Panda Diplomacy and Chinese/Taiwanese Soft Power to Singapore As China begins its cultural diplomacy offensive towards Singapore with her kind donation of pandas to Singapore, it is timely to know that she has also attempted similar efforts with her pandas with Taiwan a while ago. Unlike Taiwan and Hong Kong, most aspects of popular culture in China have failed to make its impact on most young Singaporeans. With the general disinterest in anything historical, young Singaporeans have not taken to the aplenty (excellent) historical dramas that hit the airwaves frequently on CCTV and regional TV networks. Family style dramas do not make it to airwaves in Singapore.  Chinese pop stars in China are virtual unknowns, with the exception of individuals who have made it out from China earlier in the 90s (Faye Wong and Na Ying). CCTV news is practically unwatchable amongst Singaporeans who have alternatives to CNN and BBC. HK’s longstanding popular stars (四大天王) have hit the Singapore airwaves for decades; and Taiwanese “pop idol” (偶像劇) dramas became popular in the early 00s in Singapore. Taiwanese pop stars now dominate the local charts in Singapore (as opposed to HK stars), just as US singers/groups/bands were overcoming UK boybands/girlbands after the late 90s.  Reality TV Singing shows in China (超级女声) do not reach Singapore, unlike their counterparts in Taiwan (超级星光大道). The PRC army and the SAF do not train frequently together, even though that is slowly changing. Ability for many young Singaporeans to do their joint exercises in Taiwan (for many of them, it is the first time they have traveled beyond Malaysia and Batam) have allowed many NSFs to partake of Taiwan’s culture during their R&R days. The fascinating of many young Singaporeans with Japan and Korea also trickled down to Taiwan, which shares many aspects of their popular culture with the former two countries. Ironically, my impression is that Chinese political and social news are more frequently reported than Taiwanese political and social news in the Singapore English media; not since few young Singaporeans are interested, perhaps such privileging of reporting have more limited effects on Singaporeans. More importantly, I have observed that most of my Singaporean friends travel to Taiwan or Hong Kong frequently for their holidays, reaffirming their connections with these polities. It is surprising how many of them have never gone to China (beyond Shenzhen), and do not express interest in doing so. Would panda diplomacy/giving of scholarships to Singaporeans to go to study in Beida and Fudan change the future of Singaporeans’ cultural orientation? Defamation Suits and the Spillover Effects? Could the decision by Singapore Swimming Club members to initiate criminal defamation suits be the indirect cultural influence of longstanding criminal defamation suits against certain opposition figures in Singapore? The AGC is trying to stem the emergence of such a precedent, but is it fighting a cultural practice that stemmed from on high? Interesting Ads from Taiwan’s parties Interesting ads from the DPP in Taiwan. I am always amazed by the creativity of Taiwanese parties’ ads. From the KMT’s camp: Translation from Singapore/British to USA terms I wish I knew this when I first came to the US. I have compiled this list from my experience in the US. Hope this will be useful for anyone traveling, working or studying in the US from Singapore. Also helpful if you are watching US drama/tv/news/media. 1. Slippers = Flip-flops 2. Perpendicular = orthogonal 3. anticlockwise = counterclockwise 4. rubbish bin/dustbin = garbage/trashcan 5. university = college (usually) 6. fortnight = biweekly (I just learned this two weeks ago! haha) 7. funfair = carnival 8.blur = confused 9.carpark = parking lot 10. hire purchase = installment plan 11. inverted commas = quotation marks 12. invigilator = proctor 13. Ladybird = Ladybug 14. lorry = truck 15. highway = freeway/expressway 16. number plate = vehicle registration plate 17. sleeping partner (in company) = silent partner (in company) 18. spot on = right on 19. swimming costume = swimsuit 20. wage = pay packet 21. takeway = takeout 22. bath = shower 23. petrol station = gas station 24. no commas before and = usually commas before and 25. abseil = rappel 26. Torch = flash light 27. wholemeal bread = whole-wheat bread/brown bread 28. van = delivery truck 29. current account = checking account (!) 30. queue = stand in line 31. smack = spank (usually) 32.windscreen = windshield 33. postgraduate studies = graduate studies And of course 34. zed (Z) = zee (Z) Rising of Electricity Prices due to increase in fuel prices? The Singapore Power’s decision to raise Electricity prices by 12.5% can be seen as going against the global trend of cutting fuel prices. A google news search of “fuel prices” says it all: This dramatic rise in electricity rates surely means a postponing of the election in Singapore  – maybe to after next year Budget/National Day Rally where goodies will be served (like a 12.5% decrease in electricity prices for 2 months?). Headlines from Google news aggregator for the term “fuel prices” (Sept 29, 2009): Electricity prices to rise Straits Times - Jermyn Chow – ‎2 hours ago‎ ELECTRICITY charges will go up by 12.5 per cent from tomorrow on the back of higher fuel prices, utility provider SP Services said yesterday. … Electricity tariffs for households to go up by 12.5% in Q4 Channel News Asia Electricity tariff to go up Straits Times China to cut fuel prices, likely by 3 percent Reuters - Eadie Chen, Chen Aizhu – ‎17 hours ago‎ Home heating prices are cooling off Fall River Herald News - Dave Souza – ‎Sep 28, 2009‎ While much of the problem with last year’s skyrocketing fuel prices had to do with low inventory amounts, Giudice said it’s just the opposite this year, … Experts say heating oil price rise will be slow burn in the Lehigh … Allentown Morning Call Heating oil prices should remain relatively stable this winter Tarentum Valley News Dispatch Heating oil prices cool down as winter approaches The Associated Press Fuel prices continue to fall across Texas Bizjournals.com - ‎Sep 24, 2009‎ Motorists throughout Texas are continuing to pay less for gasoline at the pump due to lower driving demand and falling crude oil prices, according to the … Fuel prices drop as fall arrives Mohave Valley News Oil and gas company INA cuts fuel prices. ISI – Emerging Markets - ‎13 hours ago‎ The national oil and gas company INA lowered the diesel prices by more then 1% and petrol prices by more than 1.5%. The price of the most popular fuel, … Humanities and the Social Sciences in the United States I wrote a short article sometime ago on the nature of humanities and the social sciences in the U.S. I hope it will be useful for prospective students, current college students deciding on a major and the general public to understand how the HSS operate in the U.S. I welcome feedback and comments. Needle Rumors and Soulstealers Reading about this piece of CNN News really reminds me of Prof. Philip Kuhn’s Soulstealers. The complex mix of Chinese bureaucracy, rumor mills, resistance, and power is very well explained in the Soulstealers. Could shed critical