KHOR/BIO 

A graduate (English Literature 1959) of the University of Malaya (then in Singapore), Khor Eng Lee has had considerable and varied experience and practice in the mass media in both the public and private sectors, particularly in the field of development journalism — from his first stint as a documentary film scriptwriter in Filem Negara Malaysia (FNM) in the early sixties to his final job at the New Straits Times (NST) HQ in Kuala Lumpur where he served from 1978, as its then longest-standing leader writer as well as feature writer until his retirement at the end of 1991. 

His first published book RIDING A TIGER (Patridge Singapore February 2016) is about postwar Singapore’s political battles for independence, leading to it brief but much-troubled integration with neighbouring Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia on 16 September 1963, and then its painful  separation to become an independent state and republic on 9 August 1965. 

With Lim Cheng Leng, Khor co-authored WAGING AN UNWINNABLE WAR THE COMMUNIST INSURGENCY IN MALAYSIA (1948-89) (Xlibris October 2016). 

On the phenomenal rise of New China as an economic and military superpower, Khor has compled eight volumes; four of which have been published, and three of them are presently (as of this writing) with the printers. The eighth book on contemporary China will be published shortly.  

MISSION: To promote international understanding of China’s rapid development and phenomenal rise over the past seven decades from being a very backward and poor country in the 1950s to being one of the world’s leading major powers in the 21st century. 

VISION:  A peaceful and progressive world, with universal respect for human dignity of every person, and for national sovereignty and integrity of all nations under the sun. 

The eight books on New China’s development and modernization are listed as follows: 

1. CHINA’S RENAISSANCE, a comprehensive progress report on building the essential foundation for the country’s reconstruction during the Mao Era (1949-1976), and unfolding of the miraculous and historically unprecedented transformation of a dirt-poor and relatively weak Asian country with a massive population under paramount leader Deng Xiaoping’s bold, radical and visionary leadership. 

1. CHINA’S LONG MARCH OF MODERNIZATION, with the updates and the highly-ambitious development menu of blueprints, plans and strategies under the dynamic and highly-dedicated leadership of its 7th President Xi Jinping — to make New China fully developed and completely modernized by its first centenary in 2049. 

The Chinese version of humankind’s greatest development story is by TEOH SEANG KIM, a recently retired senior school teacher with a Master’s in Chinese Studies from Universiti Malaya. 

1. SOARING DRAGON further explores China’s present and future developments, and 

1. China Dream: China at the Cutting Edge provides a brief on China’s revolutionary breakthroughs and innovations in both the economic and military fields. 

Both the third and fourth books are published together in one volume (Xlibris July 2021), with the vibrant message: New China is standing steady and tall as a leading global innovator. 

These first four closely-interconnected books constitute the New China Development Quartet on the country’s envisioned and meticulously planned 100-year-long (1949-2049) struggles to comprehensively and fully develop, modernize and rejuvenate itself. 

1. CHINA IN 2030:  

   Core Developments 

   in the Crucial Decade 

   of the 2020s 

“The next ten years will be a key decade with a new round of technological revolution and industrial change (referred to as the Fourth Industrial Revolution),” President Xi Jinping said. (People’s Daily July 26, 2018) 

“They would bring “earth-shaking” changes while offering an important opportunity to promote “leapfrog development”, allowing China to pass legacy systems and overtake competitors…” 

During this crucial decade, China is expected to attain a high-income economy to transcend the so-called “middle-income trap”, and then to become the world’s top economy as well as to basically complete its military modernization. 

This brief book outlines China’s core developments in the crucial decade of the 2020s, driving the pivotal push and shift of the world’s geopolitical center back from the West to the East. 

1. CHINA TOWARDS 2035 

On 18 October 2017, President Xi Jinping reported at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) that China would carry out a two-stage 30-year plan from 2020 to mid-21st century to fully develop, modernize and rejuvenate the nation. 

1. 2020-2035: on the foundation of a moderately prosperous society in 2020, to put in “a further 15 years of hard work”, to basically realize socialist modernization and build a Beautiful China with significant enhancement of social etiquette and civility as well as a culture of greater appeal. 

Agricultural and military modernizations will also be basically completed by 2035. China will modernize its economy and consolidate its status as a global leader in innovation by 2035. 

China will continue to harness emerging technologies including AI, big data, biotechnology, blockchain, and quantum science and technology (S&T). 

China will further advance its national cyber and supercomputing capabilities as well as strengthen its space assets. 

Intelligentization of the Chinese military will proceed with development of hypersonic missiles and other hypersonic weapons systems and platforms. 

This small book outlines the key developments in the penultimate stage of China’s Long March of Modernization towards the glorious goal of complete national rejuvenation and development of China “into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful” (to quote President Xi). 

1. CHINA VISION 2050 

CHINA VISION 2050 outlines the planned and scripted completion of China’s Four Modernizations of agriculture, industry, defense, and science & technology (S&T) as well as other key major developments in green electrification, fusion power, quantum technologies, biotech, etc. 

The three books of 5, 6 & 7 are published in one volume titled CHINA FUTURE TRILOGY, comprising (1) CHINA IN 2030, highlighting China’s rise to the world’s economic leadership and acceleration of its military modernization, (2) CHINA TOWARDS 2035 on the milestones featuring basic completion of agricultural, economic, military and socialist modernizations as well as building a Beautiful China, and (3) CHINA VISION 2050, on the highway to the great goal of complete and comprehensive national development, modernization and rejuvenation. 

1. THE PROMETHEAN PURSUIT IN THE US-CHINA COMPETITION FOR GLOBAL TECHNOLOGICAL LEADERSHIP 

In the big story of.the first quarter of the 21st century, China’s phenomenal rise is intertwined with the escalating US-China rivalry, the core of which is fueled and fired by technology competition. 

“We are entering a key period of competition to determine which companies and nations establish, adapt, and scale the dominant technology platforms emerging from rapidly maturing general purpose (GP) technologies beginning with AI, biotech, quantum, and novel energy platforms,” the Special Competitiveness Studies Project (SCSP) has reported September 2022. 

“2025-2030 represents a critical window where tech trends and strategic competition will come to a head in the contest…” 

In Greek mythology, the Titan Prometheus in his great love for humanity stole fire from the gods to give it as a gift to the humans for their immeasurable benefit. It’s the first technology theft recorded in literature. Fire symbolizes knowledge as well as the original source of technology. 

The true Promethean pursuit is the single-minded quest for technological knowledge and skills, to make new discoveries and to innovate, and forge novel technologies in order to benefit the whole of humanity, certainly not to divide nations nor to drive them into counterproductive collision and disruptive/destructive conflict. 

The decoupling of the world’s two leading technological nations will not only hurt both of them technologically and economically, but sow and spread their deleterious fallout across the globe. According to the IMP, US-China decoupling could cost about 5% of global GDP. 

The Chinese way is the traditional practice of wisdom to pave the path of win-win collaboration/cooperation with a shared future for every country and nation on this highly-stressed and troubled planet.  

China has always expressed its policy of peaceful development and cooperation with all other nations. The US can respond positively as well. As Americans like to say, yes, we can.