Former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew (李光耀), praised as Singapore’s founding father, has died at the age of 91, and the question of whether Lee was the “glory” or “dictator” of Singapore has once again become a hot topic.
Singapore is a nation made up mainly of Chinese together with Malays and Indians. After World War II, it became independent from Britain and in 1963 it entered into a federation with Malaysia only to leave the federation and form an independent country in 1965.
Thanks to its English-language policy, globalization has made it an active part of the world economy, and its average per capita income is now more than US$50,000.
Leading Singapore to independence has been the greatest boost to Lee’s position in history. He studied law at Cambridge University and became a lawyer in the 1950s, which helped him bring about Singapore’s independence from Britain and Malaysia.
It is said that Malaysia either abandoned or expelled Singapore due to its underestimation of the financial and economic potential of Singapore’s Chinese society.
If both Hong Kong and Macau, two other former colonies, had continued under foreign rule, perhaps they too could have gained independence instead of being returned to Chinese rule. Due to Beijing’s deceptive “one country, two systems” policy, the glory of Hong Kong, the Pearl of the Orient, which used to shine brighter than Singapore, has faded.
China may brag about being an “ancient civilization” and a “big power” compared with Britiain, but its democratic capacity and magnanimity is much inferior to that of the UK.
Lee led Singapore to independence and glory, but the city-state’s success has been limited to economic prosperity. His political attitude reflected the lack of democratic awareness in Chinese culture, and as a result, the country is now wealthy but not free. From this perspective, he was more Chinese than British.
Former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) and Lee were good friends, but Chiang failed to build the fragments of the old China into a new country after relocating to Taiwan, leaving a politically fragmented Taiwan behind. Since he failed to resolve the problem before he died, he could hardly compete with Lee in terms of historical importance.
Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and Singapore’s Lee could have benefited each other, but Lee Kuan Yew only cared about Singapore’s interests, and had no sympathy toward turning Taiwan into a normal, healthy nation. Meanwhile, since he always thought highly of himself, he was unwilling to submit himself to the talented but arrogant Lee Teng-hui, and the two eventually parted ways.
Some Taiwanese and Chinese have chosen to emigrate to Singapore, which attaches excessive importance to economic development. Its national development might be restricted if it does not review its short-sighted utilitarianism and attach significance to democratic values.
Many Taiwanese officials liked to visit Singapore in the past, but they only gained a superficial understanding by such fleeting visits and learned nothing from the Singaporeans. Now, they like to visit China and make tours to places situated behind the ranks of missiles targeting Taiwan.
Some party, government and military officials have even left the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and their actions are absolutely embarrassing. Without a Taiwanese awareness, there will be no glory for the nation.
Lee Min-yung is a poet.
Translated by Eddy Chang
A series of strong earthquakes in Hualien County not only caused severe damage in Taiwan, but also revealed that China’s power has permeated everywhere. A Taiwanese woman posted on the Internet that she found clips of the earthquake — which were recorded by the security camera in her home — on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu. It is spine-chilling that the problem might be because the security camera was manufactured in China. China has widely collected information, infringed upon public privacy and raised information security threats through various social media platforms, as well as telecommunication and security equipment. Several former TikTok employees revealed
For the incoming Administration of President-elect William Lai (賴清德), successfully deterring a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attack or invasion of democratic Taiwan over his four-year term would be a clear victory. But it could also be a curse, because during those four years the CCP’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will grow far stronger. As such, increased vigilance in Washington and Taipei will be needed to ensure that already multiplying CCP threat trends don’t overwhelm Taiwan, the United States, and their democratic allies. One CCP attempt to overwhelm was announced on April 19, 2024, namely that the PLA had erred in combining major missions
The Constitutional Court on Tuesday last week held a debate over the constitutionality of the death penalty. The issue of the retention or abolition of the death penalty often involves the conceptual aspects of social values and even religious philosophies. As it is written in The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, the government’s policy is often a choice between the lesser of two evils or the greater of two goods, and it is impossible to be perfect. Today’s controversy over the retention or abolition of the death penalty can be viewed in the same way. UNACCEPTABLE Viewing the
At the same time as more than 30 military aircraft were detected near Taiwan — one of the highest daily incursions this year — with some flying as close as 37 nautical miles (69kms) from the northern city of Keelung, China announced a limited and selected relaxation of restrictions on Taiwanese agricultural exports and tourism, upon receiving a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) delegation led by KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁). This demonstrates the two-faced gimmick of China’s “united front” strategy. Despite the strongest earthquake to hit the nation in 25 years striking Hualien on April 3, which caused