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Conversations: Interview Videos Conversation with Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat (Part 1) Play Video Conversation with Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat (Part 2) Play Video Conversation with Professor Kishore Mahbubani Play Video Conversation with Minister Indranee Play Video NUSPA Policy Dialogue Series (PDS) Play Video Conversations with Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Education Play Video Conversation with SMS Maliki Play Video All Videos Watch Now Conversation with Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat (Part 2) Play Video Share Whole Channel This Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Share Channel Info Close

Events The Convergence's first print magazine 211 0 Post not marked as liked Towards a Sustainable Singapore with MP Louis Ng 136 0 Post not marked as liked Results of Chancellor’s Challenge Shield 2020 568 0 Post not marked as liked NUSPA’s Social Policy Focus Group Discussion 55 0 Post not marked as liked Results of the KRMF Essay Competition 2020 206 0 Post not marked as liked KRMF Essay Competition 'Charting Singapore's Post-COVID future' 260 0 Post not marked as liked NUSPA Book Prize Singapore, a one–party dominant state Why should Singaporeans be seriously concerned with Islamic radicalism and Islamophobia? Tackling Our Complex Future Calling for Submissions for NUSPA Book Prize!

May 20 5 min 1st Place Winner - Junior Category By Pan Wenbo, National Junior College “Nature, accordingly, has endowed him, not only with a desire of being approved of, but with a... 140 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked May 20 5 min 1st Place Winner - Senior Category By Teo Jer Rei, NUS The Background Noise of Poverty underlying Singapore’s Resounding Success As defined by the United Nations [1],... 44 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked May 18 4 min 2nd Place Winner - Senior Category By Koh Yi Hui, NUS A matter of circumstance or consequence of personal choice - a most common debate on causes of poverty and... 22 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked May 18 4 min 2nd Place Winner - Junior Category By Raphael Tandiono, Anglo-Chinese Junior College Expectations of society play a pivotal role in influencing the decisions and choices of... 63 views 0 comments 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 May 16 5 min 3rd Place Winner - Senior Category By Chua Yi Lin, Yale-NUS College In media and in policy, the mere mention of issues like poverty invites fierce contestation from... 30 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked May 16 4 min 3rd Place Winner - Junior Category By Ruth The RuiQi, Catholic Junior College Graduate “Fluffy white clouds floated across the pink, salmon hue sky. The sun shone brightly... 24 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked

Our Advisor Prof Bilveer Singh is an Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore. He has an MA and Ph.D in International Relations from the Australian National University. He also teaches and researches on topics related to Comparative Politics.

