Singapore is unwilling to acknowledge itself as a Chinese nation, netizens say the shadow of massacre still lingers, and the status of being ethnically Chinese is low worldwide!
Recently, Lee Hsien Loong said that even today, many Chinese people still ask him: "We share the same ancestry and heritage, so why do we hold different views?" He directly responded that Singapore and China each have their own national interests—those who cannot understand this principle should not consider themselves Singaporeans.
As soon as this statement was made, it sparked an online uproar. Many netizens immediately questioned—over 70% of the population are ethnic Chinese; in any country, such a proportion would make them the majority. Why then does Singapore refuse to recognize this?
Some Singaporean netizens admitted that this reluctance is closely tied to the enduring trauma from the “massacre incident” of 1969. At that time, Chinese communities were not only attacked with knives and guns but gained nothing in return.
Malaysian Chinese have historically been hardworking and diligent, building up their wealth over generations and coming to control the local economy. However, precisely because of their prosperity, they became targets compared to poorer indigenous populations. After the riots, Malaysia implemented policies favoring “Malay supremacy,” effectively reducing Chinese people to second-class citizens—denied access to education, barred from employment, leading to mass emigration. The Malaysian economy subsequently plummeted.
One netizen commented: “During the years when Chinese people lived in Southeast Asia, all we experienced was disaster brought by massacres—with no real benefits.” This view may be extreme, but it’s also brutally honest. Only in the past two or three decades, as China truly rose, achieved economic takeoff, and strengthened its military power, did Chinese people finally begin to stand a little straighter. Singaporean netizens admit that it was only during this period that the sense of being ethnically Chinese “improved slightly.”
Yet even so, the Singaporean government continues to avoid touching the label of “Chinese nation.” Why? As Singaporean netizens explain, this is a survival strategy for a small nation. Sandwiched between two superpowers—the United States and China—Singapore has a land area of just 682 square kilometers and must import freshwater and vegetables from Malaysia. In such a geopolitical position, if you declare yourself a “Chinese nation,” how will the U.S. see you? How will neighboring Islamic nations perceive you? This isn’t merely a cultural identity issue—it’s a matter of survival.
Thus, these Singaporean netizens argue that when Lee Hsien Loong says Singaporeans must first be “Singaporeans,” it’s not just a choice based on ethnic sentiment—it’s a matter of sheer survival.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1866669224578119/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.