition, TJC's upcoming report launch, and some reading for everyone ahead of the Budget.
www.wethecitizens.net/wtc-wrap-24-...
www.wethecitizens.net/wtc-wrap-24-...
Last week the Singapore Prison Service executed two men. This week they served an execution notice on a third, informing him that they will kill him on 22 Jan.
But sure, tell us all how very difficult and challenging it is to be part of the Singapore Prison Service.
But sure, tell us all how very difficult and challenging it is to be part of the Singapore Prison Service.
January 17, 2026 at 6:33 AM
Last week the Singapore Prison Service executed two men. This week they served an execution notice on a third, informing him that they will kill him on 22 Jan.
But sure, tell us all how very difficult and challenging it is to be part of the Singapore Prison Service.
But sure, tell us all how very difficult and challenging it is to be part of the Singapore Prison Service.