light on the current situation in Urumqi. CNN News (first paragraph – refer to the above link for full article): URUMQI, China (CNN) — Reports of alleged syringe stabbings in a restive western Chinese city are generating a bit of panic, but doctors say some people have incorrectly concluded they were attacked with needles. Review of Soulstealers: Midway through the reign of the Ch’ien-lung emperor, Hungli, in the most prosperous period of China’s last imperial dynasty, mass hysteria broke out among the common people. It was feared that sorcerers were roaming the land, clipping off the ends of men’s queues (the braids worn by royal decree), and chanting magical incantations over them in order to steal the souls of their owners. In a fascinating chronicle of this epidemic of fear and the official prosecution of soulstealers that ensued, Philip Kuhn provides an intimate glimpse into the world of eighteenth-century China. Kuhn weaves his exploration of the sorcery cases with a survey of the social and economic history of the era. Drawing on a rich repository of documents found in the imperial archives, he presents in detail the harrowing interrogations of the accused–a ragtag assortment of vagabonds, beggars, and roving clergy–conducted under torture by provincial magistrates. In tracing the panic’s spread from peasant hut to imperial court, Kuhn unmasks the political menace lurking behind the queue-clipping scare as well as the complex of folk beliefs that lay beneath popular fears of sorcery. Kuhn shows how the campaign against sorcery provides insight into the period’s social structure and ethnic tensions, the relationship between monarch and bureaucrat, and the inner workings of the state. Whatever its intended purposes, the author argues, the campaign offered Hungli a splendid chance to force his provincial chiefs to crack down on local officials, to reinforce his personal supremacy over top bureaucrats, and to restate the norms of official behavior. This wide-ranging narrative depicts life in imperial China as it was actually lived, often in the participants’ own words. Soulstealers offers a compelling portrait of the Chinese people–from peasant to emperor–and of the human condition. National Pledge, the Super Sign and other Crutches of Humanity My latest article on the recent exchange between the NMP and PAP Ministers and MP on the Singapore pledge in the Singapore Angle. Interesting Article – Rethinking politics, economics and media Are economic events motivated by immediate political events? The issue is larger than this article on the Taiwanese context, but on the deeper relationship between the media, politics, stock markets and economics. It is also very relevant to the Singapore context, when certain political forces are constructed over time and space to be “stabilizing” and therefore “better” economically for the country. After all, stability is the biggest star that is missing from the Singapore flag, which our leaders praised. Ironically, more Singaporeans would agree with the inclusion of such a star as the other stars on the flag. Published on Taipei Times http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2009/08/07/2003450525 What’s behind Taiwan media bias? By J. Michael Cole 寇謐將 Friday, Aug 07, 2009, Page 8 Since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office in May last year, financial analysts have shown an alarming tendency to attribute rises on the Taiwanese stock market to “closer relations with China” or the signing of agreements between Taipei and Beijing, while drops on the local bourse have often been blamed on rallies organized by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Those assessments — which are picked up by news wire agencies and newspapers — often ignore macroeconomic variables and regional trends that explain stock fluctuations far better than local political developments. For example, a modest rise on the Taiwanese stock exchange on July 27 was far more likely to have resulted from global optimism about a financial recovery than the “election” the previous day of Ma as chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). And yet, news agencies — quoting or paraphrasing analysts from global financial institutions, both “local and international,” as a reporter at a major wire agency told me during a telephone interview on July 29 — wrote that the 0.79 percent rise was the result of Ma’s election and a congratulatory missive from Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤). That very same day, every market in Asia was up, not because of developments in Taiwan or even warming ties across the Taiwan Strait, but because investor sentiment was turning optimistic, as a number of wire agencies reported. This begs the question: Why are financial analysts and news agencies attributing fluctuations in the Taiwanese stock exchange on local-specific events rather than general macroeconomic trends? Part of the answer lies in the general belief that Ma’s KMT is pro-business, while the DPP is against business (ironically, during his second term, former president Lee Teng-hui [李登輝] of the KMT was far more radical in his opposition to cross-strait economic liberalization than former president Chen Shui-bian [陳水扁] of the DPP was during the first two years of his first term). Still, given the DPP’s pro-independence ideology, the perception that the pan-green camp is not “business friendly” — especially on cross-strait investment and integration — is almost universal, which invites the belief that its actions are aimed at derailing efforts to increase cross-strait financial cooperation launched by the Ma administration. These perceptions alone, however, do not explain why financial analysts would deliberately attribute stock exchange negatives to the DPP and positives to the KMT. Something else must be at play, such as institutional biases or self-interest. Starting in the mid-1990s, the nature of Taiwanese investment in China changed dramatically after a revaluation of the New Taiwan dollar severely increased the cost of manufacturing domestically, forcing Taiwanese companies to increase their investments abroad. Cultural and linguistic affinities, along with cheap labor and investment incentives, made China a logical choice. Over the years, the size of the Taiwanese companies investing in China also increased dramatically, as did the nature of the products that were manufactured there. In recent years, powerful companies in the electronics and computer sectors, among others, have established a foothold in China. At least part of the billions of dollars required by those companies to develop business operations in China likely came in the form of loans by financial institutions and other private investors, who have an interest in seeing those investments prosper. Anything that threatens the return on investment — such as tensions in the Taiwan Strait, the threat of embargoes or war — is therefore unwelcome by banks and investors who have a stake in stability. Given, as we have seen, the DPP’s pro-independence mandate and Beijing’s claims on Taiwan, the DPP has therefore come to be seen as a “destabilizing” factor, while the KMT, which favors cross-strait