Kirsten Han

Kirsten Han
Born
Singapore
OccupationJournalist

Kirsten Han is a Singaporean journalist and social activist.[1] In 2017, she co-founded the Malaysian-based online journalism platform New Naratif with Sonny Liew and Thum Ping Tjin,[2] and served as its editor-in-chief till March 2020.[3][4]

Activism

Han is mostly known for her criticism of the People's Action Party, the current governing party of Singapore, and its policies.[5] She has advocated against capital punishment and co-founded We Believe in Second Chances, an anti-death penalty organisation in Southeast Asia, in 2010;[6][7][8] in March 2018, she wrote an op-ed in The New York Times titled "What Trump Is Learning From Singapore — and Vice Versa", in which she claimed that Singapore was "an authoritarian paradise" and that "(b)oth the Trump administration and the Singapore government have little time for human rights".[9][10]

Writing for the American magazine Foreign Policy in May 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic was in its earnest, Han criticised the government's alleged "utilitarian, dehumanising approach" to the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore, such as mandatory mask wearing and strict contact tracing.[11]

In October 2021, while defending the proposed Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (FICA), Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam accused Han of "actively trying to put out misinformation" and cited her 2018 meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, during which he claimed that she is engaging in foreign interference having "(urged) him to bring democracy to Singapore".[12] Han was later served with a correction order under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), asking her to correct false statements and misquoting Shanmugam.[13]

In May 2022, Han published a post of Facebook stating that costs orders made against lawyers representing persons on death row were "acts of intimidation that deter other lawyers", and will create a "more brittle system in which it will become even more likely that wrongful executions and miscarriages of justice will occur.

In October 2022, Han was issued a warning stating that the Attorney-General's Chambers found that Han's post amounted to contempt of court. Han applied to the Singapore courts to quash the warning issued to her.

In May 2023, the High Court of Singapore dismissed her application and found that the warning had no legal effect and was not susceptible to judicial review.[14]

Personal life

Han was born and raised in Singapore. She went to the United Kingdom to attend university, where she met a Scottish man named Calum Stuart and married in Scotland in 2014.[15]

Han has also described herself as a feminist.[16]

References

  1. ^ "'The most powerful law' in Singapore: Foreign Interference bill sparks concern". South China Morning Post. 2 October 2021. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  2. ^ Lim, Min Zhang (15 September 2021). "Thum Ping Tjin warned over unauthorised paid ads by New Naratif during GE2020". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  3. ^ Ho, Grace (26 September 2019). "New Naratif co-founder Kirsten Han responds to Shanmugam's remarks on foreign interference". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  4. ^ Tjin, Thum Ping (19 March 2020). "Statement: Thank you Kirsten / New Naratif in the time of COVID-19". New Naratif. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Singapore passes 'most powerful' foreign interference law amid fears of ever-shrinking space for dissent". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  6. ^ "The Big Read: Capital punishment — a little more conversation on a matter of life and death". TODAYonline. Archived from the original on 11 January 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  7. ^ "The nun who walks death row inmates to the gallows". BBC News. 2 November 2019. Archived from the original on 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  8. ^ Phillips, Kristine (11 March 2018). "President Trump wants to execute drug dealers. Here's how they're killed in Singapore". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 11 September 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  9. ^ Han, Kirsten (28 March 2018). "Opinion | What Trump Is Learning From Singapore – and Vice Versa". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  10. ^ Tham, Yuen-C (27 April 2018). "Singapore envoy rebuts NYT piece by local activist". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  11. ^ Tee, Zhuo (28 May 2020). "Singapore ambassador to US rebuts Foreign Policy article on Covid-19 outbreak in dorms". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  12. ^ "Shanmugam rejects claims that foreign interference Bill being rushed through and would curtail foreign collaborations". TODAYonline. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  13. ^ Chua, Nadine (9 October 2021). "Pofma Office to issue targeted correction direction to Twitter over Jolovan Wham's post". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  14. ^ Lam, Lydia (12 May 2023). "High Court dismisses Kirsten Han's bid to quash warning she received for contempt of court". CNA. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  15. ^ Mayberry, Kate. "The newlyweds with no country to call home". www.bbc.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  16. ^ "We Asked Singaporean Women About Serving in the Army. Here's What They Said". www.vice.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.