Initially screened once a week, the show quickly captivated mainstream Australian viewers as well as Chinese-speaking migrants, so that now, due to popular demand, it is screened three times a week. SBS’s online promotion for the show says, ‘With a viewing audience of up to 50 million per episode, this popular Chinese dating show is a cultural phenomenon’.

Everybody wants to be in the film business, it seems. Web retailer Amazon makes shows. Netflix used to only deliver content, but now makes its own series. One of the first things e-commerce giant Alibaba did after going public was to set up a film division. The reason for the rush is, in a word, branding.

President Barack Obama will host a summit with leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in California on Feb. 15 and 16, the White House said on Wednesday. [...] “This unprecedented gathering – the first hosted by the United States with the ASEAN leaders – builds on the deeper partnership that the United States has forged with ASEAN since 2009 and will further advance the Administration’s rebalance to Asia and the Pacific,” 

But even if the New York of song and film never existed, or has long vanished, the images keep their power. Can that same mental colonisation work for Singapore? That is what officials will find out in a cultural diplomacy project by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Local films are going abroad in a cultural diplomacy project by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Sent to Singapore's diplomatic missions that express an interest, the traveling package comprises 10 feature-length and 10 short films. [...] The ministries partnered the National Museum of Singapore's Cinematheque department to curate the list, with each chosen film representing a significant development in Singapore's film landscape.

At last, Singapore has got its own magnificent National Gallery. Located in the restored City Hall and Supreme Court buildings, it is a showcase of South-east Asian art. Insight looks at why Singapore is putting local art in the spotlight, and what this signals about cultural identity.