Japan’s White Lie

Today’s ST carried an article by Kwan Weng Kin and Hau Boon Lai with a title, ‘China’s move to set up defence zone profoundly dangerous: Japan’. The article dealt with an annual defence White Paper that was approved by the Japanese cabinet to criticize China’s Air Defence Identification Zone as profoundly dangerous. Such accusation is often accepted at face value by the innocent and unthinking masses who flipped through the pages within giving it a second thought. ADIZ China, dangerous. Japan said so.
 
What is an ADIZ? Simply it an airspace of a country for identifying aircraft flying into it to know if they are friendly or hostile. It is an identification zone for defensive purposes. Why is it dangerous? Why is it that the Japanese ADIZ is not dangerous? The ignoramous did not know that the Japanese have a similar ADIZ set up several decades ago and extended to the Chinese coast.
 
Again, why is it that the Japanese can set up an ADIZ and is not deemed dangerous but the Chinese ADIZ is dangerous? As mentioned earlier, an ADIZ is just an identification zone of a country, an airspace that hostile aircraft could fly in to attack the country. How can it be dangerous when it is defensive in nature, an identification zone?
 
According to the Japanese, it upsets the status quo. What is the status quo? The status quo is that the Japanese can have an ADIZ up to the Chinese coast and China did not have one. The status quo is that the Japanese can fly their fighter aircraft to intercept aircraft in the ADIZ but the Chinese cannot do so. The status quo said that the Japanese have full military control of the airspace adjoining the two countries up to the coast of China. Is this militarily acceptable, fair, equitable?
 
Why is it that the Japanese have the right to control part of the Chinese airspace and China cannot control its own air space and part of the overlapping airspace? Is the status quo reasonable? It is as good as your neighbor having the right to control and check on all visitors in your garden across the road but you cannot do that to his. And if you want a similar right, your neighbor is going to cry foul to the whole neighbourhood that you are dangerous.
 
Then look at what the Japanese have been doing that is not considered profoundly dangerous. The Japanese have reinterpreted their pacificist constitution so that they can now conduct wars and engage in wars not only in the defence of Japan but in other regions and countries, just like they did before in WW2. Is this not profoundly dangerous? The Americans are pretending they did not know.
 
The Japanese are now saying that they are free to conduct wars like their defeated Empire, and if they are like their barbaric forefathers, would commit the same kind of atrocities overseas. Is this not dangerous, not profoundly dangerous? How does this compare to China’s ADIZ, an identification zone to check and identify unknown aircraft flying into the country?
 
The Japanese White Paper is synonymous to a Japanese White Lie. China’s defensive act to protect its territory is claimed to be profoundly dangerous, but an act to commit wars overseas is not profoundly dangerous? And with their historical records and propensities to conduct wars of aggression, they got the cheek to call China’s ADIZ dangerous when all China did was to protect itself against possible Japanese military aggression.
 
How many fools swallowed the Japanese White Lie totally, hook, line and sinkers?

Kopi Level - Green

Why so few Singapore flags flying for National Day?

Some people, especially the old and patriotic Singaporeans, are lamenting why so few flags are seen on the flats? It used to be nearly the whole block of flats flying the Singapore flags. Now it is like you can count them on your finger tips.
 
Let me explain this phenomenon by arithmetic. First point, not too long ago, the majority of the population was Singaporeans. Then you have the element of being a closed knit society of One People, One Nation and One Singapore. Practically everyone will be flying the flag.
 
What does the number says today? 40% are foreigners. That is 2 foreigners to 3 Singaporeans. By this you can at best get 3 flags flying from every 5 units. But actually if you include the new citizens who are still fresh and not really one of us, you are talking about 50% are Singaporeans and 50% new citizens cum foreigners. This will mean that for every two units, only one will fly the flag at best. So at best, only 50% of the flats will be flying the flag.
 
But of the 50%, 30% are hard core anti PAP which will translate to no flag flying. This will reduce the number of flags flying from 50% in a block of flats to 35% at best. The 30% hard core supporters of the PAP/Govt will mean only 15% of the flats would fly the flag. Thus, for every 100 units, 15 units will be flying the flag(from the hard core supporters) and at best 35 units if all the swing voters are included, the grey area of 40% neither pro or anti PAP. If half of this group will to fly the flag, it will mean 15 + 10 or at best 25 flags will be flying for every 100 units.
 
And if you take away some from these 25 units due to forgetfulness, angry because of summons/fines, or not happy with MPs, or jobless, or for whatever real or unreal reasons, the number of flags flying could be less than 20 for every 100 units of flags.
 