economic integration and warmer ties with Beijing, is now perceived as a “stabilizing” force. For Taiwanese companies operating in China (many, though not all, are either pro-KMT or silent about their pan-green political inclination lest they be singled out by Chinese authorities, as has happened in the past) and their financial backers, the KMT is seen as a far safer option when it comes to safeguarding their financial interests. What this means is that the same financial institutions that lend money to Taiwanese companies operating in China will tend to produce, or develop intimate relations with, analysts who rather than being neutral, will politicize their assessments in a way that reflects the financial priorities of their masters. If this means portraying the KMT as business-friendly, or overemphasizing local developments in a way that favors the KMT as a means to explain fluctuations in the financial market, so be it. Equally important is the fact that many Taiwanese firms, for reasons ranging from insuring their business interests to raising enough capital, have formed multinational corporations (MNCs) with other countries to operate in China. Usually on a bigger scale, those MNCs require huge amounts of capital that can only be obtained from major financial lenders (according to statistics, 400 of the Fortune 500 multinational companies have made direct investments in more than 2,000 projects in China). Given the stakes, those lenders will also seek to ensure that their investments are shielded from the possibly disruptive consequences of rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait. Consequently, MNCs and their international financial backers will tend to disparage the DPP while encouraging the KMT to consolidate stability by accelerating economic integration with China. (This view in part stems from the contentious theory in political science that increased trade between two entities will, over time, reduce the likelihood of conflict or war by raising the cost of conflict.) Maximizing investments and protecting financial interests register far more with those multinationals and financial institutions than the question of Taiwanese sovereignty, which is the raison d’etre of the DPP. Lastly, we must turn to the convergence of the business sector and the rise of media conglomerates for possible conflicts of interest, which could also account for the bias against the DPP in news reporting. Over the past decade or so, the number of leading companies in the information sector has drastically narrowed. News organizations like Thomson Reuters, Dow Jones and Bloomberg have branched off into other sectors and bolstered their empires through mergers and acquisitions. Thomson Reuters, for example, which has more than 50,000 employees and operates in 93 countries, now operates in the scientific, tax, accounting, legal and media sectors, with revenues last year totaling US$13.4 billion. Like any other major company, Reuters Thomson has sought to expand in China, hoping to tap into the potential 1.3 billion customers there. One recent example of this is the Scientific business of Thomson Reuters, which in September last year formed a partnership with the Investment Promotion Agency of the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China to create a “World Innovation and Investment Promotion Platform” to boost the soft infrastructure of China’s high-tech zones, Xinhua/PRNewswire reported on Sept. 10. As Mark Garlinghouse, vice president for Asia Pacific at Thomson Scientific, said: “The Scientific business of Thomson Reuters has long been a recognized information partner of top Chinese universities and government institutes such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China’s largest government research institute … We also provide patent, scientific and technical information to … well-known Chinese companies.” This is just one example among many of media companies diversifying their business and entering lucrative marketss with both the private and government sector in China. As incentives increase, and with the promise of lucrative contracts with the cash-heavy Chinese authorities always in the background, it is likely that pressure — subliminal or as the result of direct external persuasion — will eventually build for those companies to “adjust” the information they provide in their news coverage so that it dovetails with their business interests. Time Warner’s ownership of CNN, Disney’s ownership of ABC and General Electric’s ownership of NBC are all examples of conglomerates imposing added business pressures on news organizations. It is quite possible that portraying the KMT-CCP dyad in a favorable light — at least on the financial front — while painting the DPP in negative terms is the latest iteration of this phenomenon. As long as big business, MNCs and their financial backers see the DPP as a “destabilizing” threat to Taiwan Strait economic integration, we can expect that the media conglomerates that are increasingly beholden to (if not part of) those giant, multifaceted corporations will continue to disparage the DPP and favor the KMT via stock market analysis. J. Michael Cole is a writer based in Taipei. A guide to overseas studies (in the United States) A TJC alumni has set up this website which provides comprehensive information about studies in the US and other countries. What is cool about the site is that it tries to be relevant to the Singapore JC context, rather than to US students. I’ve contributed a little to it, and hope it would be helpful for those thinking of applying to the US. What professional historians really do I thought the first 3 paragraphs of this article really describes what professional historians do, rather than the myth that they are professional accumulators of facts and figures. A must read. My view: professional historians must be better than wikipedia, baidu and google. Or else there’s no need for them. From the article: When out and about as an ordinary person (walking through the neighborhood, sitting in the dentist’s chair, shopping for lawnmowers), the response I get if I mention that I teach history unnerves me. My new acquaintance tells me about their remarkable child who can list every Civil War battle or confesses to having a poor memory for facts. When I say, “I can’t remember any facts either,” they look at me suspiciously as though I must not be a good history teacher. Whatever I say, I can’t seem to sell history as I understand it to people who “know” that the historian’s job is to accumulate information. That most Americans misunderstand what a historian does has consequences for college students. I saw the problem repeatedly in my three-year term as undergraduate director for history at the University of Connecticut. First-year students entering as history majors often excel at memorization. They do know all the Civil War battles. They come to college wanting more of the same, and as they progress through the major, they resist what we teach—that history is a series of endless questions; that the seemingly omniscient, authoritative voice of secondary sources cannot be trusted; and that historians construct arguments or narratives