From MFA Press Release

How three communities inspire China

China's business newspaper 21st Century Business Herald interviewed Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew in October last year in Singapore. This is the second part of excerpts from the interview.

What role did Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore - 'Chinese societies' - play in China's opening?

First, I must correct you. Singapore is a multiracial society, not a Chinese society. We are 75 per cent Chinese, but we have 25 per cent Malays and Indians, so that makes the difference.

I think (Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore) have been a great advantage to China because China can see how three Chinese communities have developed. Similar people, similar culture, but mainly of course from the southern provinces. But it is a great advantage for China because it inspires them to do better. If Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore can do it, China must be able to do it. You have more natural resources, bigger population, more talented people and you are doing better.

If Russia had three such provinces - supposing the Baltic states had been Russian, but not part of the Soviet Union, connected with the West - Russia would have seen how they were prospering and why, and the Russians could easily have duplicated the system.

Also, in the early days (of China's opening), there were very poor investments from the West and from Japan. Your overseas Chinese helped to start your industrialisation, especially after the 1989 Tiananmen incident. The West did not invest, Japan did not invest, but the overseas Chinese invested. They made good business, then the others joined in.

Will Hong Kong lose its edge and international status in the future?

Difficult to say. After 50 years, Hong Kong will be part of China. But it will always have a different history because for over 150 years - from 1840 to 1997 - it had an infusion of Western systems, which helped them just as they did Singapore. So I think even after 50 years when they become a part of China, the system of government, the system of the economy, the rule of law will make them different from China.

Assessing the roles of Chinese leaders from the second (Deng Xiaoping) to the fourth (Hu Jintao) generations.

Their roles are not the same. The first stage was Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin, Zhu Rongji. They had to break the old pattern and move from public-owned factories and institutions into more profit-oriented enterprises.

That first phase was from 1979 to 2000. I would say during Zhu Rongji's last five years, there were major breakthroughs. China joined the World Trade Organisation, which forced you to change the system - and will continue to force you to change the system - and made you competitive.

President Hu Jintao, his objective is to balance the development between the coastal and the inland areas. The differences between them have become very big. This is still work in progress. They are trying to build the infrastructure to bring development to the western regions, giving special investment terms for people to invest there because you cannot invest in the west and export by sea.

So you are investing in the west to sell your products in the west, in the Chinese domestic market - and maybe later on, with connections to Central Asia and the former Soviet Union, then you can export to them. That's a long-term possibility. But in the end - and in the end means 30, 40 years - that is the way to go.

I do not believe the western provinces can be as advanced and prosperous as the coastal provinces and the riverine provinces. If you look at the United States, you will see the two seaboards - East Coast and the West Coast. There is more population, more prosperity in the coast than at the centre, except for Chicago - and Chicago because of the St Lawrence River and the Great Lakes, so ships can come in.

I believe you can raise the standards in the inland provinces to, say, about 60, 70 per cent of the coastal provinces. But from the beginning of history, China's poorer areas have always been inland. Climate is not so good, communications not so good, cultural and educational standards not that high. So the bright students who want to advance themselves, they go to the coast or to Beijing for their university and special training. That may continue for a long time because your best professors and your best teachers don't want to go to the provinces.

This is a big problem in India. There are so many little villages. (Good) teachers don't want to go there. So there are poor teachers teaching the children.

The only way to progress is to build towns, big towns. Then, you have all the amenities and the teachers will come, health services can be brought in and there can be connections to the world. This is the way all nations have developed. This is the way Europe developed, this is the way America developed, this is the way Japan, Taiwan and Korea developed.

Copyright ?2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access

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Jan 8, 2009

On the Chinese and Indian models of development

'I THINK it's difficult to compare the two because there are two different entities, two different peoples. China is 90 per cent Han; in India, there is no majority. They have 320 different languages and dialects. It is one country brought about by the British Raj and the railways that the Raj built. Even today, when the Prime Minister speaks, he cannot be understood by the whole nation.

If he speaks in English, he'll be understood by 40 per cent; if he speaks in Hindi, he'll be understood by 40 per cent; if he speaks in Tamil, understood by 7 per cent; and so on. So it is a very difficult country to mobilise.

Also the two systems are different. Theirs is a multiparty democracy - multiparty in the centre, multiparty in the states; and the centre and the states may be under different governments and they may not be working together.

My estimate is they can do 60 per cent of what China has done - unless they make fundamental mental, cultural and constitutional changes. I will give you an example.

About 11/2 years ago, when I was in Bombay, they asked me how Bombay could become like Singapore. So I asked them who runs Bombay. They said Maharashtra state. I said if you want to become like Shanghai, then you make Bombay a state like Shanghai, which is directly ruled by Beijing.

But here they say no, you cannot do that because they would lose their revenue from Bombay. They take the Bombay revenue and spend it on the farmers. So Bombay cannot grow into a Shanghai or a Singapore. So that's a basic fundamental constitutional problem. When I met the leaders in New Delhi, I said why don't you make the change for Maharashtra? (They said): It will never pass Parliament.

Then there are other major problems. Their idea of an ideal society is many, many villages. And they want to bring all the facilities of the cities to the villages. Former Indian president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said that is the way to go. So they asked me.

