Tan Kin Lian defends posting photo with 'Uyghur beauty': 'I was only responding to popular demand'
Ivan Lim
TNP
Sept 17, 2025
After posting a photo of himself with a "Uyghur beauty", former presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian has hit out at netizens criticising him for liking pretty girls.
The initial Facebook post on Sept 14 shows Mr Tan grinning beside a young woman, whom he describes as a Uyghur beauty who is "not only pretty, but friendly".
The 77-year-old said in his posts that he is currently travelling with a group in the Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang, where the Uyghur people form the majority of the population.
He asked for permission to take a photo with her, to which she replied, "Can", in Mandarin.
Most netizens seemed amused by what appeared to be a light-hearted post.
"She is very fortunate to be able to have a photo with you. Can see she is holding back her excitement," said one in jest.
"Ok. Your wife will let you sleep on the sofa tonight," said another.
Some chose to focus on the Uyghur beauty, comparing her to a Barbie doll. But not all the comments were positive - some called her "plastic" and a "robot".
There were those who focused on Mr Tan's behaviour, with one calling him "naughty".
Others were distinctly unkind. "You have a very teko (lecherous in Hokkien) smile," said one.
"Beauty and the beast," said another.
Mr Tan took exception to the negative comments and says in his follow-up post that they were from "hypocrites" who "like photos of pretty girls themselves".
He adds that the original post had 450,000 views in two days, and that his posts receive 5,000 views on average. "They should be honest about themselves, instead of judging others," he adds.
The second post had 556 reactions and 92 comments at press time, many of which were in support of Mr Tan, who adds in the post that he was responding to popular demand.
"It's okay to post what you like, and you don't owe anyone an explanation for it," said one.
"I support you, TKL. There is nothing wrong with posting pretty girls. Post more!" said another.
Yet another said: "Men are born to ogle at pretty ladies."
Mr Tan has previously defended his admiration for good-looking women.
He even posted a video defending it, insisting that the girls would prefer the attention and that those who were upset with him were probably not the pretty ones.
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