Kirsten Han

Last updated
Kirsten Han
Born
Singapore
OccupationJournalist

Kirsten Han is a Singaporean journalist and social activist. [1] In 2017, she co-founded the Malaysian-based online journalism platform New Naratif with Sonny Liew and Thum Ping Tjin, [2] and served as its editor-in-chief till March 2020. [3] [4]

Contents

Activism

Han is mostly known for her criticism of the People's Action Party, the current governing party of Singapore, and its policies. [5] She has advocated against capital punishment and co-founded We Believe in Second Chances, an anti-death penalty organisation in Southeast Asia, in 2010; [6] [7] [8] in March 2018, she wrote an op-ed in The New York Times titled "What Trump Is Learning From Singapore — and Vice Versa", in which she claimed that Singapore was "an authoritarian paradise" and that "(b)oth the Trump administration and the Singapore government have little time for human rights". [9] [10]

Writing for the American magazine Foreign Policy in May 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic was in its earnest, Han criticised the government's alleged "utilitarian, dehumanising approach" to the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore, such as mandatory mask wearing and strict contact tracing. [11]

In October 2021, while defending the proposed Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (FICA), Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam accused Han of "actively trying to put out misinformation" and cited her 2018 meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, during which he claimed that she is engaging in foreign interference having "(urged) him to bring democracy to Singapore". [12] Han was later served with a correction order under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), asking her to correct false statements and misquoting Shanmugam. [13]

Personal life

Han was born and raised in Singapore. She went to the United Kingdom to attend university, where she met a Scottish man named Calum Stuart and married in Scotland in 2014. [14]

Han has also described herself as a feminist. [15]

Related Research Articles

The Cultural Medallion is a cultural award in Singapore conferred to those who have achieved artistic excellence in dance, theatre, literature, music, photography, art and film. It is widely recognized as Singapore's pinnacle arts award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thum Ping Tjin</span> Singaporean historian and former national swimmer

Thum Ping Tjin, also known as PJ Thum, is a Singaporean historian, journalist, podcaster, activist and former swimmer. Thum was a national swimmer who participated in the 1996 Summer Olympics, and was the first Singaporean to swim the English Channel.

Crime rates in Singapore are some of the lowest in the world, with petty crimes such as pickpocketing and street theft rarely occurring, and violent crime being extremely rare. Penalties for drug offences such as trafficking in Singapore are severe, and include the death penalty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K. Shanmugam</span> Singaporean politician

Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam , better known as K. Shanmugam, is a Singaporean politician and lawyer who has been serving as Minister for Law since 2008 and Minister for Home Affairs since 2015. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Chong Pang division of Nee Soon GRC since 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yu Mengyu</span> Chinese-born Singaporean table tennis player

Yu Mengyu is a retired Singaporean table tennis player. Born in Liaoning, China, Yu left China in 2006 at the age of 17 to join the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme. In the same year, Yu made her international debut for Singapore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebecca Lim</span> Singaporean actress (born 1986)

Rebecca Lim Hui Ling is a Singaporean actress and host. Lim has won Best Actress in a Leading Role at the Asian Television Awards and two Best Actress in a Leading Role awards, a Best Supporting Actress award. Lim also won Best Performance in a Leading Role at the Seoul International Drama Awards. Lim has been the cover girl for numerous fashion magazines, and has been invited to Paris Fashion Week 2019 for Christian Dior and Hermes show. In 2020, Lim was awarded the Best Actress National Winner - Malaysia for her performance in The Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soh Rui Yong</span> Singaporean long-distance runner (born 1991)

Guillaume Soh Rui Yong is a Singaporean national long-distance runner, and holder of six national records: 5,000m, 10,000m, half marathon and marathon. Soh has been described as the "most outstanding long-distance runner in our history" by the President of Singapore, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, hailing Soh's "mental stamina".