Society The Convergence Apr 27 9 min The Djokovic Affair: Anti-Vaccine Sentiments in the COVID-19 Era By Alamelu, Editor The 2022 Australian Open started on January 17th, 2022. On January 16th, the man who has won the most Australian Open... 16 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Apr 14 10 min The Uncertain Life After Sports for Singaporean athletes By Rishika Ghanamoorthy, NUSPA Social Policy Division Life after sport is a scary thing for many competitive athletes. Many athletes plan... 69 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Mar 10 14 min The Next Epidemic: Digital Sex Crime and Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence in Singapore By Kai Ting, Editor In 2018, intimate videos of local entrepreneur and content creator ​​Ms Christabel Chua and her ex-boyfriend Mr Joal... 155 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Feb 19 8 min Love in the Age of Choices: On No-Fault Divorce in Singapore By Eldrick, Editor From 2 May 2021, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) started gathering public feedback about a... 29 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Nov 9, 2021 10 min An Overlooked Aspect of a Heterogeneous Nation: Singapore's Language Policy By Alamelu, Editor Introduction On August 29, 2021, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong dedicated an entire section of his National... 133 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Oct 26, 2021 13 min China's 'Lying Flat' movement: Is it time to rethink Singapore's work culture By Kai Ting, Editor In March 2021, China unveiled its fourteenth Five-Year Plan that outlined the country’s strategic blueprint for the... 377 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Sep 17, 2021 7 min Shrinking, Ageing & Losing Vitality By Leney Ang, Senior Editor With the inception of any newly formed nation, big families were considered a threat to prosperity. [1] In... 51 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Aug 17, 2021 7 min “Siao Ah!” On Mental Health, COVID, and Anti-Social Behaviour By Wayde Chan, Editor Background The COVID-19 Pandemic has brought out different sides of people - the good, the bad, and the outright... 260 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Aug 11, 2021 6 min Woes and Wares: The Future of Wearable Technology By Miyuki Leong, Editor In March 2020, Singapore was one of the first countries to develop the TraceTogether app, a method of... 40 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Jun 17, 2021 8 min Rethinking sexual consent in universities By Ng Qian Qian, Editor Since Monica Baey first stepped forward online, conversations about sexual offences and gender equality have been... 256 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Jun 6, 2021 4 min Wearing a costume from another ethnic group is meaningful. I hope other undergrads will do so too By Zhou Xizhuang Michael, President of NUS Students’ Political Association When I took off my Baju Melayu in 2013, I did not imagine I... 148 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Mar 10, 2021 4 min International Women's Day 2021: Reflections on Gender Equality in Singapore By Leney Ang, Editor From politics to sports, local female talents have thrived and made their marks in sectors that have been... 71 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Mar 8, 2021 9 min Social Media: A Catalyst for Discourse or a Double-Edged Sword? By Wayde Chan, Editor Introduction It is no doubt that the internet is an integral part of our lives. The COVID-19 outbreak throughout... 140 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Jan 20, 2021 6 min A reflection of Singapore’s pandemic experience By S Preethiba, Senior Editor Stepping into a new year would often excite people into coming up with ‘new year resolutions’. These... 85 views 0 comments 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 The Convergence Nov 1, 2020 4 min Cleanliness of public toilets: A personal responsibility By Chua Swee Kune, Editor Since the outbreak of Covid-19, the issue of hygiene has become more pertinent than ever. Due to the heightened... 440 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Oct 18, 2020 5 min Uncovering the life of an ambivert during HBL By S Preethiba, Senior Editor The onset of Covid-19 has brought many countries, including Singapore, to a standstill as governments... 165 views 0 comments 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 The Convergence Oct 4, 2020 6 min Navigating race relations in Singapore By Lang Si Jie, Editor In May this year, George Floyd, an unarmed African American man, was pinned down at the neck by a white police... 185 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Sep 16, 2020 8 min Compare, Contrast and COVID-19: Singapore VS Sweden By Miyuki Leong, Editor As the number of global COVID-19 cases rapidly increases and with potential vaccines still in testing phases, we... 1,107 views 0 comments 5 likes. Post not marked as liked 5 The Convergence Jul 22, 2020 4 min Feeling the pandemic fatigue, more adults developing anxiety and depression By Trina Priscilla Ng, Commentary Editor It’s morning. Across the island, we stumble awake and towards our laptops for the usual morning... 169 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Jul 7, 2020 4 min “Digitalisation is a journey and not a destination post-COVID-19”: Minister S Iswaran By Zhou Xizhuang Michael, Editor-in-Chief On 15 June 2020, about 280 graduating and recently graduated students from all five... 144 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Jul 4, 2020 5 min Avoiding the trap cycle of “OK boomer” phenomenon in Singapore By Nicolette Chua, Associate Commentary Editor The phrases “Strawberry generation” or “Snowflake syndrome” have long been older... 200 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Jun 19, 2020 5 min Child abuse in Singapore By Arash Shah Hosseini, Essays Editor With more people staying at home during the Circuit Breaker (CB) period, some children have to... 330 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Jun 11, 2020 5 min The roller-coaster of supporting a family member battling COVID-19 in the frontline By S Preethiba, Associate Commentary Editor On one evening, as I was studying in my room, my mother had just gotten back from work and... 73 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Jun 9, 2020 8 min Rekindling the Kampung Spirit amidst Covid-19 By Lim Yun Hui, Associate Commentary Editor The two-month long circuit breaker measures have erased the once familiar sights and sounds -... 548 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence May 28, 2020 5 min Brace yourselves for a ‘New Normal’ By Arash Shah, Essays Editor The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the status quo in the way people live, play and work. Originating from the... 2,059 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence May 23, 2020 5 min Hari Raya celebration goes online as physical visits go offline during the circuit breaker By Rachel Yap, Commentary Editor It would be just past the break of dawn when Murni’s father would pay his visits to the mosque to do Eid... 143 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Apr 3, 2020 3 min Why I say no to a lockdown… at least for now By Rebecca Metteo, Managing Editor (Operations) In March 2020, WHO officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic as it has hit many countries... 97 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Apr 1, 2020 7 min Memes as harmful banter or transmission of political ideologies? By Muhammad Quraishi, Guest Writer On the Transmissibility of Memes With the world in repose and people being confined to their homes in... 432 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Mar 27, 2020 4 min Staying home more? Watch local films! By Rachel Yap, Editor Just a month ago, I watched the South Korean film Parasite make history at the Oscars as they took home four... 151 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Mar 16, 2020 3 min Practicing social responsibility and humanity, Singapore’s best bet in overcoming COVID-19 By: Jasmine Chin, Guest Writer A couple of months into the fight against COVID-19, it is a timely reminder for us to reflect on how... 309 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Feb 27, 2020 5 min Why should Singaporeans be seriously concerned with Islamic radicalism and Islamophobia? By Mohamed Fayyaz (Book Prize Participant, 1st Runner-Up) In 2016, a man attacked three female students of Madrasah Al Ma’arif Al... 525 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Feb 26, 2020 7 min Wrestling xenophobic sentiments and infodemic amidst COVID-19 is vital, TC interview finds By Zhou Xizhuang Michael and Lim Yun Hui What do students think about the COVID-19 outbreak in Singapore? The Convergence team... 252 views 0 comments 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 The Convergence Feb 16, 2020 5 min COVID-19 as a test for Singaporeans’ unity and resilience beyond Total Defence Day By Winston Wee (Guest Writer) With more than 1500 people killed and 60,000 infected in China, COVID-19 as a major public health emergency... 148 views 0 comments 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 The Convergence Dec 9, 2019 3 min Youths can participate in constructive and meaningful discussion of issues in Singapore By Rachel Yap, Commentary Editor Roald Dahl once said, “Somewhere inside all of us is the power to change the world.” With reference to... 68 views 0 comments 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 The Convergence Oct 28, 2019 4 min Ageing gracefully in Singapore by focusing on mental health By Lim Yun Hui, Associate Commentary Editor Demographic Changes In the National Day Rally 2019, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced... 111 views 0 comments 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 The Convergence Mar 17, 2019 2 min Inequality and social stratification in Singapore Commentary | Ayisha Sithika, Opinion Associate Editor The days of rapid economic growth have left Singapore because our economy has... 978 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Mar 16, 2019 4 min Breathe, don't be a victim of millennial burnout Commentary | Rebecca Metteo, Opinion Associate Editor As usual, in between my reading breaks, I was scrolling through my Facebook feed... 30 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Mar 11, 2019 2 min (In)equality in Singapore Commentary | Thomas Chew, Event Associate Editor Inequality was making the headlines in 2018. The spark started with the highly... 20 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Feb 18, 2019 6 min Society needs discerning and rational youths amid political changes Commentary | Zhou Xizhuang Michael, Editor-in-Chief It’s hard to be a youth these days. Take a look at your mobile phone right now and... 222 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Feb 12, 2019 2 min Social enterprise hawker centres in Singapore: an ambivalent model of social (un)consciousness Commentary | Nicole Foo, Opinion Associate Editor Conceptualised as a novel framework for enhancing affordability of hawker meals and... 49 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Feb 11, 2019 3 min The Ethnic Integration Policy Remains Relevant Today Commentary | Lian Jiade In an article written by Kishore Mahbubani titled "Social Cohesion must be Engineered" published in the opinion... 68 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked

