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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖

@kirstenhan.com
2.7K followers 422 following 1.4K posts

🇸🇬 Writer and activist. Author of 'The Singapore I Recognise: Essays on home, community and hope'. Editor-in-Chief of @mekongreview.com. Everything Elf at wethecitizens.net.

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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 30/09/2026
The “protest against the death penalty” that Neo Swee Lin and Lim Kay Siu (and others, including myself) have been charged for was this: we went to court to support a friend who’d been charged. Afterwards, we stood outside the courthouse and someone snapped some photos. Then we left. That’s it.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 28/09/2026
My charge under the Public Order Act has to do with participating in group photos outside the State Courts in Feb 2025. The authorities say this is an illegal assembly in a prohibited area. Others have been charged, too. The judge imposed bail of S$5,000 surety. My passport had to be surrendered.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 28/09/2026
I wore this shirt to the State Courts for my court mention for one count of "taking part in a public assembly within a prohibited area". Security wouldn't let me into the building wearing it. I ultimately took it off by the entrance and turned it inside out before I was allowed in.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 19/09/2026
Someone commented on a clip of Acting Minister for Manpower Jasmin Lau talking to the media about the government’s efforts to help Singaporeans get started with using AI, and her response was… dismissive, to say the least
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 19/09/2026
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 18/09/2026
If you watched Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender… yesterday one of the friends who was charged with me was Lim Kay Siu aka Monk Gyatso So I’m in good company, at least
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 17/09/2026
Last week, six people had court mentions in the same morning for charges relating to pro-Palestine organising and vigils for death row prisoners. Hundreds of people showed up in solidarity. I've never seen such a huge crowd at the courthouse.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 17/09/2026
(2) In April 2022, I posed in a group photo outside Changi Prison, a couple of nights before Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam was hanged on 27 April.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 17/09/2026
(1) In March 2022, three friends and I lit a small number of tea lights and sat outside Changi Prison, for less than an hour, the night before Abdul Kahar bin Othman was hanged on 31 March—the first person executed in about two years.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 17/09/2026
I also received a 12-month conditional warning for allegedly "taking part in a public assembly or public procession". In June 2024 I followed a group of students as they delivered letters to the Ministry of Home Affairs with feedback on the Maintenance of Racial Harmony Bill (now passed into law).
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 17/09/2026
🧵 Today I was charged under Singapore's Public Order Act for “taking part in a public assembly within a prohibited area”. 3 friends were also charged for the same offence. The assembly in question? Posing for photos outside the State Courts after my friend Jolovan Wham's court mentions in Feb 2025.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 08/09/2026
0% surprised and 1,000% disgusted www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 08/09/2026
Singapore's charging mothers under the Public Order Act for flying white kites with the names of slain Gazan children written on them in 2024. Multiple people are being charged tomorrow at 10am, Court 4B at the State Courts, for actions related to the pro-Palestine and anti-death penalty movements.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 08/09/2026
Salaries for political officeholders in Singapore will be adjusted for the first time in 15 years, making some of the most highly paid ministers in the world... even more so. CNA live updates: www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/po...
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 07/09/2026
People are being charged in Singapore for flying kites with the names of children killed in Gaza. A link to an IG post, where most things are shared these days: www.instagram.com/p/Dc79r34o8b...
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 07/08/2026
Singapore carried out its 16th execution of 2026 today—a 79-year-old stateless person convicted of drug-related offences.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 07/08/2026
Excited to be headed to the George Town Literary Festival at the end of the year, representing @mekongreview.com! Looking at the line-up, I'll get to reconnect with old friends and hopefully make lots of new ones 🥰
GTLF 2026 reveals line-up of writers, speakers, and thinkers

GTLF is pleased to announce its line-up of participating writers, poets, speakers, moderators, and contributors for its 2026 edition, bringing together 53 voices from Malaysia and beyond, representing 20 countries and territories. GTLF 2026 features a diverse range of perspectives, including voices from Australia, Belgium, Canada,
Myanmar, the Netherlands, Palestine, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, and more.

