Singapore model

Members of the People's Armed Police stand guard near the Bund in Shanghai, China, on 28 February 2023. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

CCP's official ideology may be hampering China's rise

Despite the CCP’s efforts at arriving at new answers with socialism with Chinese characteristics, fundamental issues since Deng Xiaoping’s time and new issues of this era have not been solved. Maybe it is time to recognise that ideology for party governance may not be the best fit for national governance, says EAI senior research fellow Lance Gore. Instead, what is more effective could be constant innovation and seeking common understanding with the people in adherence with common human values.
Ke Huanzhang (left) and Liu Thai Ker are veteran urban planners in China and Singapore. (SPH)

Liu Thai Ker and Ke Huanzhang: Urban planners are servants of the city

How do urban planners go about their work and what contributions do they make to the building of liveable cities? Ke Huanzhang, former head of the Beijing Academy of Urban Planning and Design, is all for the seamless melding of a good ecological environment, living facilities, jobs and public services in a city. Liu Thai Ker, the former chief architect and CEO of Singapore’s Housing Development Board, says a good planner needs to have the heart of a humanist, the brain of a scientist, and the eye of an artist. Tan Ying Zhen speaks to the veteran urban planners as part of a series of fireside chats put together to commemorate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Singapore and China.
Ambassador Hong Xiaoyong says that at this crucial juncture, there is a greater need for a close alignment of development strategies between China and Singapore, and to work together for the future. (Graphic: Jace Yip)

Chinese ambassador Hong Xiaoyong: New journey for China’s development; new opportunities for China-Singapore cooperation

China's next phase of development will focus on achieving high-quality development and building a modern socialist country, says China's ambassador to Singapore, Hong Xiaoyong. Much attention will be paid to fostering innovation and green growth, and in pursuing a coordinated approach in building prosperity for the Chinese people. China will also continue to engage the world through its dual circulation strategy, turning the China market into a market accessible to all. In these efforts, there are many opportunities for Singapore and China to work together, building on their years of cooperation and synergies. Ambassador Hong wrote this article in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Singapore.
In 1988, Lee Kuan Yew met 84-year-old Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping at the Fujian Room of the Great Hall of the People. This was Lee’s last meeting with Deng. (SPH)

Beyond 30 years: History, places and images of Singapore-China relations

In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Singapore and China, Lianhe Zaobao and ThinkChina present "In the Founders' Footsteps", a pictorial retrospective of Deng Xiaoping's visit to Singapore in 1978 and of Lee Kuan Yew's 33 trips to China between 1976 and 2011. Lee Huay Leng, editor of the photobook, says she was surprised not only by how widely Lee had travelled during those years, but by Lee's steadfast belief in China's reform and opening up. His predictions of China's future and its relations to the world also struck her as visionary and prescient.      
Mr Lee Kuan Yew speaking at the People's Action Party's annual conference at the Victoria Memorial Hall, 26 June 1955. (SPH)

Will China also move into the 'post-LKY era'?

Among all of Singapore’s leaders, one name is most closely associated with Singapore: Lee Kuan Yew, or simply LKY. Five years after his passing, has Singapore moved on from his style of strong leadership and what will other countries who are keen to follow the country’s same developmental trajectory do in shaping their political systems?
People wearing masks at VivoCity near HarbourFront MRT station in Singapore on 24 Jan 2020. (SPH)

Chinese netizens: Is Singapore 'zen' or has it given up?

Chinese social media has been rife with commentaries asking if Singapore is being too lax and defeatist in its approach to tackling the coronavirus outbreak. Han Yong Hong says beneath the veneer of calm lies characteristics that are peculiar to Singapore society.
The Chinese officials' experiences help shape the Chinese public’s perception of Singapore. The photo shows a mini Merlion overlooking residential blocks in Suzhou. (SPH)

China’s misperceptions of Singapore

Chen Nahui of the China University of Political Science and Law opines that China's misperceptions of Singapore range from those which are "not too far off" from reality or similar ones, to those that differ in characteristic elements, those that differ because of time-lag, and those that have sprouted from one's imagination. These explained for China's “unrealistic expectations” of Singapore.
 Xi Jinping during a meeting with Lee Kuan Yew: “Mr Deng Xiaoping repeatedly mentioned the need to learn from Singapore when he was alive. This was necessary in the past, and remains so in the present and future.” (Graphic: Jace Yip)

The construction of the Singapore Model in Mainland China

What did the Middle Kingdom with 5000 years of civilisation learn from a country that is 13,344 times smaller and celebrated its 54th National Day in 2019?