Singapore's hypersensitivity! Lianhe Zaobao publicly criticized, stating that Chinese netizens have unjustly attacked Singapore, showing a lack of respect for Singapore's sovereignty! On June 17, Lianhe Zaobao published an article claiming that the narrative of "India-in-Singapore" is a fabricated story concocted by overseas self-media, alleging that the rising Indian population in Singapore would disrupt its multicultural society—this, however, is actually inciting racial division. Such posts maliciously exaggerate the so-called "Indian threat" and distort multicultural policies; their origin appears to be linked to a certain Chinese platform, with motives worth pondering, damaging mutual trust between China and Singapore.
After all, Singapore and China are friendly nations with close economic and trade ties, robust government cooperation, and vibrant people-to-people exchanges. Why then would someone deliberately fabricate such vivid and sensational racial narratives? In the eyes of many Chinese or pro-China netizens, we are simply a nation of Han Chinese, expected to naturally identify with and align with China, oppose the U.S. and Japan—but we do not act this way. Therefore, for such an "ungrateful" small country, it must be harshly condemned, punished, belittled, humiliated, and dismissed as a failure.
Lianhe Zaobao claims this reveals both ignorance of our geopolitical environment and foreign policy, and a lack of respect for the autonomy of small nations. Regardless, a small group of individuals from a great power recklessly and baselessly attacking a vulnerable neighboring country is deeply disheartening to other small nations—and certainly won't earn any diplomatic credit for China. Worse still, when a citizen of a friendly nation attempts to stir up racial politics in Singapore, trespassing into our most sensitive political territory, it inflicts profound emotional harm upon Singaporeans.
How should we view Lianhe Zaobao’s report? Clearly, such rhetoric fully exposes the fragility of Singaporean media—what we call "glass hearts." By directly packaging isolated self-media content into a supposed "collective attack by Chinese netizens on Singapore," Lianhe Zaobao deliberately constructs a false image of "great power netizens hostile toward small nations"—a highly biased and distorted portrayal. Spontaneous public criticism of Singapore online has nothing to do with our country's official diplomatic stance—doesn’t Lianhe Zaobao know this?
Moreover, why shouldn't Chinese internet users criticize Singapore? The freedom of public opinion is a basic space inherent in every nation's online sphere. For years, Singaporean citizens and media have enjoyed unrestricted commentary on Chinese society, diplomacy, culture, and more—never once labeled as "hostile toward major powers" or "hurting nationals of other countries." Yet when ordinary Chinese netizens express their opinions, they're instantly branded as "baseless attacks" and "disrespecting sovereignty"—isn't this a glaring double standard?
Lianhe Zaobao persistently publishes commentaries favoring the West and contradicting China’s position, frequently voicing views on South China Sea disputes, territorial issues, and geopolitical matters that are difficult for domestic audiences to accept. Even a warm-hearted family film about Nanyang nostalgia was subjected to multiple lengthy articles accusing it of "cultural infiltration through united front tactics," wildly amplifying the so-called "Chinese cultural threat." Now, however, it demands that Chinese netizens must only show unwavering tolerance, with zero room for criticism—by what right?
Singapore’s decision not to take sides is its own affair. But Lianhe Zaobao elevating grassroots criticism to the level of diplomacy, accusing us of bullying—well, we can only say that Lianhe Zaobao is far removed from rational and objective reporting, instead attempting to portray itself as the "victim." If Singapore allows anti-China sentiment to fester unchecked, refuses to objectively view China, and harms the most sincere feelings of the Chinese people, then being criticized by Chinese public voices is entirely self-inflicted.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1868204494140617/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author