Chew Piin Huann 丘品焕

My parents told me that a shop nearby my house (whose owner is their friend) was "visited" by an Indian "Kongsi Gelap" (I do not know what's the equivalent in English, maybe "the Mafia"? Except that they are much less stylish and classy compared to the Italians). The owner was requested to pay RM1,000/year per unit as a courtesy of being protected well all the time. She owns 4 units, so that's RM4,000/year. Of course those are illegal. The "protection" is merely an official fiction by the mafia for extortion. They have done nothing economically deserving for money in return. My parents did not know whether she pays at the end so I lack an ending to make judgment. But they did not describe the incident with anger. They were merely narrating it to me as a normal incident of the day. Then they further told me how common this situation is by citing all other past occurrence that happened to them and their friends, and how powerless they a...

Recently I stumbled upon some videos on Youtube about the political tension between China & Hong Kong. I was reminded on the hopelessly insoluble conflicts between China, Hong Kong & Taiwan.  My parents have been calling the Hong Kongese and Taiwanese activists "naive" on an economic standpoint. They think that Hong Kongese and Taiwanese are committing suicide gradually as the Chinese may stop their trade with Hong Kong & Taiwan due to their rebellion. Meanwhile, in the videos the "reformers" had propounded their strong arguments on democracy, liberty and the nations' "future". Some principles I do not know enough to have opinions about the situation. Coincidentally a friend of mine also spoke to me casually about this topic. That conversation enlightened me about the fundamental principles hold by the conflicting parties.  The conservatives say that Hong Kong and Taiwan originally belong to China, and for them any large-scale modif...