I said there is no country that has developed through villages. The course of development is through urbanisation. The surplus population from the countryside, as farming becomes more productive, will go to the cities. They will get jobs in factories, in services. They are gathered together and therefore will have good health, education and connections with the world.

A recent example of how they are defeating themselves is what happened when Tata wanted to build a cheap motorcar factory in Bengal. The Chief Minister of the state agreed but the opposition organised the farmers and opposed. Maybe they were not given enough compensation; maybe they just want to oppose. So now Tata is going to move to another state.

They are preventing Bengal from becoming industrialised. If they allow this factory to go up, the farmers will be working in the factories and earning more. More land will be released that they can cultivate with machines and thereby increase productivity.

It is a mindset problem. From Mahatma Gandhi's time, they have always idealised the village as the ideal society. (But) the village is not an ideal society.'


Copyright ?2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access

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Jan 8, 2009

On the PAP and MM's motivation

On why the People's Action Party (PAP), though it has been in power for so long, still has a humble headquarters; and how future generations of leaders can be prevented from erecting expensive buildings for themselves and purchasing luxury cars.

'I cannot forecast what future generations of PAP leaders will do. If they are filled with grand ideas and want to build monuments, that would lose the PAP its prestige.

'We have established a culture of modest living, avoidance of waste and ostentatious displays of wealth and power. We are a political party of a small country. There is no need to impress our people or visitors with our wealth and power. It will be counter- productive.'


On how he would live his life again if he were a boy now.
'Difficult to say what I would do if I were a boy again. My thinking and motivations were forged in an age of tremendous change.

'European empires in Asia were destroyed by the Japanese Army. This was followed by communist guerilla insurgencies that spread all over South-east Asia. They wanted to seize power in the newly independent countries.

'We wanted to get rid of the British. We joined in the United Front with pro-Communists to get rid of the British. Then we had to struggle against the Communist United Front who wanted to take over. Singapore would have been led to disasters.

'My values and motivation were to improve the lives of the peoples I belong to and the country that I am part of. That made me go into politics.'

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Transcript from CNN.com

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet. Watch the full inauguration speech »

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land -- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the fainthearted -- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again, these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act -- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control -- and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort -- even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment -- a moment that will define a generation -- it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed -- why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Episode 5


Season 2 Trailer

Britney Spears - Toxic (drum n bass remix )


Alesha Dixon - The Boy Does Nothing


苏永康 - 我只在乎你


Big Bang: Sunset Glow [붉은노을]


Madonna - Give it 2 Me (Paul Oakenfold Extended Mix)


Aliens ( Sub Focus RMX) - Dr. Octagon


小娘惹-如燕


KARA - Pretty Girl

Side 1: Kluang, Malaysia

During 10 days back in Kluang holidaying, apart from the relaxation and the nice food, one thing that kept going on and on like an energiser bunny is this topic of tuition(补习）

For Malaysia, the school terms only start on 5th Jan 2009. But you can see from my kiddy cousins face, school haven't actually ended. For the entire holiday, they had been going for tuitions after tuitions. My aunts, auntie-in-laws had been comparing and recommending which tuition center to send their kids to tuition which subjects.

Joke 1: I got a cousin, female who I christened "Stupid Pig(SP)"(But that's another story), during one of the school terms, her teacher ask the class, "Who among you need to go for tuition for every single day in the week?" Without thinking twice, SP put up her hand, and upon looking around, she's the only one with the hand up. You see, SP had only 5 subjects for her age, but silly her, she go and add Piano practises and Calculas Classes into it, hence making it seven days. Poor Thing.

Joke 2: My youngest aunt had been making calls and arrangment to get her son and anthoer cousins of mine into some tuitions center. So she source around with my relatives (other aunts and auntie-in-laws) on which tuitions center provide better classes and stuff. At the end of the day, I joke she could compile a list in which she could provide a phone-in services for prospective enquirers, by quoting the subjects and age of the candidate, she could provide a "best" tuition center for a fees, even get commision from the tuition center. Haha.


Side 2, Sunday Times dated 040109, Singapore:

Caption: "Parents pull back on tuition to fight hard times"

A tuition center report a 10%-20% drop on parents seeking tution.
Parents now would only willing to pay $20/hour instead of $25/hour rates for a premium teacher.
A tuiton center report a 75% drop in attendances for Dec holidays (which I think, ppl got holiday instead la, Duh!!)
Parents focus only on weaker subject. (Piang, No monies, focus so many for what)
More Parents turn to assistance for aids for tutions.

Ha, I actually condensed the article for ur easy reads.

My Take:
1. Heng, Limpeh already no need to go for tuitions
2. Even if moi need to go tuitions, I would totally skipped the classes, take the monies and go to MacDonalds (Oh wait, I did it when I was young, gena rotan until siao!)
3. Prior to the that, I told my sister, I Gam Xia Ti Gong(Thank God!) that my youth was well spend holidaying in Kluang, waking up watching cartoons in the morning and going to my uncle comic shop to nua for the rest of the days.
4. I pity my kiddy cousins...
5. Tuitions or not, I think it would make much of the difference, the amount of knowledge the kid can assorb is only that much, sometimes even with tuitions, it won't help, least to say make it worse.

This is my first written entry since Gods-know-when, hope you like it and stay tune.

Transporter 3


Ong Bak 2


Red Cliff 2