- Joined
- Apr 14, 2011
- Messages
- 17,983
- Points
- 113
Zeng was born Chan Hock Seng[8][a] in 1953,[10] the eldest son of a clerk and a homemaker. Zeng became estranged with his siblings following a dispute regarding their father's will.[11] A March 1987 Straits Timesreport writes that Zeng's highest level of education was secondary school,[12] but Zeng claims to have "a Doctor in Science degree, a Doctor in Medicine degree and a PhD in Complementary Medicine".[13] Between 1977 and 1978, he was President of Dale Carnegie Alumni Association's Lion Chapter of Singapore, an oratorical society.[14]
CareerEdit
Early careerEdit
Zeng was once a safety officer at a Shellproduction platform at Pulau Bukom.[15] He officially became a member of the Singapore-based political party Workers' Party (WP) on 18 August 1991 because "the PAP government obviously wants an opposition in Parliament",[16][17] and was fielded as a candidate for the Bukit Timah Single Member Constituency in the 1991 Singaporean general election.[18] He netted a quarter of the 22,000 votes cast, losing out to the PAP's Wang Kai Yuen.[19][20][21] Zeng decided to leave the party that year because, in his words, "in politics, all the crows are black".[22] In a 1996 lawsuit he was involved in, Zeng stated that he contested the 1991 general election only to gain publicity for his acupuncture business.[23]
Perennial candidacyEdit
Zeng at the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple in December 2015.
After leaving the Workers' Party, Zeng became a perennial candidate for election in Singapore. He ran for the Mountbatten Single Member Constituency during the 2006 Singaporean general election, but was unsuccessful.[24]Believing himself to be ineligible for candidacy, Zeng decided not to take part in the 2011 Singaporean general election.[25] He had been present at a nomination centre, with the relevant documents in hand, but upon being reminded of an offence he committed in 2009 he ripped them into pieces and stormed out of the venue while repeatedly underscoring that "they have fixed me up" and "you (the reporters present) know what it is all about" without any elaboration.[26] A news anchor at scene observed that Zeng's nomination papers had been left blank all along.[26]
In May 2012, Zeng announced his intention to contest the 2012 Singaporean by-election, but did not complete the nomination process. Zeng alleged that he was informed that he could not contest because of an offence he had incurred four years ago – scolding two police officers with vulgarities, to which he argued it was his bird that committed the deed.[10] It was later clarified in an official statement by the Singapore Elections Department that Zeng "did not file his nomination papers".[10] During the 2013 Singaporean by-election, Zeng decided not to contest as he suspected a conspiracy against him, claiming that he first needed "the President's pardon". He also explained that he wanted to give in to candidates of higher caliber than him, adding that "fools rush in where angels fear to tread".[27]
In August 2015, he declared that he would be contesting the Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency, pledging to "fight until the end",[28] but after less than a week he changed his mind, citing his being the only independent running[29] his good ties with Chiam See Tongand not wanting his participation to cause a three-cornered-contest as reasons for his withdrawal.[30] Furthermore, he revealed he could not have secured the election depositalone and was relying on his "fifteen compassionate backers".[31]
Other venturesEdit
A bottle of Zeng's vegetable shampoo.
Having studied the subject in Hong Kong and Taiwan,[15] Zeng is a former acupuncturist,[32]and organised acupuncture meet-ups[33]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeng_Guo_Yuan#cite_note-36 as the president of the World Acupuncture Voluntary Organisation (WAVO).[35][c] After Zeng published controversial and self-admittedly "misleading" advertisements of it in 1991,[37][38] the 28th World Congress of Acupuncture and Complementary Medicine, which was supposed to have taken place in Singapore, changed its host country to the Republic of China.[39] Zeng, in defence, cited 'miscommunication' with the Medicina Alternativa Institute in Sri Lanka.[37] He also blamed the local press for this happening and promptly left the Singapore Acupuncture Association.[40] As a philanthropist, Zeng funded the construction of a mosque in an unspecified Bangladeshi village.[11]
Zeng is the founder of the Prof Zeng's Medical Centre, which used to be an Upper Serangoon Road-based acupuncture centre.[8] It moved to Toa Payoh, at which the sole basis of operations became selling healthcare products, including slimming oil[17] and a "hair regrowth shampoo" made of vegetable and chocolate.[41] He also owned a MacPherson-based store.[42] He drew attention when he used photographs of President of Singapore S. R. Nathan to endorse his healthcare products, in 2007. The act was deemed as "outrageous" by one Singaporean lawyer, who added that it may constitute defamation.[43] Prof Zeng's Medical Centre folded after Zeng contracted cancer.[44]
In 2002, Zeng self-published a book on the September 11 attacks, titled Why The World Trade Centre Collapse So So Fast? (sic).[45]The work, which contains numerous references to the 1976 monster thriller King Kong, was banned by the government upon its release.[9]Zeng is listed as an honorary international advisor of the Indian Board of Alternative Medicines, and is the only Singaporean panel member.[46]
CareerEdit
Early careerEdit
Zeng was once a safety officer at a Shellproduction platform at Pulau Bukom.[15] He officially became a member of the Singapore-based political party Workers' Party (WP) on 18 August 1991 because "the PAP government obviously wants an opposition in Parliament",[16][17] and was fielded as a candidate for the Bukit Timah Single Member Constituency in the 1991 Singaporean general election.[18] He netted a quarter of the 22,000 votes cast, losing out to the PAP's Wang Kai Yuen.[19][20][21] Zeng decided to leave the party that year because, in his words, "in politics, all the crows are black".[22] In a 1996 lawsuit he was involved in, Zeng stated that he contested the 1991 general election only to gain publicity for his acupuncture business.[23]
Perennial candidacyEdit
Zeng at the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple in December 2015.
