Tanya Good Choice to Attract PRC Whores?

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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>STB picks Tanya to woo 1.2m tourists
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Singer will be its tourism ambassador to China for two years </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Tracy Quek, China Correspondent
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With Tanya on board, STB hopes to connect with upwardly mobile executives. -- ST FILE PHOTO
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->BEIJING: Singapore wants to reel in a record 1.2 million tourists from China this year and is enlisting the help of home-grown singer Tanya Chua.
Ms Chua, an award-winning singer who is popular in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, is the new face of the Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) latest campaign to woo mainland visitors.
Launched last night in Beijing, the campaign targets upwardly mobile Chinese urban executives aged 28 to 45 who are looking 'to experience the soul of a city, rather than the usual group or packaged tours', said STB's regional and Greater China director Edward Koh. Ms Chua was chosen for her 'individualistic, carefree and soul-searching attributes which the middle-class segment in China's mega cities will identify with'.
The 33-year-old songbird will appear on print, Internet, TV and outdoor commercials, introducing places of interest in Singapore, including Club Street, Little India and Clarke Quay. Viewers will also be able to hear To Be Happy, a song with both Chinese and English lyrics that Ms Chua wrote especially for the campaign.
The commercials will start to air in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu from next week. In her two-year term as STB's 'tourism ambassador' to China, Ms Chua will also make personal appearances at promotional events and trade shows on the mainland.
The STB has enlisted local Singapore celebrities as 'tourism ambassadors' for its marketing campaigns in China since 2004, starting with singer Ah Du. Pop star JJ Lin took over in 2006.
With Ms Chua on board, the STB hopes to create a connection with Chinese who are increasingly opting for free and independent travel over group tours, said Mr Koh.
'We hope to attract first-time travellers to Singapore, and also to interest those who have been to Singapore before, to come back for a more in-depth, experiential trip,' he added.
China is Singapore's second largest source of foreign visitors, after Indonesia. Singapore marked a milestone in 2006 when it welcomed its millionth Chinese visitor for the first time, becoming the most visited foreign destination for Chinese tourists.
Last year, mainland tourists to Singapore surpassed the 1.1 million mark.
However, major happenings in China, including the May 12 Sichuan earthquake and last month's Beijing Olympics, caused a slight dip in recent months, said Mr Koh. According to STB, Singapore received 105,000 Chinese visitors in July, a slight drop from the 109,000 tourists who visited the same month last year.
Overall, Singapore tourism has experienced a slowdown in past months, due to the global economic downturn and rise in oil prices. STB's target for the year is 10.8 million visitors. 'We hope this latest campaign will turn the slow growth around,' said Mr Koh. [email protected]

 

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http://pinkdimple.blogspot.com/2007/05/chinatown-red-light-district.html


Chinatown. Red Light District?

<SMALL class=metadata>2 Comments </SPAN>Published by pink dimple on Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 9:12 PM. </SMALL>


Has anyone been to People’s Park Complex lately? Maybe it’s no big deal to some people but I’m so disgusted by what I saw! Ok, I know of several incidents of “China mama” being arrested at Pearl Centre providing “special” service to men but since the police raided that area, I thought that Chinatown would be rid of these ulgy sight. But I was wrong, what I saw at people’s park complex was very disturbing for me.

Chinatown has always been a multiracial place that welcomes visitors from all nations. Tourist comes to Singapore’s Chinatown to experience the rich customs and traditions of the great cultures of Asia but instead, Chinatown has turned into a “Red Light District”?

Last night, I was at People’s Park Complex meeting a friend for dinner at one of the fast food outlet. The moment I walked in, I noticed a group of “Ah beh” (old man in hokkien) chatting away in mandarin, with them is a woman in her mid 30s. One look at her, I could tell that she’s a china woman, the moment I heard her talking, I was right.

I bought a drink and found a table that was just a table away from their table, although the place was noisy and crowded but I could still hear them talking. I overheard the “Ah beh” asking her in mandarin: “You got see your man’s wife??” I didn’t think much and took out a book to read while waiting for my friend, then I noticed another “couple” - another old man (grey hair, maybe 65 -70 yrs) with a woman in mid 30s (China woman) sitting at a table in front me. Looking at their body language, I’m sure they are a “couple” because the woman was “feeding” him food and the old man has his hand on her lap. The next moment, the woman from the group of “Ah beh” came over to sit with this couple. It seems to me that both woman are friends and when the old man went to the toilet, the two woman begin to gossip, I couldn’t really hear what they were talking. I wasn’t spying on them, it’s just that they were sitting infront of me. Anyway, I was feeling disgusted by this china woman with an old man who can be his grandfather and I am sure it’s not because he’s good looking.

Then I realised that the place is “infested” with not just “China woman” but also Filipinos girls, as young as 19 years old! There’s 2 of them sitting next to my table with a young indian chap, the guy asked about their age and that’s how I knew. He began asking both the girls about their names. Obviously they just met and these girls were behaving funny as if they were on a look-out for something. When I look outside the fast food outlet, I could see more of these girls roaming the area, some of them were seated on the side walks of the shop chatting with men (I don’t think they are locals, I learnt later that these men are sailors). Some walking aimlessly from one end of the complex to the other end. It seems that these routine has been going on for quite awhile, the girls, mostly filipinos roamed the area in groups of 3 or more, dressed in revealing clothing with heavy make-up!

When did Chinatown became a “Red Light District!” Where did all these young Filipinos girls come from? Are they students? Are there on social visit? How did they end up here? And the scary thing is, they are doing it openly in public? Is it legal? Why is it allowed? All these questions went through my mind and I have no answer ...



2 Responses to “Chinatown. Red Light District?”

1. <LI class=" item" id=comment-4633089795978153501>#
   
   brennan <SMALL class=commentmetadata>May 14, 2007 1:21 PM </SMALL>Yup. Will always see (old) china mei-meis at People's Park, especially on weekdays and in broad daylight! They're all over the place, leeching on the old mans' CPF money.
   
   Filipinos? Rarely see them though.
   
   On a sidenote, the yong tau foo over there not bad leh. The one with the yellow signboard. :-D
   
2. #
   
   plant <SMALL class=commentmetadata>May 14, 2007 2:38 PM </SMALL>No kidding. Pearl Hill Center is worst. I’m astounded that shops inside Pearl’s hill center have developed into massage outlets, touting for business whenever male shoppers walk past. Talk about strategic business locations, Yangtze cinema showing R-rated movies, Pearl center caters the ‘needs’ after movies.
   

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