Lee also urged both sides to get off their high horses and talk. "It's better to talk than to trade statements in the press," he said. In another interview with Asiaweek this month, Lee reiterated his stance on cross-strait relations, saying, "If China does not disintegrate, unification is inevitable."
Although some analysts say Lee is qualified to predict the future scenario across the Taiwan Strait -- citing his past involvement in mediation between Taiwan and China -- many critics argue that Lee's inflexible attitude on the issue has largely reduced his usefulness as a third-party go-between for the two sides.
"His stark standpoints [on the issue] with an obvious bias toward one side will reduce his function [as a mediator]," said Shi Hwei-yow (
The organization is in charge of government-to-government talks with China via its counterpart, the Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS).
In fact, Singapore was where the unprecedented talks between SEF and ARATS leaders took place from April 27 to April 29, 1993. Without Lee's consent and mediation, the talks would have been impossible, analysts said.
But the Singaporean political science professor Lee said his senior minister's remarks regarding cross-strait issues were made from his status as "an observer."
"Whenever he's talking about cross-strait relations, it's from his own perspective. It's more from [his role as] an observer," Lee said.
But other critics said Lee's remarks were mainly related to the considerable business interests Singapore has in China -- considering the fact that the city-state's high-tech economy has become increasingly dependent on China's manufacturing sector.
"Singapore has seen tremendous trade and investment opportunities in China since it established formal ties with China in 1990. To safeguard the national interests of Singapore, it has shaken off its previous policy before 1990 to maintain a balance between Taiwan and China and instead si-ded with China," Chen said.
Singapore's recent intention to lure elite Chinese from overseas to fill the depleting Chinese population in the city-state was another factor that drove Singapore to take a rather pro-Beijing stance when dealing with cross-strait issues, Chen added.
Professor Lee, however, stressed that stability across the Taiwan Strait would create a win-win situation for all parties in the region.
"Singapore has a lot of interest in China in terms of trade and investment. But at the same time we also have substantial economic links with Taiwan. So we encourage both sides to engage in dialogue to sort their problems out. It's for the benefit of the Asia Pacific region particularly to see that there are no major confrontations between the two sides," Lee said.
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