based on surviving evidence. These students discover they are in a major that is incompatible with their interests and skills while there are other students—those who hate history because they do not like accumulating facts—who may have a real talent for history as we understand it but who will never see the possibilities history offers them. They end up in history classes only to fulfill general education requirements. And students forced to take history by requirement will not see history’s purpose as anything other than the accumulation of information because their one history class will most likely be a Western civilization, world, or U.S. history survey class, where they do indeed have to memorize several hundred years’ worth of details, or “facts,” to pass exams. Eventually, the general public might come to see history in a different way. The PBS series History Detectives could change perceptions. A fun and engaging show that solves historical mysteries in archives and at microfilm machines, it depicts work on screen that is familiar to me in my life as a historian. However, the show’s “renowned experts in the world of historical investigations” (an architecture professor, sociologist, and two appraisers) are not academic historians.1 They often visit history professors at this college or that university and have a conversation in which the professor speaks knowingly about what happened in the past. Consequently, the four investigators appear as seekers of knowledge, but the history professors appear only as repositories of knowledge. Implications on Local Defamation and Sedition Laws? From Times Online July 15, 2009 ‘Arcane’ laws of sedition and criminal libel scrapped Laws dating from the Star Chamber that can see people jailed for speaking out are to be abolished after a campaign by writers and actors, lawyers and politicians. Frances Gibb, Legal Editor Lord Bach, the Justice Minister, has bowed to the weight of criticism and agreed that the offences of sedition and criminal libel are “outdated” and should be abolished. “Sedition and defamatory libel are arcane offences from a bygone era when freedom of expression wasn’t seen as the right it is today,” he said.But it was not just a case of removing some redundant offences. The laws may not have been used much lately in Britain, but their significance was the legitimacy they provided to other countries to suppress public criticism. As Lord Bach acknowledged: “The retention of these obsolete offences has been cited by other countries as justification for the retention of similar laws that have been used to restrict press freedom.” The laws have been the target of a campaign by a coalition of writers, lawyers, entertainers and politicians, and have drawn criticism from such names as Rowan Atkinson, the actor, and Andrew O’Hagan, the writer, as well as from the groups Index on Censorship, Liberty, English PEN and Article 19. Strong opposition in Parliament was led by Dr Evan Harris, the Liberal Democrat MP, and by Lord Lester of Herne Hill in the Lords. Both tabled amendments in the Commons and the Lords to the Coroners and Justice Bill. Lord Bach agreed to accept the amendments in principle and will now bring forward a Government amendment that will achieve the same effect. The offences date from the time of the Star Chamber and were used in 1792 against Thomas Paine on the ground that the Rights of Man brought into hatred and contempt the present sovereign, Parliament, kingdom, constitution, laws and government. An act of sedition is one that incites hatred or contempt for the king, government or constitution. It is widely cast: sedition is any act done or word spoken or written and published which has a “seditious tendency” or done, spoken or written and published with a “seditious intent”. Criminal libel is rare but similarly oppressive. Even though the vast majority of libel actions are brought through the civil courts, crown prosecutors can press charges for criminal libel if it is thought to be in the public interest. The penalty is up to two years in jail and an unlimited fine. Something is considered defamatory if calculated to expose a person to public hatred, contempt or ridicule and involves publishing something defamatory in writing or any other permanent form. Peter Hain, the Cabinet minister, narrowly escaped a prosecution for criminal libel 30 years ago. As an anti-apartheid campaigner, he had used a magazine to name Geoffrey Rippon, the last Tory environment secretary, as the third minister in the Norma Levy call girl scandal. The scandal prompted the resignations of Lord Lambton, the then defence minister, and Lord Jellicoe, the then Lord Privy Seal. Lord Lester told peers there were four prosecutions from 1948 to 1975; five committals for trial between 1970 and 1983; 13 people found guilty or cautioned between 1984 and 1995 and five were found guilty or cautioned between 1996 and 2001. Five libels were reported to the police from 2002 to 2007 and two people were found guilty up to the end of 2006. In 1977 the Law Commission, the Government’s law reform body, recommended abolishing the offence of sedition; and in 1985 that the common law offence of defamatory libel (criminal libel) be replaced with a narrow statutory offence. Lord Lester, who led the charge in the Lords with an eloquent history of the use of the offences including by the British Raj, said in debate: “Across Europe and the Commonwealth, similar offences exist and are used to suppress political criticism and dissent.” Abolishing the laws, he said, would set an example elsewhere and might encourage the European Court of Human Rights to “adopt a robust position in reviewing such laws and their operation”. Dr Harris said: “It may be decades late in coming, but the acceptance by the Government that our retention of these repressive laws causes much more harm than good is welcome. The UK must set an example to the world in getting rid of anti-speech offences.” Article 19, which has campaigned for the reform for many years, also welcomed the move, as it would “make Britain the first Western European country to take this step”. Dr Agnes Callamard, the group’s executive director, said: “This measure will send a very strong and clear signal globally that democracies do not have criminal defamation laws. No longer will repressive countries be able to justify their criminal defamation laws on the basis that such laws exist in established democracies such as the UK.” The UK will now join countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia, Ukraine as well as Ghana, Sri Lanka, the United States, New Zealand and Mexico, which have abolished the offences. Other groups also hailed the victory. Lisa Appignanesi, president of English PEN, said: “Thomas Paine would be pleased to know that 217 years after his conviction for seditious libel, the law which criminalised his ground-breaking Rights of Man, is at last poised to be repealed.” Jonathan Heawood, director of English PEN, said that the news would be of comfort to the hundreds of writers around the world who have been persecuted for criticising their governments. And Jo Glanville, editor of Index on Censorship, said: “We are well rid