The line-up includes Alice Jolly, Amelie Skoda, Amir Muhammad, Ananya Jahanara Kabir, Anitha Devi Pillai, Asmaa Azaizeh, Bernice Chauly, Cecil Rajendra, Christopher Chu, Evren Sharma, Gaea Schoeters, Hanna Alkaf, Janet Tay, Jeremy Tiang, Josh
Stenberg, Kathrina Mohd Daud, Kirsten Han, Kuo Chiang-Sheng, Lo Sirong, Maggie Hoi, Malachi Edwin Vethamani, Martin Vengadesan, Maznah Mohamad, Melanie Katz, Minh Bui Jones, Muhammad Haji Salleh, Normawar Marzuki, Ratih Kumala, Robin Ruizendaal,
Sam Sussman, Samantha Chong, San Mon Aung, Sara Kelly, Somnath Batabyal, Tan Twan Eng, Tuan Phan, Viji Krishnamoorthy, Wazir Jahan, Wiley Ho, Xu Xi, and Yu-Mei Balasingamchow.

As the Festival continues to develop, more speakers might be added to the line-up. The Festival retains its established multi-format structure, featuring panel discussions, literary readings and book launches, workshops and student programmes, and performances and fringe events.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 04/08/2026
This is Massive Attack's response to what happened in Singapore, posted on their Instagram page. Good on them.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 23/07/2026
The 15th hanging of the year was carried out in Singapore this morning.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 21/07/2026
There was also this but I think this is a bridge too far for me
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 21/07/2026
Presented without comment because I haven’t tried it yet
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 14/07/2026
Oh look, yet another career option I hadn't been aware of before I picked journalism
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 04/07/2026
The Transformative Justice Collective was one of two organisations to be presented with the Documentation Award at the 9th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, for our work tracking capital punishment in Singapore. The other group was Iran Human Rights.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 22/06/2026
I'll be in Paris for the World Congress Against the Death Penalty next week, and will be speaking at this side event on capital punishment in the Asia Pacific. People who are registered for the World Congress can register for this!
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 25/05/2026
While addressing the point on caning in schools being only for boys, Minister for Education Desmond Lee cited the Criminal Procedure Code, which prohibits the caning of women or men above the age of 50. But this doesn't mean that caning in schools is the same as judicial corporal punishment.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 25/05/2026
Corporal punishment exists in Singapore in multiple ways: (1) At home: Rattan canes are sold for parents to use to hit their kids. Anecdotally I feel like it happens less now than when I was a kid, but this story from the pandemic shows it still happens: mothership.sg/2020/04/cane...
Headline: Singaporean mum discovers canes sold out at 2 stores as side effect of work-from-home
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 25/05/2026
Earlier this month, the issue of caning in Singaporean schools caught (some) international attention. People around the world and INGOs were horrified by the notion—and rightly so! I think some background/context is missing, though, so thought I'd write this thread to give a fuller picture.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 22/05/2026
I posted this yesterday. This morning, Singapore carried out its 12th hanging of the year so far. Also for drug offences.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 02/05/2026
For people who might not be familiar with my country, this is PEAK Singapore www.straitstimes.com/life/govtech...
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 30/04/2026
I think it would alternate between either of these
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 11/04/2026
There’s a protest against US imperialism here in Singapore today and the police are saying there shouldn’t be any symbols/issues related to Israel or Palestine at it 🙄🙄🙄 www.straitstimes.com/singapore/no...
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 05/04/2026
Esquire Singapore wanted to interview Mackenyu, but it didn’t work out. So they fed his previous interviews into AI and generated one for themselves. The first question is about *checks notes* boundaries
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 29/03/2026
If you see this post a concert photo you took
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 29/03/2026
This is one of the stickers from a legit sticker sheet given out to Singaporean households to remind people to make sure they aren’t inadvertently providing spots for dengue mosquitos to breed
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 25/03/2026
The Singapore Democratic Party is raising funds by selling cheesy mashed potatoes. Or “Chee-sy”, because they’re made from a recipe from the party’s leader, Chee Soon Juan. ‘Cos of anti-foreign interference laws, only adult Singaporeans are allowed to buy said potatoes.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 25/03/2026
TOC is raising funds to afford the ad space: www.facebook.com/share/p/1CtN... Although the law has allowed for this since it was passed, this is the first time such a requirement has been made and is an alarming escalation, the burden of which will be felt by those less powerful than the SG govt.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 17/03/2026
I don't know a single credible commentator who has seriously predicted political collapse in Singapore (at least, not any time soon)... if anything, everyone seems to think the opposite
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 21/02/2026
I don’t want genAI I want those cute little generator things where I can spend ages picking hairstyles and outfits and create little avatars of myself as a Powerpuff Girl
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 10/02/2026
With less than 10 hours left before Lingkesvaran's scheduled hanging in Singapore, his mother is pleading with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam to grant him a respite order. You can read her letter at tinyurl.com/lingkesletter
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 04/02/2026
“meanwhile”
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 01/02/2026
something something eat the rich
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 17/01/2026
Last week the Singapore Prison Service executed two men. This week they served an execution notice on a third, informing him that they will kill him on 22 Jan. But sure, tell us all how very difficult and challenging it is to be part of the Singapore Prison Service.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 14/01/2026
That was indeed quite shitty
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 10/01/2026
It’s the birthday of Soonie, Stray Kids Lee Know’s oldest cat. That cat is wearing silk Gucci ties because his dad is a Gucci ambassador. Yet another cat revealed to be living better than me
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 26/12/2025
💔
My friend of 15 years died on Christmas Eve and the media knew before I did. In fact, my friends and I found out because a reporter reached out seeking confirmation he was dead so that they could run a story. At that point we had no idea what the fuck they were talking about. Couldn’t believe it. We all tried to call Ravi, hoping it was some cruel joke or misunderstanding. 

