Battle of the Asian Tigers: Which Has the Best Leader? #GJWExclusiveTraining

We're talking about Asian tigers again because of news stories such as this. The Economist calls Singapore to be the top of the tiger class, and the rivalry between Singapore and Hong Kong just never loses its place in the headlines. Singapore is reported to have overtaken Hong Kong as the freest economy, as Asia's top financial centre, and as the costliest city. Today, we think of the competition among the four Asian tigers from a fresh angle. We compare their leaders. We'll look at their educational backgrounds, political achievements, and policy stances towards US-China relations. And you decide who you think is the best candidate if they were all in one election. This has been major news in Singapore recently. Lawrence Wong Shun Tsai will be sworn in as the fourth Prime Minister of Singapore on May 15, as Lee Hsien Loong steps down due to his age. At 51, Wong is the youngest among the four leaders. Like many other Singaporean ministers, Wong received a government scholarship to study overseas after graduating from an elite school in Singapore. He studied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in his undergraduate years. Wong also holds two master's degrees, one in applied economics from the University of Michigan and another in public administration from Harvard. Influenced by his academic background in economics, Wong studied his civil servant career as an economist with the Ministry of Trade and Industry. And over in Taiwan, Lai Ching-tu will also be inaugurated as the new president on May 20. But did you know that before entering politics, Lai was actually a physician? He specialized in rehabilitation while studying at the National Taiwan University. He also completed a post-bachelor program at National Chenggong University in Tainan, an ancient capital in southern Taiwan. It was there that Lai grew interested in politics. His then-medical school professor Han Liang-cheng contributed to Lai Ching-tu's turn towards politics later in the 1990s. Han remembers telling his student, the best doctor heals the country. Still, even while serving as a legislator, Lai hoped to fulfill his dream of pursuing further studies at top universities overseas. So during his summer breaks, he attended a program at Harvard and finally earned a Master of Public Health degree in 2003. Almost all former South Korean presidents end up in jail on charges of corruption or abuse of power. The current president has prosecuted at least two of these former presidents. Yoon Seok-hyo, who was a prosecutor for most of his career, assumed office just two years ago. He holds both a bachelor's and a master's degree in law from Seoul National University. But even this prosecutor-turned-president is facing similar troubles. A video released earlier this year showed that the first lady, Kim Kyung-hee, being gifted a luxury bag, which dented public support for Yoon. Finally, Hong Kong's Lee Ka-choo was appointed the fifth chief executive by China in 2022. Unlike his counterparts in the other Asian tiger countries, Lee does not have a glamorous academic background. Quite the opposite. Lee did not attend university. Instead, he joined the police force at the age of 19. While serving as a police officer, Lee obtained a master's degree in public policy and administration Lawrence Wong entered politics in 2011, but he was most recognized for his role as co-chair of a multi-ministerial committee managing the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore. During this period, the city-state gained international recognition for its unique approaches. For instance, Singapore was the first Asian country to secure access to Pfizer's vaccine and was among the first to embrace the idea of living with COVID as early as June 2021. At one point, Singapore was even lauded for setting the gold standard in dealing with COVID-19. Do you believe that the world should be looking to Singapore on how to manage this pandemic? Absolutely. I really, I do believe Singapore is a gold standard for this. So many people have said to me, I couldn't think of any way better to be in the world. We don't know yet who would be in Wong's cabinet and what would form his major policy agenda. But in terms of foreign relations, Wong has warned against unintended consequences of de-risking from China if taken too far. He also emphasized that Singapore does not want to choose sides. We do not want to import foreign quarrels or politics here. We do not want to choose sides. Instead, we always choose what is in the best interest of Singapore and Singaporeans. Rising from a young legislator to the mayor of Tainan between 2010 and 2017, Lai Ching-teh became a prominent member of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party. Lai once proposed incorporating a Taiwan independence clause into the party's charter. Although during his campaign, Lai said that he had no plans to declare Taiwan's independence, but his past really rattled Beijing's nerves. Lai might seem soft and gentle, but he can be very determined, or in his critics' words, stubborn, in pursuing what he thinks is right. He refused to show up at the city council meetings for 232 days in violation of Taiwan's constitution, the reason to protest against the then-council chairman, who was suspected of election fraud. Projected as a staunch defender of Taiwan's peace and democracy, Lai has vowed to safeguard the island with his life. Even if you didn't know my name, you may know BTS and BLACKPINK. A political novice, Yun was a prominent public prosecutor and served as the prosecutor general of South Korea between 2019 and 2011. He rose to fame after prosecuting former President Park Geun-hye on charges of corruption. Between China and the U.S., Yun has chosen to tilt Seoul closer to the latter. To contain rising nuclear threats from North Korea, Yun has also called for stronger alliance with the U.S. and Japan. Lee Ka-choo's career revolves around two things, law enforcement and national security. Besides the Hong Kong police force, Lee Ka-choo also served in the Security Bureau. He was appointed Undersecretary for Security in 2012 by then-Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and promoted to Secretary for Security in July 2017 in Carrie Lam's administration. In June 2020, China passed the controversial National Security Law for Hong Kong that criminalizes anything deemed as secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces. After the enactment of the law, the New York Times announced it would relocate part of its Hong Kong office to Seoul. The news organization raised concerns of the law's suppression of opposition and pro-democracy groups and the resulting uncertainty about Hong Kong's future as a journalism hub in Asia. What was Lee's role back then? He was a member of the committee that precisely oversaw national security matters. He had also hinted at prioritizing security issues during his administration. Basically, to Lee, security is above everything else. The four leaders of the Asian Tigers are very different in their backgrounds and personalities. By training, Singapore's Won is an economist, Taiwan's Lai is a doctor, South Korea's Yun is a prosecutor, and Hong Kong's Lee is a law enforcement officer. But do you see the four economies in, say, five years' time under their leadership? Who do you think has the best credentials to run a country or hold the top position? Leave your comments below.