of these insidious laws. Every month, we receive reports of governments using sedition and defamation laws to suppress legitimate criticism. In many cases, just the threat of prosecution is enough to scare journalists and campaigners into silence.” Meanwhile, Lord Lester is hopeful of one further victory to crown his success. In Ireland, when the Defamation Bill becomes law, it will scrap the old offences of seditious, obscene and defamatory libel. But the reform is accompanied with the creation of a much-criticised new statutory offence of blasphemy. This new offence, he warns, may come to “exercise a chilling effect upon freedom of speech and open the door to questionable and politically charged prosecutions”. It is a “great pity”, he suggests, that the forthcoming referendum on the Lisbon Treaty cannot be accompanied with a second referendum on the same day, to “get rid of this historical relic of British colonial rule – as was done with the abolition of the death penalty in 2001”. That would be better than keeping blasphemy alive “in a strange twilight existence” Lee Wei Ling, State Powers, Hong Kong and the Global Spectacle of Health What do you think about Dr. Lee Wei Ling’s calls for the Swine Flu virus to come in and infect the population so that Singaporeans would have immunity during the “next round” of Swine Flu virus? The paranoia exhibited by East Asian states and people as opposed to their counterparts in Americas due to the shadow of SARS has reinforced the regime of hygenic modernity in the region. As state powers continues to broaden and deepen to discipline the body politic, opposition to such a regime has been largely absent. The control of tourists and their actions in the Metropark incident in HK must rank as one of the ironic accomplishment of a supposedly open and pluralistic city. Watching Metropark hotel by bystanders in HK reflect a sense of global spectacle in a local context – like viewing animals in a zoo where unknown tempers and viruses are always struggling to break free. As love blossoms within Metropark hotel for 2 couples, the only case of which the Swine Flu brought together individuals rather than seperating and isolating them becomes a sideshow to the dominant representation. From New York to Sydney, East Asians are being judged on a pedestal of hygenic modernity that was brought to HK and China in the late Qing period. Yet, the silence by Asian countries on their western counterparts’ inability to control the H1N1 across the Pacific is strangely loud, perhaps reflecting the important of refractive forces such as Japanese and Hong Kong experts who are leading the WTO. Clearly, WTO and Asian governments are not in agreement on how to contain the Swine Flu, bringing positive theories of the importance of international organizations by political scientists to the drawing board again. The confluence of ethnicity, technology, hygenic modernity, nationality and the invisible hand of the virus sparked control, compliance and cooperation of the global body politic. Global circulating powers of capitalism has not been able to gurantee mobility for foreigners within and into national spaces and imagination as well as provide a credible solution to treating the flu virus in an immediate way. Instant gratification has to be replaced with weary rethinking of time and space. The scientific lab is elevated to god-like status, while the pharmactical companies and the state are likely to claim their share of glory.. In a weird way, is Dr. Lee subverting such a regime by turning it on its head – the best way to conquer one’s fear is to actually go through with the thing you actually fear? Fear often leads to sacrifice (of others) and how do we judge that as a local, regional and global society? Swinging Reform Party to the Center – Kenneth Jeyaretnam enters the political fray The surprised entrance of Kenneth Jeyaretnam into Singapore’s rather bleak opposition scene represents a fresh air into Singapore’s political landscape. A note of caution would be that KJ should be considered on his own terms rather than on the terms of being the son of the late JBJ. KJ graduated with a double first class honors from Cambridge University in the UK in Economics. If we believe PAP’s rhetoric about the need for a individual to become highly educated so as to become an MP, KJ’s educational credentials places him higher than most of the new PAP MPs in the last election. In terms of political experience, one could argue that he does not have much grassroots experience.  Yet, his relationship with his father, which is best dissected by later historians, is in itself a form of education for him in all forms of politics – from grassroots to parliamentary electioneering. His economic experiences shores up the weak front of the opposition in convincing the electorate of the economic viability of a non PAP government (even that is particularly remote given most of the election’s outcome), even though hedge fund managers are certainly not seen as the good guys neccessarily in this economic climate. Some over exuberant Singaporeans might even called KJ the obama of Singapore given his age, credentials and public speaking skills, but generally having star powers may attract firestorm from opponents. More importantly, while ST journalists predicted earlier that Reform Party (RP) would swing towards the SDP’s side, KJ’s entrance might swing RP more towards the political center (aka the WP). In doing so, it is likely that RP and WP might find common grounds in the next election, which means KJ could contest under a WP’s banner in a GRC. Alternatively, RP might ally with Chiam’s weakening SDA or the stoic NSP. If KJ would to run in a GRC with RP’s members under RP banner, one wonders if the results would be at best a NCMP seat for KJ given the weak brand name of RP. SDP will continue to reach out to RP under KJ, but it is unlikely that KJ would risk his maiden foray into the battle with a party with a huge target on its back constantly. What about the PAP’s reaction? A wait and see is always the preferred strategy for the PAP. The entrance of KJ into the political sphere would please the liberals within the PAP, who might be able to make the case for increased politicial liberalization given the percieved higher quality candidates for the opposition. The hardliners within the PAP might try to dig up JBJ’s past and mistakes to counter KJ, which can backfire on the party given that attacking a man who is not alive is simply underhanded to many electorates.Yet, such actions might provoke KJ to do something politically problematic, which will neutered the initial negative effects of any such attempts. Given that the PAP is increasingly populated with moderates, the wait and see atttitude would be the preferred outcome for the PAP in the short run. It’s time to register to vote For Singaporeans living overseas, it is time to register to vote.If you don’ register, you cannot vote overseas. Even if you registered for overseas voting and happen to be in Singapore when elections happen, you still can vote in Singapore. Don’t be lazy and lose your right to vote. Go to www.elections.gov. For more information, see FAQ Or see Ringsei’s post on SA Perspectives. Merlion Struck by …. Even the Merlion is getting in the mood for election. Struck by Lightning. Analysis of an Impending? Election Image’s source: BBC News Update: PM’s Lee latest interview just proved my point no. 4 Update no. 2: Another clear sign of an impeding Election A more complete report is found in Zaobao rather than ST. Signs elections are coming 1) A goodie budget comprising of literal handouts in the forms of JCS to businesspeople, who have been a relatively solid group for the PAP but rather shaken with the reduction in credit due to banking problems, the general fall in demand exacerbated with the leaving of foreigners and fall of tourism and the rising costs of businesses due to the economic crisis 2) Ong Seh Hong, MP for Marine Parade GRC, declined to reveal the “military secret”  of whether election committee has been formed. 