This Year in Asia: money laundering in Singapore, Taylor Swift’s snubs, Robert Kuok at 100 and other highlights of 2023

It’s been quite the year for Asia, with the return of large-scale events and mass travel as the pandemic was finally put in the rear-view mirror

From Vietnam’s ‘flexers’ to the scam hubs of Myanmar and Indonesia’s anti-Israel boycotts, here are This Week in Asia’s highlights of the year

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Taylor Swift performs during her “The Eras Tour” earlier this year. Many of her Southeast Asian fans were left disappointed by the US singer’s decision to play in Singapore and nowhere else in the region. Photo: AP

Published: 6:30pm, 31 Dec 2023Updated: 2:34pm, 4 Jan 2024

From China’s long-awaited post-pandemic reopening to Taylor Swift’s snub of everywhere else in Southeast Asia but Singapore – and Malaysian business tycoon Robert Kuok’s 100th birthday – here are This Week in Asia’s highlights of the year, based on our best-read stories.

A Chinese tourist takes a selfie with a monorail train in Bangkok, Thailand, in September. Photo: Xinhua

Well-off Chinese ‘run’ for Southeast Asia

As China finally began to dismantle its punishing zero-Covid regime of the previous three years, Chinese nationals with the means to do so were looking to escape the controls – and an increasingly uncertain economy – by heading for Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand in January.

Dubbed “run” culture, the trend saw many members of China’s middle class jump at the chance to flee to freer Southeast Asian pastures and embrace the plethora of more-affordable investment opportunities available.

Indian cuisine’s world No 5 ranking rankles

Indian foodies took to social media at the start of the year to defend their favourite dishes after a controversial ranking placed their country’s cuisine below that of Japan, Spain, Greece and Italy.

Some blamed “ignorance” and “racism” for the disappointing showing – while other spicy takes pointed out that India – much like China – doesn’t have a single, unified cuisine, with myriad regional variations instead.

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Philippines in Focus: Jeepneys in Jeopardy

This Year in Asia: money laundering in Singapore, Taylor Swift’s snubs, Robert Kuok at 100 and other highlights of 2023

It’s been quite the year for Asia, with the return of large-scale events and mass travel as the pandemic was finally put in the rear-view mirror From Vietnam’s ‘flexers’ to the scam hubs of Myanmar and Indonesia’s anti-Israel boycotts, here are This Week in Asia’s highlights of the year

Well-off Chinese ‘run’ for Southeast Asia

Indian cuisine’s world No 5 ranking rankles

Filipino drivers lash out at e-jeepneys