The Personal Registry
Interests & Pursuits of Tan Wee Cheng
Politics, History & Geography
Politics, history, and geography have always been my main interests. I have always been fascinated with how the world has evolved, why certain countries emerged and others declined, and how the geography of a place has influenced its history and politics.
My interest in political oddities is well-known. I am particularly drawn to territories that exist in a state of geopolitical limbo—the de facto independent states, the unrecognised republics, and the last remnants of empires.
At Karakorum, Mongolia
Philatelic Artifact: Pamir Highway
Philately: manifestations of imagination
I used to be a very active stamp collector. For me, stamps represent the possession of something from faraway places which used to be fairly inaccessible, and thus manifestations of exotic places and imagination.
Most of my interest has been with the former Yugoslav & former Soviet republics, Singapore, Hongkong, Macau, China, Pacific, South Africa, Namibia and Aland, and more recently, the breakaway/unrecognised entities in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
"Sad it may be, I honestly believe that philately as a hobby is dying... the internet now connects one to far corners of the world, rendering stamps somewhat less attractive."