3) Losses from state-linked companies likely to increase in anticipation of worsening economy . More bad news means worse memories for voters when they go into the polling booths. 4) Preparation for the online battle – First, the “liberalization” of the laws regarding placing contents of political/election materials online allows the PAP supporters themselves to react quickly and swiftly during election time. This is unlike the last election where the vagueness of such legality allowed non-PAP (daring) voices to flourish without PAP’s counter rhetoric. Second, the recent revamping of the PAP website which has pictures of 5 young PAP women members also point to a more inclusive imagery of the party online. Third, the ongoing young PAP’s celebration of Obama’s ability to fight online suggest that young PAP activists will not only be sent  to doors to doors like they did during the last few days of the last Aljunied GRC battle, but also byte to byte to restore balance in their perception of the political cosmos. 5) Preparing for offline battles: the recent walk-abouts by heavyweights such as PM Lee and SM God suggests a sense of reaching out to the grould to see if the papaya is ripe again for the taking. 6) Internal debates over replenishing people versus fighting old soldiers – The ST article’s argument that there are no new faces walking about, and thus no imminent election rest on the assumption that such “refreshing” of the party always happen every election. However, PM Lee might feel that there is not such a huge need to replenish the ranks so quickly this time and might instead go to battle with existing MPs and political figures. After all, the eleventh parliament has not lasted for that long and many new MPs remain rather new. 7) State of the Opposition – The PAP might feel the opposition is rather weak in Singapore now. SDP most likely will field only a 6 man GRC team with Chee and his sister likely not to be able to contest. SDA will likely play a smaller role with NSP out and the Chiam factor declining in fostering opposition unity. NSP might not be able to gear up in time to field many candidates to make a difference. WP plays its cards just as close as the PAP, but with James Gomez, Chua Ti Lik and some others out of the party, the challenge for the WP in the PAP minds is to see if WP can generate candidates of similar caliber. The X factor in the next general election is whether a dream NMP-like team (Siew Kum Hong, Tan Kin Lian, Brema Mathi, Dr. Lee Wei Ling) that will emerge to challenge the PAP in a GRC like Holland-Bukit Panjang. Signs elections may not be so soon 1) It takes some time for the budget to have a positive effect on the economy. There is no guarantee that the economy will worsen and might recover in time for an election. 2) It is likely that will be one more big bang by the PAP just before the election – perhaps a sudden annoucment of a decrease in GST to 2% or the suspension of increase of electricity bills as they did in one of the previous election. Kudos to Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III In an age where youth is preferred over experience, kudos to this extremely experienced and calm pilot who saved 155 people.  Also kudos to the quick responses by New Yorkers to this disaster to help save the passengers from the icy river. 155 people could live because they were experienced and learned, the former from his interests in aviation safety and fighter pilot background and the latter because of their training and reflexes after Sept. 11 Since I will be flying the same airline soon, I certainly hope the airline’s other pilots would be just as wonderful. Great news in times of gloom and doom. 1980 Singapore – Successful and (Over)Confident? New post on the 1970s-1990s blog For those applying to US college Informative Q&A in the NY times answered by admission officers from Pomona, Yale and other universities. For those applying to US colleges this year. A New Blog launched – Singapore from the 70s to the 90s I have decided to launch a new blog called “Singapore from the 70s to the 90s.” The aim of this new blog is to act as a repository for popular culture/videos and other writings/news articles from the 1970s to 1990s in Singapore. It will be updated regularly. Please feel free to share stuff on the blog. Hopefully, people interested in Singapore will find the videos, essays and other writings a valuable insight into the recent past. It should be a fun endevor too for someone who was touched on a personal basis by this era. 一定是黑或白的黨嗎? 我覺得最近在海峽時報的讀者篇里談關於一黨專制的利與弊很有意識. 有個讀者問:”如果新加坡當年是由社會主義政線管理的,新加坡 會變成今天的繁華嗎?” 如果新加坡社政成為執政黨,難道我們可以有信心的說行動黨的人員和精英不會跑去投靠社政? 如果這樣,不就等於新加坡也可能會有差不多的領導人管理,也可能一樣的繁榮? 不只繁榮,也可能自然的有多黨派,多媒體的選擇,多公會在代表攻人?新加坡的年輕人會不會對政治比較不冷感呢? 當然我們不會知道歷史會走那一條路, 也許讀者真的已說到了重點, 沒有行動黨,沒有今天的新加坡. 但是我們不應該以為黨是研究和討論的最好的基本結構. 黨是由人來搞的,不是個理所當然而有生命的東西. 假設我們說社政真的在1960年代成為政府. 196５ 年的社政跟1990 年的社政可能会截然不同. 就像1965 年的行動黨和2008 年的行動黨不一樣.如果我們在１９６８年看新加坡的政治未來，我們不可能知道李顯龍會成我們第三個獨立後的總理,也不知道劉程強會能在我國的2008年政治情況生存。 所以說，我們很難用一九六十年代的社政和2008的行動黨比,而且相提並論可能會造成”假問題“的谬论. Poor Commentary from The New Paper – Decoupling Excitement from Politics I find it disturbing that Eugene Wee of the The New Paper would completely buy into the governing political discourse so much as to distort the Other to emphasis on his own privilege position as a reporter for the best selling tabloid in Singapore. Wee bought into the notion that excitement generates political fury that is un-constructive and that a boring administrative parliament have and would continue to create constructive outcomes. Without politicking, what are the roles of politicians then?  