SHANGHAI: As one of China's richest and most developed cities, Shanghai has always been a magnet for migrants - both internal and international. I had been drawn to it because it was the global face of a newly confident country, finding its feet after decades of internal strife, foreign subjugation, and failed experiments with collectivisation.
Coming from a city-state of 6 million, it felt like a privilege to be a small part of the megacity of 25 million, pushing things along. Like anywhere else, problems - such as vast inequalities and unequal development - exist, but overall, living standards are high and improving, and people are optimistic about their future.
Then, the seemingly endless lockdown began, shifting sentiment.
I am currently into my sixth week of lockdown in Shanghai. A sustained spike in cases triggered an indefinite extension of the lockdown, in line with China's zero-COVID policy. Since then, daily cases rose from around 6,300 (including both symptomatic and asymptomatic cases) in early April, to nearly 28,000 around mid-April, and tapered down to around 4,000 in early May.
The above is written by a CNA reporter/journalist, Linette Lim, stationed in Shanghai and sharing her experience of the Shanghai locked down. Her impression would make every Singaporean feel so proud and lucky that they are Singaporeans, and living under a very efficient govt that managed the Covid19 pandemic so well, so transparent and so well appreciated by the Singaporeans. For 2/3 months Shanghai was like panic station with the infection cases surging to a high of 28,000. Fortunately or unfortunately, the number has come down to around 4,000, quite the same as Singapore's. If only Shanghai has sought the assistance of our MMTF, they would not have such a big problem and would have been as good as Singapore and can open up to the rest of the world.
And Shanghai also have problems of vast inequalities and unequal development...unlike Singapore. Read already also feel shiok. Shanghai really got a lot to learn from our millionaire experts in Singapore. First they must pay their leaders in the millions to get millionaire quality performance and results. Good results don't come cheap. You pay peanuts you get monkeys. On this note, I think we can excuse them for their mediocre performance. After all their leaders are all mediocre, earning less than $500,000 pa, maybe less than $100,000 even. So no fight in terms of talents and quality. If they cannot pay them like our millionaires, they can hire a few of our foreign talents working here, slightly cheaper but very talented. Third world super talents are all here as they would not be able to find jobs in their home countries or in the West.
Singaporeans must be thankful and grateful to the efficient and transparent govt that we have, with so many super talents working for the people. See, Covid problem like no more already. Shanghai is still struggling and dunno when they can open up and join the lepers of the world.
Reading the CNA article is so comforting for Singaporeans. Singapore is such a wonderful place to be in and Singaporeans are in good hands, the envy of the world. Singapore is again opening its legs wide wide for the third world to be here.
While Singaporeans continue to wear their blinkers, they believe that Singapore is a paradise on earth. and Singaporeans are the most advanced creatures on earth. Some are still trying to teach the Chinese how to progress, how to compete in the international market, even how not to offend the Americans. They did not know that China is operating a space station and sending robots to explore Mars.
Singapore is spending its limited resources studying climate change in the Arctic. Oh, Singapore is also exploring space. Singapore's space programme is cheaper than India. India also has to develop rockets to get to space. Singapore only needs hot air, by hot air balloons.
Some Singaporeans even sneered at the quality of Chinese trains. Still very proud of our mass rapid transport that travelled at a speed of 25 kph to 30 kph and has to slow down when raining, for safety reasons. They did not know the Chinese trains are travelling around the world at speeds of 300 kph, 400 kph or more than 500kph.
With the blinkers on, everything is so fine and so good in Singapore. They don't even know that the talents in Singapore are mostly imported and Singaporeans are turning to be taxi drivers and food delivery boys, or security guards. Now with the opening up and removing of Covid measures, wonder what would the Singaporean security guards be turning to if they are not needed.
But many retirees are still living very well by cashing out from their homes, downgrade and get cash to live well, very well. Where got problem? COEs are shooting sky high, restaurants are full, Singaporeans are eager to travel again. Singaporeans are rich, very rich. There is no poor Singaporeans in Singapore. Maybe you can find a few poor Singaporeans in the neighbouring islands.
