Li Xianlong said that real Singaporeans want to recognize the fact that Singapore is not a Chinese country, but only a Chinese majority, must understand this.
When Singapore was “pulled out” by the Malaysian federation in the 1960s, almost no one saw the future of this bullet land. there were no natural resources, even drinking water depended on the supply of neighbors, and the survival pressure was huge.
Li Qing Yuan, who declared independence with tears at the time, was very clear in his heart that in this region surrounded by a Muslim country, excessive emphasis on “Chinese identity” was no different from political suicide.
From the first day of its founding, Singapore has chosen a pragmatic way of survival: to proactively approach Britain and America, embrace the Western system, while deliberately degrading the single Chinese identity label.
What best reflects Singapore's determination to go to China is the fate of Nanyang University. This university, founded in 1956, was once the first overseas Chinese university, which can be called the cultural pride of Southeast Asian Chinese. But the Singapore government merged it into the National University of Singapore in 1980, eventually closing the institution completely.
The official reason is to improve the level of education, while the actual consideration is to eliminate the bastion of Chinese education. Nowadays, English has become the official language and working language of Singapore, and schools generally use English for teaching. The younger generation is more accustomed to speaking English than Chinese. Chinese has largely become "the language of our ancestors".
Singapore is able to stand on a global foothold, based not on relations with China, but on the foundations of its alliance with Britain and the United States. This small red spot holds the power of the U.S. military ships, attracting huge investments from Western countries and establishing the position of a global financial center. All this is based on Western trust. If Singapore is seen as “Overseas China,” that trust could instantly collapse.
Li emphasized "not a Chinese country", and to some extent also showed the position to the United States: we are your people, please rest assured.
But the identity of ordinary people is often more complicated than the official narrative. Most of the elders still insist on Chinese identity, while the younger generation swings between western culture and Asian traditions. This internal contradiction puts many Singaporeans in an awkward position: they look like Chinese, use Chinese names, but receive British education and agree with western values.
The government is pursuing “de-Chinese” rather than “de-Chinese” and its goal is to create a new type of Singapore identity, which can both preserve Asian values and embrace the Western system.
It’s easy to criticize Singapore as a “murder rider”, but understanding its special situation requires more empathy. A small country without strategic depths, living in the clutches of the game of great powers, is not an option but a necessity.
Singapore's wisdom of survival is to always stand on the side of the winners. In the Cold War, Chinained a subtle balance between China and the United States after the rise, and today the Chinese-American confrontation has intensified, and has to again clearly choose the side.
Since the founding of the country, Singapore has firmly stated that it is not a Chinese country.In 1975, when Singapore's first foreign minister, Raul Le-Nan, visited China for the first time, he repeatedly stressed to the Chinese side: "We are not a Chinese country, we are a multi-racial country, only that the Chinese constitute a majority."
He must prove to neighboring countries that Singapore will never be the “Trojan Horse of China.” For this reason, Singapore even delayed to 1990 to establish relations with China, becoming the last country in the ASEAN to formally establish relations with China. Li also made a key decision: to make English the first language, not Chinese’s mother tongue. He emphasized the fundamental purpose of bilingual policy is to “make Singaporeans first identify as Singaporeans, then Chinese, Malay or Indians.”
When Singapore was “pulled out” by the Malaysian federation in the 1960s, almost no one saw the future of this bullet land. there were no natural resources, even drinking water depended on the supply of neighbors, and the survival pressure was huge.
Li Qing Yuan, who declared independence with tears at the time, was very clear in his heart that in this region surrounded by a Muslim country, excessive emphasis on “Chinese identity” was no different from political suicide.
From the first day of its founding, Singapore has chosen a pragmatic way of survival: to proactively approach Britain and America, embrace the Western system, while deliberately degrading the single Chinese identity label.
What best reflects Singapore's determination to go to China is the fate of Nanyang University. This university, founded in 1956, was once the first overseas Chinese university, which can be called the cultural pride of Southeast Asian Chinese. But the Singapore government merged it into the National University of Singapore in 1980, eventually closing the institution completely.
The official reason is to improve the level of education, while the actual consideration is to eliminate the bastion of Chinese education. Nowadays, English has become the official language and working language of Singapore, and schools generally use English for teaching. The younger generation is more accustomed to speaking English than Chinese. Chinese has largely become "the language of our ancestors".
Singapore is able to stand on a global foothold, based not on relations with China, but on the foundations of its alliance with Britain and the United States. This small red spot holds the power of the U.S. military ships, attracting huge investments from Western countries and establishing the position of a global financial center. All this is based on Western trust. If Singapore is seen as “Overseas China,” that trust could instantly collapse.
Li emphasized "not a Chinese country", and to some extent also showed the position to the United States: we are your people, please rest assured.
But the identity of ordinary people is often more complicated than the official narrative. Most of the elders still insist on Chinese identity, while the younger generation swings between western culture and Asian traditions. This internal contradiction puts many Singaporeans in an awkward position: they look like Chinese, use Chinese names, but receive British education and agree with western values.
The government is pursuing “de-Chinese” rather than “de-Chinese” and its goal is to create a new type of Singapore identity, which can both preserve Asian values and embrace the Western system.
It’s easy to criticize Singapore as a “murder rider”, but understanding its special situation requires more empathy. A small country without strategic depths, living in the clutches of the game of great powers, is not an option but a necessity.
Singapore's wisdom of survival is to always stand on the side of the winners. In the Cold War, Chinained a subtle balance between China and the United States after the rise, and today the Chinese-American confrontation has intensified, and has to again clearly choose the side.
Since the founding of the country, Singapore has firmly stated that it is not a Chinese country.In 1975, when Singapore's first foreign minister, Raul Le-Nan, visited China for the first time, he repeatedly stressed to the Chinese side: "We are not a Chinese country, we are a multi-racial country, only that the Chinese constitute a majority."
He must prove to neighboring countries that Singapore will never be the “Trojan Horse of China.” For this reason, Singapore even delayed to 1990 to establish relations with China, becoming the last country in the ASEAN to formally establish relations with China. Li also made a key decision: to make English the first language, not Chinese’s mother tongue. He emphasized the fundamental purpose of bilingual policy is to “make Singaporeans first identify as Singaporeans, then Chinese, Malay or Indians.”