After leaving the Workers' Party, Zeng became a perennial candidate for election in Singapore. He ran for the Mountbatten Single Member Constituency during the 2006 Singaporean general election, but was unsuccessful.[24]Believing himself to be ineligible for candidacy, Zeng decided not to take part in the 2011 Singaporean general election.[25] He had been present at a nomination centre, with the relevant documents in hand, but upon being reminded of an offence he committed in 2009 he ripped them into pieces and stormed out of the venue while repeatedly underscoring that "they have fixed me up" and "you (the reporters present) know what it is all about" without any elaboration.[26] A news anchor at scene observed that Zeng's nomination papers had been left blank all along.[26]
In May 2012, Zeng announced his intention to contest the 2012 Singaporean by-election, but did not complete the nomination process. Zeng alleged that he was informed that he could not contest because of an offence he had incurred four years ago – scolding two police officers with vulgarities, to which he argued it was his bird that committed the deed.[10] It was later clarified in an official statement by the Singapore Elections Department that Zeng "did not file his nomination papers".[10] During the 2013 Singaporean by-election, Zeng decided not to contest as he suspected a conspiracy against him, claiming that he first needed "the President's pardon". He also explained that he wanted to give in to candidates of higher caliber than him, adding that "fools rush in where angels fear to tread".[27]
In August 2015, he declared that he would be contesting the Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency, pledging to "fight until the end",[28] but after less than a week he changed his mind, citing his being the only independent running[29] his good ties with Chiam See Tongand not wanting his participation to cause a three-cornered-contest as reasons for his withdrawal.[30] Furthermore, he revealed he could not have secured the election depositalone and was relying on his "fifteen compassionate backers".[31]
Other venturesEdit
A bottle of Zeng's vegetable shampoo.
Having studied the subject in Hong Kong and Taiwan,[15] Zeng is a former acupuncturist,[32]and organised acupuncture meet-ups[33]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeng_Guo_Yuan#cite_note-36 as the president of the World Acupuncture Voluntary Organisation (WAVO).[35][c] After Zeng published controversial and self-admittedly "misleading" advertisements of it in 1991,[37][38] the 28th World Congress of Acupuncture and Complementary Medicine, which was supposed to have taken place in Singapore, changed its host country to the Republic of China.[39] Zeng, in defence, cited 'miscommunication' with the Medicina Alternativa Institute in Sri Lanka.[37] He also blamed the local press for this happening and promptly left the Singapore Acupuncture Association.[40] As a philanthropist, Zeng funded the construction of a mosque in an unspecified Bangladeshi village.[11]
Zeng is the founder of the Prof Zeng's Medical Centre, which used to be an Upper Serangoon Road-based acupuncture centre.[8] It moved to Toa Payoh, at which the sole basis of operations became selling healthcare products, including slimming oil[17] and a "hair regrowth shampoo" made of vegetable and chocolate.[41] He also owned a MacPherson-based store.[42] He drew attention when he used photographs of President of Singapore S. R. Nathan to endorse his healthcare products, in 2007. The act was deemed as "outrageous" by one Singaporean lawyer, who added that it may constitute defamation.[43] Prof Zeng's Medical Centre folded after Zeng contracted cancer.[44]
In 2002, Zeng self-published a book on the September 11 attacks, titled Why The World Trade Centre Collapse So So Fast? (sic).[45]The work, which contains numerous references to the 1976 monster thriller King Kong, was banned by the government upon its release.[9]Zeng is listed as an honorary international advisor of the Indian Board of Alternative Medicines, and is the only Singaporean panel member.[46]