Now I’m seeing an awful lot of detail from the police in the media about my friend’s death, even before investigations are complete and findings submitted to the state coroner.Ravi’s reputation had already been savaged in the local media when he was alive. Yes, there were times when he behaved bizarrely and badly. No one knows this better or more intimately than his friends. Sometimes he blazed with brilliance, sometimes he blazed with fire that burnt those closest to him. But there was always more to it than what the public could read in the news. Between his courage, his ego, his strength, his deep feeling, his volatility, his kindness, his mental illness and more besides, it has always been difficult to fully encapsulate the quicksilver spirit that we call M Ravi.The past two days have been unreal. I thought seeing him at the wake would make the news sink in, become reality. It didn’t. It still feels unbelievable that Ravi is gone, that this is a world without Ravi whipping through it like a force of nature. What absolute fucking nonsense.

And once again we have to read about him in the news, all these details coming out in the press even though investigations are still ongoing. The comments on social media, the impressions and opinions strangers are forming and expressing about him. And we, his friends, watching and hurting, knowing—as we have always known—that there is more to Ravi, so much more. But also, after we give him his final send-off tonight, no more.

How is this real?
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 25/12/2025
The amount of feelings I have tried to eat this year I mean it with my whole chest when I say “FUCK 2025”. It has been such a cruel year. I guess at least my favourite K-pop group is on the Pepero box. This is where we’re at now.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 09/12/2025
Got this from Reddit. I’m baffled by how this law can possibly be enforced. Kids are going to be kids and they will find their way on to these platforms—except now they might keep it secret from adults, making it even harder to monitor or have conversations about what they’re exposed to.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 07/12/2025
This seems like a good time to ask if anyone has watched Armando Ianucci’s The Death of Stalin
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 06/12/2025
In 2018, Jason Soo, a Singaporean filmmaker, was on board Al Awda, part of a freedom flotilla trying to break Israel's blockade of Gaza. Singaporean authorities have given his film a conditional R21 rating, which means he has to seek their approval every time he wants to screen it in the country.
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Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · 23/11/2025
One execution has been scheduled for 26 November, and two for 27 November. A vigil will be held in Singapore on the night of the 26th.
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