For a moment, I taught I have visited the wrong website. This place has become a "Feel Shiok" section, for everyone to come here to "feel good".
ReplyDeleteHahaha, just feeding everyone with some drugs.
ReplyDeleteAlamak, Red Bean. After reading a portion of your story, I already feel I am in some LaLaLand ...got geewheez & like hallucinated by it ...really Shiok Ah sian...
ReplyDeleteWriting feel good article is about self delusion, deceiving oneself. The western media everyday wrote about how well the Ukrainians are fighting and retaking positions from the Russians. At the rate they are going, soon they would be chasing the Russians out of Ukraine.
ReplyDeleteThese are standard feel good articles. Self deception. The truth is the reality on the ground. The Russians are in control of the eastern region and could whack the hell out of Ukrainian positions if they wanted to but not doing. The whole of Ukraine is under the control of Russia with air superiority.
This is the result of years of brainwashing by Shitty Times and ChannelNewsAmerica, to nurture a population of sheeple
ReplyDeleteJust leave it to Channel News America. They have been doing a FINE job for the last 20 years, at least. So much so, they have become accustomed to it.
ReplyDeleteSpreading misinformation and disinformation seems to have become a standard practice, so it seems?
Do u not see Singaporean news correspondents in China have the habit of reporting with the same arrogance and pretentence just like those from the West.
ReplyDeleteDanson Cheong, ST Beijing correspondent, his views are not too far off from those filed by British and American journalists from China.
ST should know they can influence public opinion about a country and everything, no matter how pathetic their circulation has become.
ReplyDeleteSo long as the SGD is one to thousands of lndonesian Rupiah, Vietnamese Dong, Korean Won, tens of time indian Rupee, Thailand Baht, Taiwanese
Yuan and more than 3 times the Malaysian Ringgit, Sinkies shall be the Envy of many. Sinkies are a blessed lot in
the Region, they ONLY
have problem coping with
survival in their own homeland which is one of the Most Expensive to live in. It is an irony but a reality of Sin.
Sigh
DeleteVirgo49;
Sin is also known as Mini Used-arse, the Most Glaring Stooge of the US in S E Asia.
Ownself praise ownself is not fishy?
ReplyDeleteChannel News America is basically digging up all negative news about China. China has got nothing good to be reported.
Elsewhere the MSM is trying very hard to push down China. Even their 4.8% GDP growth in the first quarter of 2022 is touted as weak, compared to the USA's -1.4% negative GDP growth for the same period, which they continue to say is strong fundamentally. Do they now compare the other way round, which is better from the bottom upwards? Is that the new 'Rule of Law' that the world must follow?
Channel News America is also reporting good news for the Ukrainians and USA that Putin is going for a prolonged war. This is just what they want to boost USA's war economy.
Ditto for reporting the good news also that the EU is getting more ready by the day to cut off oil and gas imports from Russia. The best news would be the day they do it instead of 'No Action Talk Only'. Putin has not played his aces yet and Germany is in recession.
Putin should just cut of gas and oil supplies to the EU countries and Japan immediately since all these countries have sanctioned Russia, an unfriendly and hostile act of war.
ReplyDeleteSome even seized Russian assets.
What is Putin waiting for? They are climbing all over his head.
"Vladimir Putin is preparing for a long war in Ukraine, with even victory in the east potentially not ending the conflict, US intelligence has warned.
ReplyDeleteThe warning comes as fierce fighting continues in the east, where Russia is trying to take territory.
Moscow refocussed its troops on capturing the Donbas region after Ukraine resisted attempts to take its capital Kyiv.
But despite this, its forces remain in a stalemate, US intelligence said.
Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, told a US Senate committee hearing on Tuesday that Mr Putin was still intending "to achieve goals beyond the Donbas", but that he "faces a mismatch between his ambitions and Russia's current conventional military capabilities"."
