Singapore unveils locally developed AI language model MERaLiON
Singapore is exploring the use of its locally developed language model, MERaLiON, in functions like customer support and eldercare, thanks to its ability to understand a wider range of Southeast Asian languages. The model was unveiled at the Asia Tech Summit, a conference bringing together industry leaders. 12 organisations, from sectors such as health and banking, are working to research and develop practical uses for MERaLiON. Meanwhile, Digital Development and Information Minister Josephine Teo said Singapore will continue to drive AI adoption across businesses. Nicolas Ng reports.
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Google Deepmind CEO says global AI cooperation ‘difficult'
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CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Commentary: Why strongman politics will define US-China relations for now
SINGAPORE: During the Shangri-La Dialogue over the weekend, United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth alluded to America's war-fighting capabilities and characterised its foreign policy under Trump 2.0 as one of 'peace through strength'. This proclamation of strength is consistent with US President Donald Trump's approach to political relations since he took office. Soft power has been eschewed in place of a more muscular and transactional foreign policy. Interests - not ideology or values - would be the lens through which the US sees its relations with others. As Mr Hegseth himself put it: 'We are not here to pressure other countries to embrace or adopt our politics or ideology ... We respect you, your traditions and your militaries. And we want to work with you where our shared interests align.' PORTRAYING A STRONG AMERICA Indeed, we should not be surprised at this show of strength. During the US election campaigning last year, one of the key criticisms Mr Trump and the Republican Party had towards the Democrats was the weakness of then President Joe Biden's team. Mr Trump promised that under his watch, this would all change. Seen this way, the Trump administration's geopolitical manoeuvring stems from the belief that leaders of superpower states cannot afford to look weak - not least in front of their own people. Mr Trump's first show of might was to order a blanket tariff across American trading partners, using this as a tool to get other countries to acquiesce to US demands. His bet was that the US domestic market is too important to ignore and that countries worldwide would rather absorb the tariffs than risk losing access to American consumers. What is happening to US-China competition today is basically this: Both countries are overcompensating for years of engagement in which international cooperation have led to both having to make compromises domestically. From Washington's perspective, countries have gotten a free ride on its provision of public goods while Americans have not benefitted from US-led globalisation. As one foreign diplomat told me in a conversation during the SLD, the days of 'happy globalisation' is over. International relations have repercussions at home and domestic politics now frequently spill into foreign policy. According to the Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam, states are constantly engaged in a domestic-international interplay in their relations with each other whereby leaders must fulfil both international and domestic agendas. Ironically, Mr Trump has taken a leaf from the Chinese government playbook and its chief exponent of strongman politics - President Xi Jinping himself. XI'S PURSUIT OF NATIONAL SECURITY Beijing's priorities are strengthening national security and more importantly, ensuring the stability of the Chinese Communist Party. Since 2012, Mr Xi has gone on the offensive in his pursuit of domestic security while significantly limiting the ability of foreign forces to influence China. From political purges to corruption witch hunts, censorship of information deemed unfavourable to Beijing and wolf warrior diplomacy, Mr Xi hopes to project the face of a strong and uncompromising Chinese state. This is not unexpected given the perception that party discipline was lax under the policies of his predecessor Hu Jintao and those in power were mostly interested in individual pursuit of wealth and power without a broader commitment to the country's well-being. As described by journalist Wong Chun Han in his book Party Of One, Mr Xi is motivated primarily by 'historical grievances and a sense of civilisational destiny' and that his China is 'brash but brittle, intrepid yet insecure ... a would-be superpower in a hurry, eager to take on the world while wary of what may come'. This was mostly acutely seen in China's response to the Trump tariffs. Beijing refused to concede an inch when slapped with a 125 per cent 'reciprocal' tariff, and in turn raised levies on US imports and placed restrictions on American movies. Beijing's bet was American companies and industries could not stomach the short-term pain of financial losses as a result of restricted access to Chinese markets. Both countries were proven right: The temperature was eventually dialled down as both Washington and Beijing rolled back their tariff policies. However, it seems that the Trump administration is now opening a new front in its battle with China in the field of education, as seen by its ban on visas given to Chinese students. It remains to be seen how Beijing will respond. THE ROAD FORWARD While the possibility of a grand deal between Washington and Beijing looks even more remote than ever, this hostile climate may not be lasting. As folks in international relations would say, 'There are no permanent friends, only permanent interests'. Both Mr Trump and Mr Xi are overcompensating for what they view as years of benign neglect by their predecessors on the domestic front. At some point, their policies would hurt their countries' bottom lines. For instance, the Trump administration's visa curbs on institutions of higher educations will compromise American ability to attract talent from all over the world. Meanwhile, China would find it increasingly more challenging to gain trust abroad - even among those who are non-allied with the US. Given that both Mr Trump and Mr Xi cannot afford to look weak in front of their people, strongman politics will likely define the contours of US-China relations in the next few years.
