Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you should already have heard of Li Shengwu by now. The eldest son of Lee Hsien Yang delivered a well-written eulogy for Mr. Lee Kuan Yew at a private service at Mandai Crematorium.
In fact, the eulogy was so well-delivered it impressed many, who unwittingly likened him to the late Mr. Lee. On YouTube, 30-year-old Li Shengwu’s eulogy has garnered 446k views, surpassing his father Lee Hsien Yang’s at 108k views and his uncle Lee Hsien Loong’s at 156k views, albeit falling 126k short in views compared to Li Hongyi’s at 572k views.
In lieu of a television, Nai Nai provided a tall, well-stocked bookshelf next to the childrens’ table, and thereby contributed much of my early childhood literacy.
He started debating since he was 15. When he was in Raffles Junior College, he represented Singapore at the 2003 world championships.
4. He has a blog about debating
The blog, titled Trolley Problem, was a platform for him to write about his “miscellaneous thoughts about debating”. The blog was last updated in 2012 and is now inactive.
5. He was the best debater in a global debating tournament
In 2010, Li clinched the title of Best Speaker at the World Universities Debating Championships in Turkey, beating more than 700 others. He was the third Singaporean to win the award since it started in 1981. “The media should show the horrors of war” was the motion of the debate and Li was on the proposition team.
His winning speech can be viewed here:
6. He was compared to Amos Yee
You read that correctly. Such blasphemy! The promising young man has been compared to the infamous 17-year-old Amos Yee who rejoiced over Li’s grandfather’s death.
In 2009, he graduated from Balliol College in Oxford, emerging the top in his politics, philosophy and economics (PPE) class of 240 students. He was also the overall top economics student. He later pursued a Masters in Economics at Oxford’s Kebel College, as he “liked both philosophy and economics” but decided to specialize in his “comparative advantage”, since he was “relatively better at economics”. He also went on to Stanford University for his PhD. He was not on a government scholarship.
8. He’s a pro at taking selfies
Chances are, you’ve seen this photo of Li’s circulating on the Internet. However, did you know that Li took this picture himself while in Tokyo?
After the passing of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, the Internet is abuzz with rumours that one of them are likely to ascend the “throne” one day. Either or, we’re sure they would do their grandfather proud, should they eventually decide to enter politics.
Majulah Singapura.
Who do you think would be a better leader?
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