That means the Evil USA is preparing for a prolonged war, not Russia.
Whatever the Evil USA has projected, it means it has intended to go for a prolonged war. This is the TRUTH! The real truth, the whole truth and the total truth, from the mouth of the Almighty God!
ReplyDeletePutin
can destroy Ukraine within days.
He is not doing so to honour the Humanitarian Principle not to harm innocent live.
Anyway,
there is no escape for
Ukraine to avoid defeat unless Russia forgives it.
However,
it is only wise for Russia to annex Ukraine to prevent it from further latent threat.
The American propaganda machine at work, lying that they can fight a prolong war. The EU countries cannot hold on to a deteriorating and eventually collapsing economies.
ReplyDeleteThe US too cannot last for more than 6 months. The Americans cannot bear the pain of deprivation. So do the Europeans.
The European economies would collapse quickly. The inflation in the US, the lack of goods of convenience would turn the whole USA into riot country.
The USA propaganda machine works on the basis of accusing others of intending to do this and that, but is actually a reflection of what the USA has itself already done or intending to do.
ReplyDeleteThey accused Russia of intending to use biological weapons in Ukraine, just to mask their intention. And that has been borne out by the discovery of the existence of bio labs all over Ukraine.
Putin did say he will use nuclear weapons if the stakes are raised too high, but hedging on that, the USA is the one that will use nuclear weapons first beyond any doubt. Who was the one and only country that ever used nuclear weapons on another country? That will tell you what is on their evil mind. The USA will first accuse others of doing what they already did or intend to do, so they can go ahead and do it and blaming the other side.
Singapore tops level of interest, affection of Chinese public for ASEAN
ReplyDeleteWhile the Chinese public shares high interest in ASEAN members, Singapore has become the country that attracted them the most, according to a recent survey jointly conducted by the Global Times Research Center and Centre for Chinese Foreign Strategy Studies, Renmin University of China.
Such a high level of affection is derived from Singapore's balanced policy of mediation—— balancing between major powers such as China and the US, which has been acknowledged by the general public in China, experts said.
The average score of affection and interest for Singapore is above 4, with the highest score of 5, followed by Malaysia (3.8) and Thailand (3.8）, the survey showed, which was conducted between March 15 and April 15 in 31 Chinese provinces, regions and municipalities among the general public aged 18 to 69 and some college students.
The survey collected 2,012 valid questionnaires from the general public and 1,150 from the college students.
"Such interest in Singapore is in line with the general perception," Lü Xiang, research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. He noted that as a Chinese-dominated society, Singapore shares many similarities with China.
Chinese students surveyed are also most attracted by Singapore, followed by Thailand and Malaysia, the survey showed.
Especially in recent years, Singapore's attitude toward China has been changing with the rise of China, reflecting the constant adjustment in the country's diplomatic stance in line with the global situation and trying its best to avoid becoming a "pawn" of the US in containing China, Lü noted.
By excluding the COVID epidemic factor, over 85 percent of the respondents were willing to travel to ASEAN and Singapore remains the most popular destination, according to the survey.
About 45 percent of the people surveyed hoped to study in Singapore and 37 percent wanted to work there. And around 28 percent hope to travel to the country, the survey showed.
- GT
Singapore is the safest country to live in because we have the protection of United States of America. We will never be conquered and we will never be sanctioned. We will prosper under the watchful eyes of the President of United States of America. Don't worry my fellow Singaporeans, sleep easy and peacefully because you are safe and we have the best government in the world.
ReplyDeleteThat was Hell of a good piece of positive thinking without much efforts.
DeleteHope that you can have a good government to ensure that you won't get COVID-19. And even if you have, so what? The most that can happen is a long-term COVID-19, or Death.
So, keep being positive and hope for the best, with an American Government looking after your good self?
So surreal in Singapore, as if there's no coronavirus anymore.
ReplyDeleteWho is paying the price for Singapore’s living with COVID’ strategy?