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
'He marked my daughter for life': Father of Ian Fang's victim speaks out
SINGAPORE: The family of a teenage girl who fell victim to Ian Fang's sexual offences has expressed dissatisfaction with the former actor's sentence of a 40-month prison term, which does not include caning. 'Mark him for life. He marked my daughter for life,' said the girl's father. 'Let the guy learn. Like that, every time he takes off his clothes, people can see … he did something bad in the past.' Fang, 35, was sentenced in May after pleading guilty to three counts of sexual penetration of a minor. The victim was 15 years old during their sexual encounters in 2024. Her identity is still protected by a court order that also covers her family members. The girl's father said Fang had manipulated his daughter into a sexual relationship. Fang used his fame and age 'to show that he can take care of her … give her a sense of security where probably boys of her age couldn't'. 'He (knew) that at that age you are still quite naive, immature. Your thoughts are all over the place, you don't know how to really make decisions.' He 'abused his power' as a teacher and took advantage of the girl, who was infatuated with him because he was a celebrity, the father added. At the time of the offences, Fang was an acting teacher with a child modelling school. Fang was prosecuted under Section 376A(2)(b) of the Penal Code, which does not include caning as a punishment. The section deals with sexual offences against minors aged 14 to 16 which do not have the element of an exploitative relationship. Lawyers have said the assessment on this is a matter of prosecutorial discretion taking into consideration all the available facts and evidence, which may not be publicly known. Fang was a full-time actor with Mediacorp for 12 years until he left the company in 2023. The sexual encounters took place in Fang's home; a hotel where the victim was quarantining with COVID-19; and a hospital where she was nursing the flu. On nearly all of the nine occasions from June to July 2024, they did not use protection. The victim contracted a sexually transmitted infection. Her father added that the family wanted Fang's identity to be exposed 'from the start'. They were 'disgusted' to see from Fang's social media that he was still playing football, working and talking to other people 'like nothing happened', said the father. When Fang was charged in January, the judge initially did not allow him to be named to protect the identity of the victim, who could be linked to him. The gag order was eventually lifted at the prosecution's request. The girl said in her victim impact statement that she was "emotionally stronger" and willing to bear the risk of being identified. 'GIVE HIM AN OSCAR' Fang was not a stranger to the victim's family. He struck up a friendship with the girl's parents after meeting her and her mother at an event. The girl's parents saw Fang as a friend and treated him to dinners. 'We had drinks with him and everything. (He) called me 'bro' and this and that. And then behind my back, he's (having sex with) my daughter,' said the father. Fang also tried to curry favour by introducing them to other celebrities, he said. There was no suspicion of any inappropriate relationship because Fang and the girl kept up a pretence and behaved normally around her parents. 'He would meet us and act like nothing has happened. And he will ask my daughter to play along,' the father said. 'We didn't know at all. He played his acting role so well. Speechless, speechless. Really give him an Oscar for that.' Fang's sexual encounters with the girl came to light only after she sought treatment for a sexually transmitted infection. Even then, she was reluctant to tell her parents the truth. 'What my wife had to do was basically tell her: 'Okay, you need to tell us who did this to you, because if you don't tell us, I'm not going to pay for your medical fees'. 'And when she (saw) her health, her situation was that bad – that's how we actually managed to squeeze it out from her, all this information.' The girl was also stressed and scared because Fang used the prospect of killing himself or going to jail to threaten her to keep their relationship a secret, said the father. After a police report was made in August 2024, Fang persisted in reaching out to the victim even though investigators instructed him not to contact her. The girl's father recalled a period of a few months when she would be harassed by phone calls from Fang late at night. 