Real, it isn’t

Letter to the Globe & Mail (April 27, 2012) I find it amusing that all five cast members of The Real Housewives of Vancouver are white and blond (Why Our Clickers Are Stuck On Shallow – Arts, April 25). Almost half the population of Vancouver is visible minorities and far from every white female has blond hair. “Real,” the show is not; crass, banal and racially biased, it probably is. Kai Chan, Dubai Letter as it appeared in the G&M © Copyright 2012 CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

INSEAD: Innovation and Policy Initiative

Policy Breakfast Series - March 2012 Competitiveness and Innovation at Work in the UAE Dr. Kai Chan, Senior Advisor, Emirates Competitiveness Council "Measuring Innovation and R&D in the UAE"

Economic remedies

Letter to the Princeton Alumni Weekly (April 6, 2011 edition) It was such a delight to read about Alan Blinder '67 (feature, March 2).  I was fortunate enough to have met Blinder when I was at Princeton.  (Blinder was on my dissertation committee, as was Paul Krugman.)  In addition to being a giant in the field of economics, Blinder is one of the most gracious and kind persons I know.  In fact, I would say that his heart rivals his stature in the spheres of economics and public policy.  Blinder was instrumental in helping me finish my thesis.  Even with his busy schedule and lofty accomplishments, he took the time to help me graduate, when others had little time for a struggling graduate student. If Ben Bernanke were to retire from the Fed, I could think of no person more qualified to assume the post of chairman of the Fed than Alan Blinder. KAI L. CHAN *08 New York, NY April 6, 2011 PAW letters section

Hear! Hear! to Higher Education

Letter to Trinity Alumni Magazine Winter 2011 It was nice to read about the new deans, Jonathan Steels and Kristen Moore, as well as about Brett Cumberbatch, who is working on outreach to at-risk youth in Toronto's northwest.  The efforts of people like them help enrich Trinity, and our communities. However, I often feel that the traditional programs set up to help Trinity students as well as at-risk youth in our communities miss large swathes of the population.  I myself was an at-risk youth (arrested twice as a young offender and dropped out of high school), as well as someone who had a lot of hardships transitioning to life at university (I was briefly homeless in my first year and eked out an existence by holding down multiple part-time jobs). The weak political voice of under-performing Asians juxtaposed with high-achieving Asians means that this community is often neglected or at best a low priority.  Kudos to those who work to help tear down the barriers that impede people from achieving their potential.  Higher education is without a doubt the single most powerful driver of social mobility. Kai L. Chan, '99 New York City Trinity Alumni Magazine Winter 2011 PDF of…

Tiger Mother’s Child-Rearing Method Draws Response

Letter to the Wall Street Journal (January 14, 2011) Although the way Ms. Chua raised her children may be typical of many high-achieving Chinese families, there are many Chinese families who live quite the opposite life.  According to recent Census data, the majority of Chinese people grow up in low-income households, and within this group children typically do not play musical instruments or devote many hours to homework. I grew up in a very poor Chinese family in which none of my siblings completed post-secondary schooling.  I was arrested twice as a teenager and dropped out of high school before eventually finishing at age 20.  However, I did go on to earn a doctorate. Because the "superior Chinese mother" stereotype is so ingrained into society, few outreach programs target at-risk Chinese youths.  Some of my childhood Chinese friends are now in jail or are drug addicts because people in authority always thought our households resembled Ms. Chua's. Kai L. Chan New York Letter as it appeared in the WSJ Copyright ©2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved