Toronto Star: Tough on crime just for the poor

Letter to the Toronto Star (Sunday, April 10, 2010) Tough on crime just for the poor Re:  Former MP Rahim Jaffer connected to conman, April 8 I was intrigued to read that the Crown in Rahim Jaffer's court case very generously offered the former MP a favourable plea bargain.  When I was 17 years old growing up in poverty and arrested as a young offender, the Crown sought six month's closed custody (i.e. jail time) for a school fight I got into. I had to aggressively fight against the Crown and won a favourable ruling (probation with no incarceration) from the judge who presided over my case.  Eighteen years later I am an alumnus of University of Toronto and Princeton University.  I wonder what path my life would have taken had I spent six months in jail.  Seems to me that the tough on crime model only applies to people from lesser backgrounds. Kai Chan, New York http://www.thestar.com/opinion/article/793115--tough-on-crime-just-for-the-poor © Copyright Toronto Star 1996-2010

G&M: What to do: young offenders

The Globe & Mail: Letters to the editor (March 18, 2010) What to do: young offenders I was arrested twice as a young offender (Tory Bill Proposes Publicizing Names Of Violent Young Offenders – March 17), so I read carefully the proposed changes to the legislation.  For the most part, harsh sentences do not deter crime and actually work against rehabilitating offenders.  My brief time in incarceration only ensconced me more deeply in the criminal culture: While in detention, I befriended hardened offenders.  Most of the people I met in juvenile detention were good persons, who just happened to come from unfortunate backgrounds (poverty, dysfunctional families etc.). I always wonder how much talent our country is wasting by not making these young offenders do something productive with their lives (e.g. getting them involved in sports/arts/culture), rather than leaving them to wither in detention. I eventually went on to get a PhD at Princeton after graduating from the University of Toronto.  Teenage years are rough for everyone. K.L. Chan, New York http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/letters-to-the-editor/march-18-letters-to-the-editor/article1503730/ © Copyright 2010 CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

Preface regarding articles from Princeton

During my six years at Princeton (1999-2005) I had the pleasure of penning quite a few articles for the Daily Princetonian, the school newspaper, and oftentimes also known simply as the ‘Prince’ — actually, all the writings came in the latter half of my time at Princeton.  Anyhow, writing for the Daily Princetonian (and other forums) was an apt continuation of a long held personal tradition: I had written for the school newspaper as far back as grades 7 and 8 (at Earl Grey Senior School in Toronto, Canada); I also wrote some stuff for Riverdale Collegiate’s (Toronto, Canada) school newspaper in my last year of high school.  This anthology constitutes a collection of all the writings that I did while at Princeton which were published in some way, shape or form. (Although, looking back, I shudder at the thought that such hastily written pieces had made it to print!) In hindsight — which is always 20/20 — I cringe at how I wrote some of my pieces in such sloppy format or with lack of focus.  For others, my views may have even changed since I first offered my public opinion.  But some, even in retrospect, still ring true…

Acknowledgment from PhD dissertation

First of all, I want to thank Paul Krugman for inspiration, many free books and fun conversations.  I often pinch myself, as a reality check, when noting that such a preeminent economist — and definite future Nobel laureate — is supervising my work.  I guess this is what makes Princeton so special.  Many thanks to all who have read this thesis, including (and especially) Alan Blinder, Hyun Song Shin, Gene Grossman, Nobuhiro Kiyotaki, and Lars Svensson, as well as classmates and friends.  Also, much appreciation to Thijs van Rens and Vasco Cúrdia for help with SWP, and to Gene Grossman, who helped me secure funding when I was post-enrolled (the bane of the graduate student).  The usual caveat applies: All remaining errors in this dissertation are my own. The many years spent at Princeton have been unbelievable, eliciting from me a myriad of emotions.  I will cherish my experiences and especially my friends, who added much delight to times spent in Princeton.  There are too many people to thank individually for all the camaraderie that I have enjoyed, so I will instead begin by thanking groups that are dear to me.  Foremost, I must thank colleagues, faculty and staff from…

NYT: The era of the white man

Letter to the editor published in the NYT (on-line edition) April 7, 2008 Letter ‘The Era of the White Man’ To the Editor: Re “The Baton Passes to Asia,” by Roger Cohen (column, The New York Times on the Web, March 31): Before anyone really thinks that “it’s the end of the era of the white man,” let me point out a few things. The rates of economic growth in China and India are high because these are modernizing countries playing a game of catch-up. When you look at G.D.P. per capita numbers, the United States is still far ahead of both countries. Second, 450 million cellphones in China, a country of more than 1.3 billion people, means that only over a third of its people have a mobile handset, much lower than the ratio in most developed (typically white) countries. Yes, Asia is large, and the economic gravity is shifting (back) toward Asia, but this is simply natural given, that most of humanity lives there. Go to China or India and see how far the world’s paradigm must shift before the era of “white is right” is over.  The female “natives” virtually worship the white male expatriates in Asia,…

