Li Shengwu, Lee Kuan Yew’s grandson
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.
What sets the two apart?
Here’s 12 things you never knew about Li Hongyi. MustShareNews also found out 12 things you never knew about Li Shengwu:
1. His Chinese name
It’s 李绳武. For those who can’t read Chinese for nuts, it’s Li3 Sheng2 Wu3.
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2. He grew up without a television in his house
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.
Instead of growing up with Pokemon, Doraemon and Digimon, Li grew up with Roald Dahl and King Arthur. He mentioned this in a eulogy to his late grandmother, Mdm. Kwa Geok Choo.
3. His love for debating
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.
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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.
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Some believed that Li would be the victor…
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While others deem Yee to be the stronger speaker:
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Our stakes are on Li.
7. His education
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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?
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Framing and composition, checked. Depth of field, checked. Time to step aside, Baey Yam Keng.
9. He takes amazing photos (not just selfies!)
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Wow. Check out his portfolio here.
We wonder if Mr. Lee should have given the camera to Shengwu instead of Hongyi. Not that we’re saying Hongyi didn’t put the camera to good use.
(In case you didn’t get it, Hongyi revealed in his eulogy that Mr. Lee gave him a camera before he entered university.)
10. His CV can easily be found online
A quick Google search on Li Shengwu would show this:
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His Curriculum Vitae (CV) showed up second in the search engine.
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11. His hairstyle has barely (or never) changed over the years
In 2012:
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In 2013:
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In 2014:
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In 2015:
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Guess he has more important things to care about than his hairstyle.
12. He used to look nerdy
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Li Shengwu or Li Hongyi?
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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Featured image via YouTube
With reference to Asia One, Go Abroad, Asia One
