Lawrence Wong led a big delegation to Beijing, spent several days there meeting up with many Chinese leaders in an effort to mend relations. The recent finger pointing at China, insinuating China hacking into Singapore's infrastructure and sensitive systems is like going back to square one. China is furious and objected to the allegations. Singapore would not do the same to the Americans or any western countries, as if the West are so innocent from hacking into Singapore.
Singapore's relations with China have not been well from the beginning. Being a British colony, it shared the colonial master's mindset and policies of anti China and anti Communism. For many years, Singaporeans were banned from visiting China at a time when many Chinese were not citizens and China was their motherland. They were Chinese citizens.
Singapore's policy towards China was largely dictated by the pro western colonial trained Anglophiles. This group was very grateful for the opportunities given to them under British rule, as British subjects, not even qualified to be citizens. They forgot that the Brits and the West invaded and looted the motherlands of their forefathers, impoverised their motherlands, and forcing them to migrate here as coolies to earn a living under very harsh conditions. If their motherlands were not invaded and destroyed by the Brits and the West, their forefathers needed not become so poor and had to eke out a living in foreign soil. The crumbs thrown at them from the Brits were loots stolen from the motherlands of their forefathers and from the island of Singapore and Malaya. What was a few dollars to a few individuals compared to the robbing of the wealth of countries? In a way, the Anglophiles were grateful to the murderers and robbers of their forefathers' motherlands.
Till today, many of the western educated Anglophiles still feel inferior to the white men and unconsciously accepted their right to rule Singapore and the world. On the other side of the political divide is the Chinese educated and some western educated elites that know their history and still proud of their culture and dignity, and believe they can be as good as the white men and can rule themselves in Singapore.
The PAP pioneer leaders were a mixed of these two groups of elites. Some of them, including Goh Keng Swee, Toh Chin Chye and LKY were English educated but felt strongly that they were able to govern Singapore without the Brits. They fought to remove the shackles of the British colonial yoke. Though their foreign policies were pro West, at a time when the West was ruling the world and writing all the rules, with the passage of time, they gravitated towards a more independent path, but still stuck under the influence of the western world.
LKY was the one that finally broke free, identifying himself more as an ethnic Chinese elite, though strongly a Singaporean. He made many trips to China to understand China, built up a special relationship with all the Chinese leaders, and invested heavily in China, contributing in no small ways to the successful new China today. Under his watch, Singapore stuck to a strong neutral position in the rivalry between USA and China. Singapore did not yield under the strong influence and coercion of the Americans to take an anti China position. In his final years, LKY was often seen proudly donning his Chinese mandarin attire, something he was proud of, without having to say a word about it. Maybe he was trying to set a new trend, that Chinese fashion is cool.
With LKY out of the scene, the struggle between the pro American and the pro China camps surfaced. You can see how they grinned from ears to ears in front of the white men, would even kiss their asses if no one is watching. The pro China camp was much weaker and could only stayed in the background, pushing quietly for a more balanced relationship with China.
Is the fight to be more pro American against a more balanced relationship with China starting to surface between the two camps? Is this the beginning of more China bashing again, to please the Americans. What is Singapore going to gain to provoke China, like what can Singapore gain in sanctioning Russia?
Singapore is already in the bad book of the Russians. Can Singapore afford to be in the bad book of China as well? Poking at China unnecessarily to please the Americans would have consequences. China is standing up to the bullying of the Americans and the Europeans with greater confidence and resolve. Singapore would be sent flying out of the ring should China turn around and throw a punch. Singapore should avoid being another irritating Mickey Mouse in the rivalry between the Americans and China.
Lawrence Wong is going to have a tough time if China bashing is to rule the day. He is still new and who is in which camp is still not very obvious as many would choose to hide their affinities and remain ambiguous, watching the change of wind. Hsien Loong would play the critical role in this tussle to decide which way the wind should blow. The first salvo has been fired.
