One of the things that impresses me most is Singapore's commitment to research. Given the lack of mineral resources the Republic's emphasis has always been on developing and using people's skills and abilities. The economic success of Singapore bears witness to the success of this strategy.
One of the most recent scientific breakthroughs has been
the discovery of a gene responsible for lung cancer. A collaborative team from the Genome Institute of Singapore, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and National Cancer Center made the breakthrough.
Make no mistake this promises to be a huge breakthrough in the fight against cancer and repays the country's faith in R&D.
Another
piece of pleasing news is that
Carrefour has followed the
lead of NTUC and will no longer be selling Sharks Fin or its soup derivative in its supermarkets. It is to their discredit that
Sheng Siong, Giant and Shop N Save have not followed suit and will continue to do so.
The reason behind pulling shark fins off the supermarket shelves is in itself interesting, as it is not a direct conservation effort on behalf of either chain. Rather it is a response to consumer pressure. According to the Straits Times:
Following calls for it to stop selling shark's fin products after one of its suppliers, Thern Da Seafood, put up an online post that said 'Screw the divers' in an announcement of a shark's fin product launch at FairPrice outlets.
The Facebook post drew much criticism and went viral on the social networking site and also microblog Twitter. Many who commented called for a boycott of both the supplier and FairPrice.
 |
| The offensive post from the supplier that drew consumer ire |
Such is the power of the consumer in this age of social media!
I for one have enjoyed many a meal of
sharks fin soup in the past put the realisation of how this practice is decimating the world's shark population means that I will happily forgo the pleasure from now on.
With Chinese New Year almost upon us (in a couple of week's time) I was delighted to read that the spirit of giving and caring remains alive and well in Singapore. A Singapore Buddhist Lodge is
distributing more than $675,000 in hongbaos to 11,697 needy old folk and the disabled ahead of the Lunar New Year. What a wonderful gesture.
