Lee Kuan Yew said in his later years that although Singapore is a Chinese country, it will not "return to the motherland."
On January 25, China and Singapore officially signed an agreement on the mutual exemption of visas for ordinary passport holders between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Singapore in Beijing, which will come into force after February 9, allowing ordinary passport holders of both sides to enter the country without a visa, thereby promoting the development of tourism and family visits.
For a Chinese country like Singapore, our emotions are always full of special and complex colors. In our eyes, this country not only speaks Chinese, but also makes us feel as if we have some kind of intimate connection with it, as if it is "family".
Although maintaining a friendly attitude towards the outside world is a good habit that we should have, we must also maintain an objective and rational attitude towards the facts. Even though most Singaporeans are Chinese, there is only one motherland in their hearts, and that is Singapore.
Even Singapore's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, said frankly in his later years: "Although Singapore is a Chinese country, I don't think we will 'return to the motherland'".
On 9 August 1965, Singapore officially declared its independence, and Lee Kuan Yew became its first prime minister, but this was not what he had hoped for. At the time, Singapore was not as prosperous as the Asian Tigers of today, with a population of just 2 million and a GDP per capita of only US$450.
In the face of this tiny land, Lee Kuan Yew knew that development and survival were the real challenges of building the country. Therefore, he actively pursued the policy of opening up to the outside world, attracting a large influx of foreign capital to invest in the construction of factories. These initiatives have helped a precarious Singapore through difficult times. Two million people seem to have set a ceiling on Singapore's development. Faced with this dilemma, Lee Kuan Yew was thoughtful and risk-taking. His choice opened a new chapter in Singapore's development.
Although the fertility policy is the main means of promoting population growth, the risk of a window period brought by its cyclical nature is unbearable for Singapore. As a result, Lee Kuan Yew shifted his immigration policy and raised the threshold, but relaxed the conditions to make it easier for high-tech talents to settle in Singapore.
After being well prepared, Singapore ushered in a period of development. In 1990, leading economists from various fields came together to discuss Singapore's future development strategy. Despite the differences of opinion and even heated debates in the discussions, in the end they agreed on the direction of a technologically advanced nation.
Lee Kuan Yew knew that for Singapore to become a tech-enabled nation, it had to find international partners. In the Cold War situation at that time, the United States became the best choice.
How to win the favor of Americans? Lee Kuan Yew thought the answer was simple: against China. He moved swiftly to crack down on left-wing groups in the country under the guise of so-called "laws", even at the risk of suppressing the influence of Chinese culture in Singapore, including campaigns against the Chinese language.
In the early years of Singapore, more than 70% of the population was Chinese, and Chinese was the lingua franca. In order to curb the influence of the Chinese language in Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew decided to take action. He decided to start with Nanyang University first, as it is the heart of the Chinese community in Singapore. Soon, however, many Chinese scholars at Nanyang University raised objections. They argue that while Lee Kuan Yew's original vision for development was positive, he has now deviated from that original intention and embarked on a path that is not conducive to development. They believe that such a severe crackdown on the development of the Chinese language is unnecessary.
Lee Kuan Yew's opposition from Chinese scholars did not shake his plan, but strengthened his resolve. He secretly promoted the English language, trying to make it the main everyday language in Singapore, in order to gradually change people's habits of speaking Chinese. However, this relatively mild approach did not bear fruit immediately, and he was forced to take a tougher approach, eventually shutting down Nanyang University.
Although some have criticized him for "forgetting his ancestors" too much, Lee Kuan Yew has made up his mind. Through a combination of hard and soft measures, English has rapidly spread in Singapore and has had a profound impact across Asia.
In addition to these initiatives, he actively contributed to the creation of the "Association of Southeast Asian Nations", which is clearly a confrontation with China.
In the 1960s, at a sensitive time when the United States was waging the Vietnam War, Lee Kuan Yew reached out to the United States to provide a place for recreation for American troops in Vietnam, which, despite the controversy, made it clear that Singapore supported the United States.