Daniel Goh Pei Siong is a Singaporean sociologist and former politician. Goh was previously a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament between 2015 and 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods</span> Committee of the Parliament of Singapore

The Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods is a select committee of the Parliament of Singapore that was formed on 11 January 2018 to examine and report on the problem of deliberate online falsehoods and to recommend strategies to deal with them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act 2019</span> Statute of the Parliament of Singapore

The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act 2019, commonly abbreviated as POFMA and known colloquially as Fake News Law, is a statute of the Parliament of Singapore that enables authorities to tackle the spread of fake news or false information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leong Mun Wai</span> Singaporean politician

Leong Mun Wai is a Singaporean politician and former investment banker. A member of the opposition Progress Singapore Party (PSP), he has been a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament of the 14th Parliament of Singapore since 2020 and served as Secretary-General of the PSP from 2023 to 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Next Singaporean general election</span>

General elections are due to be held in Singapore no later than 23 November 2025 to determine the composition of the fifteenth Singaporean Parliament. The elections will be the nineteenth in Singapore since 1948 and the fourteenth since independence.

New Naratif is a Malaysian–based online journalism platform and self-described independent media outlet that publishes content on Southeast Asian current affairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act 2021</span>

The Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act 2021, or Fica/FICA, is a statute of the Parliament of Singapore. Enacted in 2021, it seeks to "protect the public interest by counteracting acts of foreign interference". The Bill was introduced on 13 September 2021 and passed on 4 October 2021.

The following lists events that happened during 2023 in the Republic of Singapore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Singapore Association for the Deaf</span> Charity in Singapore

The Singapore Association for the Deaf (SADeaf) is a charitable organisation for the deaf and hard-of-hearing in Singapore founded in 1955. SADeaf is a member of the National Council of Social Service and the World Federation of the Deaf. SADeaf is also supported by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social and Family Development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guide Dogs Singapore</span> Non-profit social service organization in Singapore

Guide Dogs Singapore (GDS) is a non-profit social service organization that helps the visually handicapped in Singapore. GDS advocates the use and normalization of using guide dogs in helping the visually handicapped, especially allowing guide dogs to enter food establishments. GDS also trains guide dogs.

Eastern Sun was an English-language newspaper that ran from 1966 to 1971 in Singapore. In 1971, Eastern Sun was exposed for having ties to a communist agency in Hong Kong, China, and that they would be paid to not oppose the People's Republic of China on major issues and would remain neutral on minor ones.

References

  1. ↑ "'The most powerful law' in Singapore: Foreign Interference bill sparks concern". South China Morning Post . 2 October 2021. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  2. ↑ Lim, Min Zhang (15 September 2021). "Thum Ping Tjin warned over unauthorised paid ads by New Naratif during GE2020". The Straits Times . ISSN   0585-3923. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  3. ↑ Ho, Grace (26 September 2019). "New Naratif co-founder Kirsten Han responds to Shanmugam's remarks on foreign interference". The Straits Times. ISSN   0585-3923. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  4. ↑ Tjin, Thum Ping (19 March 2020). "Statement: Thank you Kirsten / New Naratif in the time of COVID-19". New Naratif. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  5. ↑ "Singapore passes 'most powerful' foreign interference law amid fears of ever-shrinking space for dissent". Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  6. ↑ "The Big Read: Capital punishment — a little more conversation on a matter of life and death". TODAYonline . Archived from the original on 11 January 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  7. ↑ "The nun who walks death row inmates to the gallows". BBC News . 2 November 2019. Archived from the original on 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  8. ↑ Phillips, Kristine (11 March 2018). "President Trump wants to execute drug dealers. Here's how they're killed in Singapore". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on 11 September 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  9. ↑ Han, Kirsten (28 March 2018). "Opinion | What Trump Is Learning From Singapore – and Vice Versa". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  10. ↑ Tham, Yuen-C (27 April 2018). "Singapore envoy rebuts NYT piece by local activist". The Straits Times. ISSN   0585-3923. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  11. ↑ Tee, Zhuo (28 May 2020). "Singapore ambassador to US rebuts Foreign Policy article on Covid-19 outbreak in dorms". The Straits Times. ISSN   0585-3923. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  12. ↑ "Shanmugam rejects claims that foreign interference Bill being rushed through and would curtail foreign collaborations". TODAYonline. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  13. ↑ Chua, Nadine (9 October 2021). "Pofma Office to issue targeted correction direction to Twitter over Jolovan Wham's post". The Straits Times. ISSN   0585-3923. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  14. ↑ Mayberry, Kate. "The newlyweds with no country to call home". www.bbc.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  15. ↑ "We Asked Singaporean Women About Serving in the Army. Here's What They Said". www.vice.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.