The ferocious debating style that marked JBJ in the 80s and 90s in parliament meant that the PAP leaders had to continuously justify their political positions. People who criticize JBJ’s for his lack of constructiveness might want to read “Make it Right for Singapore”, a collection of JBJ’s speeches in parliament, and decide for themselves, rather than glimpses an impression of him mediated through the media or the ruling elites. His presence also played an important role in showing the authoritarian hands of the government, when they decide to remove JBJ from parliament for his “political fury” and “determination to demolish the system” (latter remark by the PAP leaders in a recent “statement”) More importantly, I believe he implicitly inspired people from both side of the aisle  to join politics, and I suspect that even members of the ruling party do respect his views and courage, even as they disagree with him. Without JBJ, would there have been Low Thia Khiang? Without JBJ, would there be Yaw Shin Leong? Without JBJ, would there be Chee Soon Juan? Finally, without JBJ, would there be a PAP that continues to be committed to liberalization today? Second, the cherry picking (unemployment and health care) and personal observation (bullet holes in houses) of certain aspects of St Louis to show the supremacy of Singapore’s system is highly problematic. Going along this lines of cherry picking, I could point out numerous aspects of St Louis that could be construed as a better place than Singapore. St Louis is a much more tourist-friendly place with key attractions such as its Art museum free to the public, thanks to the state government’s subsidization of arts and culture. It also arguably has a better higher education system than Singapore, with the Washington University in St Louis leaping up the charts in the Us news and world report in the last few decades. According to the latest Us news and world report, Wash U is ranked 12, higher than Cornell and John Hopkins University. On Health care according to Wikipedia: The region [St Louis] has built up a formidable health care industry. This is dominated by BJC HealthCare, which operates Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital, plus eleven others. BJC benefits from a symbiotic relationship with Washington University School of Medicine, which is a major center of medical research. Other major players include SSM Health Care, St. John’s Mercy, and the Tenet Healthcare Corporation chain. In addition there is Saint Louis University School of Medicine which is a leader in several areas of medical research and works with hospitals including Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital and Saint Louis University Hospital. St. Louis is also home to two companies that produce radiation therapy planning software, CMS, Inc. and Multidata Systems International. In addition, St. Louis housing costs are significantly (30.7%) below the national average ($217,200). From the mid-1990s onward, the City of St. Louis itself has seen a major surge in housing rehabilitation as well as new construction on cleared sites. As a rule, other costs of living also are at or slightly below the national average. Wages tend to reflect these facts, likewise being at or slightly below the average. Lastly, as much as I have some reservation about Obama, it insults the integrity and emotional elements of American people on their genuine excitement for Barack Obama, the next President-Elect of the United States by calling the entire election potential “for a blockbuster movie”. Politics can be made into a movie, but it shouldn’t be implicitly diminished to the level of actors and actresses playing their roles on a stage that ultimately matters little.  Excitement in politics have increased voting rates, and have pushed many young people to the streets to canvass for something they believed in. Intelligent people take time off their work and play to promote their candidate online, be it Ron Paul, John McCain or Obama, creating important innovations and strategies on online electioneering, which the PAP leaders has recently said they will study and learn from. Understanding politics for these young people meant that people are better able to see the underpinnings of economic  and social activities, unlike many young (not old) Singaporeans who only see the surface and naive levels of economic system in Singapore. More importantly, Obama ran a very tight and commendable campaign, arguably on much higher level than the PAP’s one in the last election, with problematic discourse such as “fix the opposition” and “we will deal with James Gomez after the election.” Obama did not make such mistakes, and excitement about his credibilty was understandable. The New Paper’s political desk under Clarence Chang (not sure whether he still reports) manages to write politics in a way that is interesting to the ordinary folks and I appreciate that. Although sometimes I disagree with Clarence Chang’s reports, Chang is always interesting and writes with common sense. More importantly, Chang is clearly aware of his privileged position as a reporter and that reflects on his personal beliefs. However, I am disappointed with Wee’s style of reporting and perhaps the new paper would like to appoint more insightful individuals in their columns on politics. Wee has now the privilege to be a commentor. Should political commentators in Singapore simply buy into the power structure of discourses?  If we want to raise the standard of political discourse in Singapore as claimed by the dominant powers-to-be, it has to continue with the mainstream journalists, who repeatedly claim their credibility in various self-reflection. Implications of the US election on Singapore Probably one of the best speeches by a McCain surrogate. I have also wondered how Arnold Schwarzenegger could convince liberal voters in the biggest state in terms of population in America to vote for him, considering his seemingly less than brainy roles in his hollywood movies. Yet this speech showed his ability to deliver speeches that could be convincing. It was quite powerful, ironically more eloquent than the candidate himself. John McCain is unlikely to win the election, but Karl Rove’s recent article in the WSJ on the fallacy of polls in general should also be heeded. What does Obama’s victory (if he does win) mean for Singapore elites and ordinary Singaporeans? For Singaporean elites, one big fear is that Obama might re-negotiate the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, which will mean the reversal of a lot of hard work by politicians, businessmen and diplomats in both America and Singapore. Another fear is that Obama would limit the number of people entering the US on certain visas either through immigration or higher taxation on income earned in the United States. For ordinary Singaporeans, the victory would inspire those who seek political change in Singapore to push for an agenda that is based a lot more on rhetoric of hope, bipartisanship and rhetoric. The lack of inspiration by opposition politicans is not the issue in Singapore, but rather the absence of a suave, intelligent and dedicated person behind the fierce rhetoric could be the issue for some. Ironically, the WP would probably be the party to step into the shoes of a potential obama, although the SDP would continue to broaden its niche within Singapore society to try to win power. Fundenmentally, are there people in the opposition willing to work for change with those in the PAP against charges of colloboration, and “selling out”? Would the PAP shift from a strategy of co-optation to that of that of recognizing the values of working with the opposition? Would Singaporeans be sick of the political quarrels and instead turn their energies to civil society, shunning the football teams as PM recently mentioned and instead turn the so call elitist “cricket field” into a democratic soccer field? Yet, there is no guarantee that under an Obama adminstration that there would be less incidences of racism globally, economic recovery for the world and a relatively strong US dollar. There is only a guarantee that the Bush years are finally over, and that the financial costs of invading Iraq would finally be abetted. That might do the world some good. Two Quotes of the Day 1. 