FT: I’d rather have the comfort of a chocolate bar in the nuclear winter

Letter to the Financial Times (21 January 2008) I'd rather have the comfort of a chocolate bar in the nuclear winter Published: January 21 2008 02:00 | Last updated: January 21 2008 02:00 From Mr Kai L. Chan. Sir, The argument Chris Kniel sets forth (Letters, January 17) as to the intrinsic value of bullion-backed currency falls into a common fallacy that blinds gold bugs. The current system of fiat money does display inflationary bias, so no disagreement on that point.  However, to believe that gold has special value is pushing the argument. Gold-backed currency has less inflationary bias only insomuch as the supply of gold is limited and has a real cost of production (ie extraction).  If money were backed by salt, water, sand or whatever commodity one desires, it would have the same anti-inflationary effect.  The only special qualities for gold are its relative scarcity and high cost of extraction.  In that case, uranium would probably serve as an even better storage of value and be less prone to debasement, a common flaw of gold coinage. Personally, I'd still rather have my currency backed by chocolate bars.  In the case of a worldwide catastrophe – such as a…

Daily Princetonian: Be careful with removal of assistant master positions

By Daily Princetonian Staff Published: Friday, September 15th, 2006 Be careful with removal of assistant master positions Regarding 'RCAs debate removal of assistant master position' (Friday, May 19, 2006): I read the article about the abolition of the assistant master position with a sad heart.  I served as assistant master at Butler College in 2002-03. In my short tenure there, I made many friends and worked with an exceptionally bright group of undergraduates.  Though having served definitely delayed my academic progression, I have no regrets about my choice.  As for my duties, it wasn't so much that my presence in Butler enriched the students' lives; rather I was fortunate enough to have learned many things from people more junior than I. Giving more graduate students the chance to interact with the wider college community is to be lauded, but I hope that the diminished responsibilities with the new graduate positions do not lessen the scope for interaction.  After all, it was the fact that the position consumed so much of my time that made it special. The group of shy 18-year-olds that I met in September 2002 have now left the orange bubble — good luck in your new endeavors!…

Daily Princetonian: The graduate student’s long march

Students of English literature might be acquainted with Alan Sillitoe's classic novel, "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner."  In that story, the protagonist, Smith, gains relief from his chaotic schedule in a well-heeled boarding school and time to muse about life in his daily runs.  As a runner myself — having competed in track and field, cross-country and marathons — I empathize with Smith. One of the simple pleasures of long-distance running is the seclusion that Sillitoe notes.  The solitude of running provides an opportunity to appreciate, inter alia, the beauty of the sun setting over rolling hills while hearing the sound of leaves crunching under one's feet.  However, sometimes the solitude is simply lonesome. This is why I sometimes think that Sillitoe was in fact writing about the doctoral adventure.  The Ph.D. is a very lonely pursuit, and it goes without saying that it is a long race, metaphorically speaking.  (The median time from matriculation to receiving a Ph.D. is 6.0 years.)  And the isolation of the Princeton graduate experience has given me an epiphany about life: It really is stranger than fiction. Though I don't run on the beach, I often imagine leaving tracks in the sand…

Daily Princetonian: Hunger Banquet sends wrong message

By Daily Princetonian Staff Published: Thursday, November 17th, 2005 Hunger Banquet sends wrong message   Regarding 'Lobster, steak and plain white rice' (Tuesday, November 15, 2005): This article gave me an unsettling feeling in my stomach.  As a person who ate "plain white rice" for many years in the parlance of the article (I ate chicken bones and rotten vegetables tossed away by local grocers), I must admit I felt uneasy about how the SVC chose to raise awareness of this matter.  For one, I am not sure how much awareness is really brought to the problem, and surely empathy is not on the menu as participants know that after the meal they can resume with their regular lives.  I certainly didn't have the option of walking away from the "plain white rice" dinner when I was growing up in poverty.  Secondly, one of the hardships of eating "plain white rice" is the loss of dignity that cannot be captured in a smug gesture.  Although the event was rooted in good intentions, as a person with a perspective growing up in poverty I found it condescending and bordering on mocking, especially given that this is the same school that hosted…

Daily Princetonian: The joys of adding insects to your daily diet

The food options at Princeton are rather threadbare:  The dining halls serve the same things day after day; Frist is simply atrocious; and the so-called eating clubs are places where I shudder to dine — but I'm happy to mooch a meal there if you care to invite me.  So what's a person in this one-tiger town to do if she's looking for a gastronomic adventure?  Before you shout "Go to Burger King!" let me say, "B.K. R.I.P."  Thus, we are left to grovel at the feet of the administration for a tastier menu selection. So what would I place on the menu?  Here's my idea:  I suggest that we start serving insects.  Think about it.  Remember all those cicadas from last year?  Well, if people would open up their minds — and stomachs — instead of viewing the swathes of cicadas as some biblical-proportion plague, one would instead see a smorgasbord of asparagus on wings (yes, they taste like asparagus).  And what a delicacy they are — they only come around once every 17 years! You can also take pride, when munching on a bug, in knowing that you are helping to control the pest population.  Plus, you'll never…