Editor's Message A voice in the present, a view for the future Dear all, We now live in a world where changes are both quick and plenty. Be it a new iPhone launch, a new technological breakthrough, a new line of self-driving or electric cars or even a new tweet from President Trump, change is taking place everywhere and anytime. Rather than to anticipate or create change based upon our own devices and at our own pace, change has become increasingly unpredictable: it jumps upon us at the most unexpected hour. Change is no longer the only constant but ephemeral too. These changing local and global circumstances often generate new experiences and construct alternative consciousness that youths like us can find it challenging, even frustrating at times, to cope with its intensity and comprehend its novelty. At the same time, shifting circumstances have tempted new changes and developments at the domestic front. In 2018 alone, we have witnessed an active year of debates and discussions on issues both old and new. From the setting-up of a parliamentary committee to tackle fake news and to enthusiastic public discourse on wide-ranging topics, Singaporeans were engaged continuously with political and social issues. Presented with changing global experiences and shifting local circumstances, it becomes more critical than ever for young Singaporeans like you and I to equip ourselves with the tools and insights to discern mass information and “big” news that we receive daily – if not, hourly. It is with this purpose in view that the NUS Students’ Political Association (NUSPA) launches our new student-run online publication, The Convergence. The Convergence seeks to promote NUSPA’s objective in cultivating greater political awareness and generating more profound interest in current affairs and policy issues among NUS students. It writes and publishes articles and materials on an array of topics, including Singaporean politics, social policies, economy, environment and education, that are relevant to the Singaporean context. We hope that through active discussion and intellectual engagement on issues that matter most to our daily lives, NUS students – or Singaporean youths in general – can grow to become active thinkers and responsible stakeholders in society. I look forward to hearing your views and opinions. Your support and participation will not only encourage us to make The Convergence a successful and meaningful publication for all students but an essential contribution to the building of a sturdier student infrastructure in NUS. Please feel free to visit our website for more information and participate in our discussions. I wish you a wonderful semester ahead! See you at The Convergence! Yours Sincerely, Zhou Xizhuang Michael Founder/Editor-in-Chief The Convergence 2nd Editorial Board

News The Convergence Jul 6, 2021 2 min The Convergence's first print magazine By The Convergence's 2nd Editorial Board Dear friends, We are from The Convergence (TC), a student-run publication of the NUS Students’... 211 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Apr 23, 2021 5 min Towards a Sustainable Singapore with MP Louis Ng By Lang Si Jie, Editor Video: "10 Questions with MP Louis Ng". A separate video interview with Member of Parliament Mr Louis Ng,... 136 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked

Economics The Convergence Mar 14 6 min Are Electric Vehicles Truly Worth the Hype? By Leney, Senior Editor In its 2021 special report, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that climate change constitutes the single... 60 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Sep 17, 2021 7 min Shrinking, Ageing & Losing Vitality By Leney Ang, Senior Editor With the inception of any newly formed nation, big families were considered a threat to prosperity. [1] In... 51 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Mar 31, 2021 6 min The Toyota Way: A solution to Singapore’s productivity challenge By Quek Ee Pin, Editor Introduction In recent years, productivity has become one of the trending buzzwords with regard to Singapore’s... 161 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Oct 26, 2020 6 min "Minimum wage is a rung, but the Progressive Wage Model is a ladder." By Leney Ang, Editor Globally, an estimated 90% of nations in the world have a minimum wage. [1] Singapore, along with Scandinavian... 447 views 0 comments 3 likes. Post not marked as liked 3 The Convergence Oct 15, 2020 8 min The US-China Conflict: Singapore's Dilemma By Quek Ee Pin, Editor Introduction As Singapore celebrates the 30th anniversary of its bilateral relationship with China this year, it... 1,265 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Oct 23, 2019 12 min Has Singapore built sufficient assets to ensure its resilience and survival in a crisis? By Arash Shah, Essays Editor Introduction As a state which came abruptly into being with its separation from Malaysia in 1965, Singapore... 175 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Apr 13, 2019 3 min Building our SMEs for the future Commentary | Lian Jiade, Managing Editor (Opinion) Even as we celebrate our bicentennial year and marvel at how far Singapore has... 24 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked The Convergence Feb 25, 2019 5 min Income inequality in Singapore: of haves and have-nots Commentary | Srirekam Yasumi Jayram, Event Associate Editor Singapore is often cited in global surveys and reports as one of the world's... 436 views 0 comments Post not marked as liked

NUSPA President's Message Message for The Convergence Dear all The NUS Student’s Political Association is proud to have The Convergence as our publication arm. In congruence with NUSPA’s objective to increase political awareness and promote active citizenry within the student population, The Convergence has contributed immensely to NUSPA’s mission with bold and relevant articles published on its platforms, as well as its assured and penetrative push for their dissemination. The Convergence has grown tremendously throughout the past year as well. Concurrent with its growth under NUSPA, it has also crafted its own unique identity as a premier conduit to stimulate conversations within the student population. Its editorial board has also been impressive, and their passion and performance are commendable. I am confident that they will continue their hard work, and will provide you with opportunities to discern, direct, and develop your appreciation for socio-political issues. If you are interested in current affairs, do continue your support for The Convergence and NUSPA, and join us actively for our publication programmes. Do extend your support to us too by joining us for our other events and forums. You can visit us on our respective websites and social media platforms for more information. I hope for your continuous participation with The Convergence and feel free to share with us your thoughts with us, at theconvergence.editor@nuspa.org . Have an excellent academic year ahead. Yours sincerely Muhammad Quraishi (Mr) President NUS Students’ Political Association