So, the dearth of the national flag being flown in the HDB estates is normal, the new normal, when the population of Singaporeans is so much reduced. This could be a statement of how big is the Singaporean core that is left in the city state. It is a new reality when there are simply too many foreigners living here.
 
Make sense? You can’t expect the foreigners to be flying the Singapore flag right? If they could, as some have done, they would fly their own national flags. They are not Singaporeans and have no reason to fly our flag. They are not one of us.

Kopi Level - Green

Meritocracy versus Marriedtocracy

Since Professor Michael Hor Yew Meng assumed his Deanship in Hongkong University’s Law Faculty, after being by passed for the post in NUS when he was Number Two and first on the waiting list, there have been this funny talk of Marriedtocracy in Sin City. This is best exemplified by Michael Hor’s reply to the media when asked why he was found not good enough and a junior guy, a foreign talent was offered the top job instead, Michael’s reply, ‘I don’t know.’
 
What is this thing called Marriedtocracy? Simply, it is merit by marriage, as was suggested in the rumour mill. One can earn merits by getting married in Sin City. I think this is nothing unusual. It happens everywhere, in different degrees. It is just that in a small City state, oops, I am being dismissive as some think we are the biggest country in the world, when everyone knows everyone, when everyone is living next door to the Who’s Who, there can’t be many secrets that were unknown. All, or nearly all, secrets are public knowledge.
 
This rumour of Marriedtocracy over Meritocracy is just mischievous. There is no such thing in this corruption free state. Everyone is appointed based on merits. This is the secret to the City State’s success story. You can’t have dunces appointed based on Marriedtocracy and expect them to do well. It must be real merit at work. Or else it is only a matter of time when merit sounds more like married. The truth about married, or merit, will surface with time. Merit can last and can survive the test of time. Married often does not last and would lead to divorce, separation and unsavoury marital affairs.
 
As long as the City State continues to prosper, you can bet that Meritocracy is the guiding principle of appointments at the top level. Everyone at the top looks so meritocratic, so bright. But if it flounders, then you will know that Meritocracy should be written as Marriedtocracy instead. The proof is in the eating of the pudding.

PS: I did not coin this term. Pick it up from a post in TRE.

Kopi Level - Green

National Day Protest Rally at Hong Lim

Topic:  Should we unite to build a fair and just society for our fellow Singaporeans?
National Day at Hong Lim Park 4pm to 6pm




A protest rally will be held on National Day organised by Han Hui Hui and her friends.Below are a few of the examples that speakers will talk about on 9 August, 4pm to 6pm at Hong Lim Park:

Foreigners taking our jobs
Lowest public healthcare spending as a percentage of GDP in the world
Lowest real rate of return amongst pension funds in the world
Most expensive public housing in the world
30% of households spend more than what they earn
Hardly any real wage growth
High cost of living – Most expensive city in the world

The speakers include Leong Sze Hian, Patrick Low, Benjamin Matchap, Tay Kok Weng, Pek Chee Yong, Roger Caleb Chua etc etc.

For those who are not attending the NDP at Marina Bay, this is another event that they could attend without the need for an invitation.

Kopi Level - Gteen

SGX is in the pink of health

After two months of public consultations and another two months of thorough studies, the MAS/SGX have came out with several recommendations that would ensure the stock market to be in the pink of health and will continue to grow and grow with reduced risks, and the small investors well protected, with better liquidity and with more choices of stocks for the small timers to invest in.
 
It is a signal that all is well. There could be a few possibilities in the recommendations by the MAS/SGX. A slew of big and drastic changes could mean that things were not healthy, and thus the need to bring out the chopper to get the bad parts out of the way. And if there is nothing substantial that needs to be changed, just a minor tweaks here and there, it is as good as saying all it fine, nothing much needs to be done. Or there is nothing wrong with the stock market, really, sure.
 
Initially I was disappointed to think that the few minor changes would be too small to make any impact on a sick market. I was expecting some dramatic and major changes to save the market from dying. Obviously I was very wrong. There is hardly anything wrong with the stock market. I was being paranoid and saw only the bad stuff that was not there in the first place.
 
For those who think that the changes could be the last nail that goes into the coffin, they will be disappointed. The measures would surely help the market to revive, to survive and to grow in strength.
 
Mark my word, the market will be simply great and more buoyant, with more liquidity, and more investors will be swarming in to invest in the market when the new measures are introduced, just like all the previous introduced.
 
What are the new measures? Never mind. It is the result that is important.

Kopi Level - Green