'Every single day, by the time it hits around midnight to 2am, that was a crucial timing, I would say. The phone never stops,' he said. When the victim blocked one phone number, Fang would call again from another number. 'And whenever she (picked) up the phone call, he wouldn't speak. He would just play songs, like those love songs and those Chinese love songs. 'And then once in a while, he will blurt out some of the words. And even sometimes, his acting (is) so good, you will hear him cry-cry on the phone.' "MAKE THIS GUY LEARN HIS LESSON" The father also revealed that the family intends to sue the former actor. Mr Richard Siaw, their lawyer, told CNA he has been instructed to commence civil proceedings against Fang for harms inflicted on the victim, to get redress over and above the sentence for criminal offences. These harms include the girl's infection as well as the emotional and psychological suffering as detailed in court documents. She experienced suicidal thoughts after Fang reached out to her while he was under investigation. In phone calls, Fang said he would kill himself if he went to jail. He told the girl to cry in front of her mother and ask not to press charges against him. The girl was warded at the Institute of Mental Health for almost a week in August 2024, and eventually diagnosed with adjustment disorder with depressed mood. In her victim impact statement, she described feeling very dependent on Fang. She believed the only way to keep him close to her was through sex. The offences had an impact on her gender expression. She also said she had become fearful of middle-aged men, did not want men near her, and had lost trust in relationships. Lawyers explained to CNA that it is possible for the family to start a civil claim because criminal and civil proceedings are independent of each other. In criminal proceedings, the state exercises its powers against an offender to seek punishment. In civil proceedings, the victim seeks a personal remedy. This usually takes the form of monetary compensation, which is used as a proxy for the harm suffered. For example, an offender can be ordered to compensate for pain and suffering, and medical fees incurred. The family's lawyers are in the process of reviewing the facts and putting the case together. When contacted, the lawyer who represented Fang in his criminal case had no comment on the matter. The victim's father stressed they were not suing Fang for the money. 'I will never touch a single cent from him. Everything will be donated to a charity. "But I want to make this guy learn his lesson, and why we sue him is because there is no rotan,' he said, referring to the Malay term for cane. '100 PER CENT TRUST' BROKEN The family has become closer through this ordeal, said the father, though he and his wife must reckon with their daughter breaking the trust they placed in her. Before, the girl had never given them reason to worry, and was a good student. So as parents, they took her at her word, he said. But the secrecy of her relationship with Fang meant she would lie to them about her whereabouts, making it difficult for them to find out what was happening. 'If she tells us she's going to school or she's going for her lessons, we'll just (say) 'okay, sure'. We never go and CSI really what's going on," the father told CNA. 'We always gave our full 100 per cent trust to her. So we didn't know that that's how she went out with him and stuff like that. We didn't know at all.' The parents have become more vigilant about their daughter's activities, and now keep track of her whereabouts using the Find My app on her iPhone. She feels regret about her actions under Fang's manipulation, said her father. 'She's getting better, definitely, but it takes time … now we just spend more time with her, focus on her studies, focus on what she enjoys doing." 'However she's feeling, we can't really know what is going (on) you know," he said. "But as a parent ... we are trying our best to make her happy again.'
