The tale of a sandwiched city, Singapore.
I’m glad to be part of a Business China event last evening where Ms. Ann Sim, Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of National Development, and Mr. Ho Chee Hin, CEO of Business China graced a dialogue session where Mr. Lim Jim Koon, former Editor-in-Chief of Chinese Media Group in Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and Ms. Han Yong Hong, Associate Editor of Zaobao (联合早报） shared candidly on the delicate situation of Singapore and Zaobao newspaper, where the West thinks we are pro-China and China thinks we are pro-West.
We love sandwiches but no one wants to be sandwiched between two super powers.
In actual fact, Singapore and its press are just pro-business. We are a multi-racial country with a majority Chinese ethnicity population. We are not a big country, instead we are just a highly developed city that is swayed by events on a global level, with the occasional domestic issues amplified by groups ratcheting on the critical race theory from western influences.
The critical race theory suggests that ethnic majority Chinese Singapore suppresses other races. The fact is we get along with each other. We will not hesitate to protect our sovereignty from attempts to insinuate racial tensions, or undermine our beliefs, values and principles.
Zaobao and Zaobao.com adhere to its mission to report factual and objective news. In fact, Zaobao was the first Chinese newspaper to go online in the 1990s.
It’s a window and a portal for both sides of the world to view China through the lens of the only Chinese majority country or city outside of China.
It’s no surprise we get the attention of organizations which seek to use Singapore as a proxy for political gains.
Do we like the attention? We welcome countries who court us for mutually benefiting economic and cultural exchange. It was business as usual and it will continue to be so.
One striking discussion point was brought up and observed by Minister Ann Sim, who learnt that many of her peers and colleagues in the cabinet are an embodiment of Chinese or Asian values despite being educated in English, and not having a strong grasp of the Chinese language.
Our Asian ancestral roots and values continue to shine in us despite being a cosmopolitan city as we carry the dual- identity of East and West.
In my opinion, it’s cumbersome and burdensome at times to get misunderstood. On the bright side, we get to brag about the abundance in choices of food here in Singapore from Korean, Middle Eastern, Western, Chinese, Malay, Indonesian, Vietnamese and etc.
I am Mar Vin Foo 🌿🪟, a Chinese Singaporean, working closely with the West and East alongside our Chinese, Indian and Malay communities.
We can squabble and disagree at times but do remember all of us, both East and West once brought world peace together as a team.
Thank you for a rich and diverse world without making it monolithic!
时间允许的话，会写一份中文篇。🫰