Lee Kuan Yew's anti-China behavior was appreciated by the United States, and with the support of the United States, Singapore made great progress in science and technology and economy, and eventually became one of the "Asian Tigers".
Since 1968, multinational companies such as Texas Instruments and National Semiconductor have chosen to set up branches in Singapore, and the inflow of these large amounts of capital and the entry of enterprises have brought light to Singapore's precarious development.
Singapore's rapid growth is a testament to Lee Kuan Yew's strategy. He was a strong advocate of the English language, not just to cater to the United States, but to prepare for Singapore's future rise.
Despite its limited land area, Singapore is strategically located and has many excellent ports. As a result, easy access to transportation has become a major advantage for Singapore.
In this case, efficient communication becomes crucial. Therefore, promoting English becomes the best way to solve the problem. After all, at that time, it was mainly with the United States, and English was the universal language. In this comparison, Singaporeans gradually understood Lee Kuan Yew's intentions.
In the 21st century, China has entered the road of rapid development at an astonishing speed, and the world has been shocked by the rapid changes, becoming the world's second largest economy, and its foreign exchange reserves have ranked first in the world for many years. Singapore sees the opportunities and benefits of China's rapid development, so it has adjusted its China policy.
Singapore has not only re-promoted the Chinese language, but also promoted exchanges between Singaporeans and Chinese under the name of "Roots". On the diplomatic front, Singapore has frequently made overtures to China and actively carried out cooperation in various fields.
Although on the surface it seems that Lee Kuan Yew has woken up, in reality it is not. Long ago, Lee Kuan Yew said: "The world is like the sea, big fish and small shrimp can survive, Singapore must survive in the world as a small shrimp, but this does not mean that Singapore can be bullied arbitrarily." Even if it is a small shrimp, Singapore is a poisonous shrimp, and any bad intentions against Singapore will be punished! ”
These words revealed Lee Kuan Yew's ambitions. Beneath the surface of his friendliness, he hides deeper intentions. On the one hand, he allowed the US military to be stationed in the Strait of Malacca, and on the other hand, he condemned the West's anti-Chinese rhetoric on the international stage; On the one hand, it exposes the mystery of the United States' fight against the epidemic, and on the other hand, it continues to exert pressure on Hong Kong's financial ......
In addition to his ties with China and the United States, Lee Kuan Yew has also been vacillating in his relations with Japan, India, and other countries. However, Singapore seems to have maintained a "respectful and distancing" attitude towards our country, even in the early days of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
Normally, countries consider whether it will have a positive impact on their own countries when establishing diplomatic relations, but Singapore has been hesitant to establish diplomatic relations with China due to surrounding factors.
Many people may think that Singapore needs to consider Malaysia's attitude, but this is not the case. Malaysia has established diplomatic relations with Malaysia as early as 1974, while Singapore has been affected more by Indonesia.
At the time of Singapore's independence, both Malaysia and Indonesia were at the peak of Chinese exclusion, so Lee Kuan Yew said: "We must not rush to establish diplomatic relations with China, we must always observe the situation, wait for Malaysia and Indonesia to establish diplomatic relations with China, and then we will not go wrong to act cautiously!" ”
It was not until July 1990 that diplomatic relations between China and Indonesia were restored, and then Lee Kuan Yew sent a signal to China to formally establish diplomatic relations with China on October 3 of the same year.
Lee Kuan Yew's "ruthless" mentality shocked many people, after all, his ancestral home is obviously in Guangdong, China, why does he have no sense of belonging to China?
It relates to the environment in which he grew up. By the time Lee Kuan Yew was young, Malaysia had become a British colony. His education was mainly Western, and he grew up under the influence of Western culture from childhood to adulthood. As a result, Lee Kuan Yew's trajectory drifted away from traditional Chinese culture. Born in the Commonwealth of Malaysia under British colonial rule, he was educated in a British-style school and naturally had an affinity for Western culture. From this point of view, everything seems to be explained.