天下乃天下人之天下，非一人之天下也。 2. 小 人 者 ， 其 未 得 也 则 忧 不 得 ； 既 已 得 之 又 恐 失之 。 是 以 有 终 身 之 忧 ， 无 一 日 之 乐 也 。 《 荀 子． 子 道 》 Thinking about Mr. JBJ The passing away of JBJ in the midst of one of the worst economic crises since 1997 have left us with the legacy that indeed, there is more to life than financial spreedsheets, data analysis and unbridled risks and rewards. There is something called freedom and democracy, which JBJ stood for consistently in his political career. His one mindneness in bringing about political change have meant that he has lost much monetarily and socially.  He has won and lost parliamentary seats, debated countless MPs from the other side for two generations, spoke at hundreds of rallies and meetings calling for a fundemental re-think of the Singapore spirit, and voted to secure the rights and freedom for his countrymen in parliament. Perhaps the most poignant moment is still his victory at the Anson by-election, which shattered the myth of an invincible and omnipotent PAP,  which continues to be the historical faultline in the othewise dominant PAP narrative. The relentless search for cracks and pains within the Singapore polity to remedy, which irritated contented Singaporeans and even yours truly at times, did not meant widespread dislike for Mr. JBJ. Rather, many Singaporeans often attended his rallies, buy his books, donated money, voted for him and listened to him in his fiery encounters with the powers-to-be. Some even made a play out of him to raise political awarness in the polity.  What most did not do was to vote for the party he represented, and to extend the same respect for him to other members of the opposition. Why will happen next is a question for another time, but at present, if Singaporeans stop to think about JBJ and what he stood for a moment as they contemplate their studies, their AIG shares, their electricity bill, the goodness of our government and their loved ones, I think Mr. JBJ and his family will be satisfied. On the GRC scheme I think many have watched the NMPs’ speeches as well as Sylvia Lim’s opposition to the NMP’s motion on by-election a while ago. WP Hougang MP Low Thia Khiang’s follow up on the debate might not be new but still interesting. An interesting video from the pro-democrat camp in Hong Kong It’s interesting that the democrats in Hong Kong (H.K.), poised for a reduced influence in the legislative, has come up with this ad that is creative but yet runs on some levels of the politics of fear. What do you think? Anson Chan, former Chief Secretory of HK turned pro-democracy legislator, urged HK Voters to stay with the democrats in HK Questioning the leaders on the ground in Iraq It is quite interesting that in the United States, Generals and Ambassadors can be questioned openly by Senators in the Armed Force Committee/Foreign Relations Committee. Seems quite open to me, at least in rhetoric.These videos show Senator Clinton and Obama questioning General Petraeus on the situation in Iraq. On National Day, Underlying Philosophy on Migration and Helping the Poor in Singapore To what extent has recent higher levels of inflation affected the poor in Singapore? It is interesting that the government did not agree to be interviewed for the  Al Jazeera English report, for they have actually taken numerous steps to help the poor according to their own terms. Whether the government would do more for the poor is more than a simple “challenge-and-response” paradigm that critics of the government would want us to believe. Rather it is a deeper philosophical stance underpinned by a historical paradigm. It is different from the contemporary conservatives in Western societies (pardon the generalization here) where they believe that individuals are ultimately responsible for their own welfare. Rather, the PAP conservatism stems from the notion that individuals, within a collective entity, are responsible for their own welfare. Hence the propagation of Workfare, many helping hands (aka CHARITY plus government) as solutions to the challenges faced by the poor in relations to increasing rise of global capital and in the last decade, labor. The notion of workhouses where the poor would have to regulated by the state to work for wages in Ireland in the eighteenth century and later in China in the early half of the 20th century represents the shift between the former form of conservatism (which ironically is happening today) and the latter form of conservatism. Thinking temporally, the PAP state (and by extension Singapore as a “nation-state”) is a new entity in which it is able to more or less subscribe to this general philosophy of helping the poor. The responses from the opposition parties challenge that form of temporal view by critiquing the rise of global labor in Singapore. The opposition parties, especially the WP, has moved from the calls for reduction in cost of living (which will be mean an overall less market-based mechanism in the economy would be difficult for the PAP and many Singaporeans to swallow) to that for calls in the restriction of labor migration in Singapore. Ironically, the rise of the nation-state in East Asia (with many exceptions) in the post-war and Cold war period demanded a less sanguine view of migration, where nationalism and ethnic identity (be it multi or mono) would be fostered by multiple parties to achieve an idealized imagined community. The post Cold war era meant that nation-states were less important to multiple actors in the pawn of realist ideology in the international sphere, especially the liberals in the West (historically ironic in my view). Is it any wonder that Singapore’s recent aims at increasing migration is neither controversial nor problematic for its allies in the West and the East?  The recent rise in migration into Singapore thus is less of an exception but more of a continuity from the pre-independence period, but of course on the terms of the government rather than that of the colonial authorities, the business sectors and hetergenous political and social bases. Yet, the net negative of migration in Singapore has yet to be properly ascertain (I find this plus and minus nauseous to some extent) but for Singaporeans with a view on the recent past (1960 onwards), such a restriction of labor and henceforth a larger economic pie for Singaporeans is very attractive. By linking the plight of the poor and the level of migration, the opposition has taken the path that may be more popular that it intellectually seems. More interestingly though, will the PAP have to rethink their underlying philosophy on the poor if they want to maintain the high levels of migration into Singapore? Is there a zero-sum game between the levels of assistance towards the poor and the levels of migration in Singapore to the view of contemporary Singapore voters?