MM’s speech in US draws flak online in China
November 3rd, 2009 | 
Author: Straits Times, 3 November 2009
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s comments that the United States should remain engaged in East Asia have drawn criticism on the website of a state-owned newspaper in China.
The Chinese-language Global Times, a sister publication of the flagship People’s Daily noted for its international coverage, said it reported on Sunday a speech Mr Lee made in Washington last week, and within hours, it claimed to have received more than 500 comments online.
In his keynote address delivered at the US-Asean Business Council’s 25th anniversary gala dinner last Thursday in Washington, MM Lee said the US should remain engaged in Asia. ‘The size of China makes it impossible for the rest of Asia, including Japan and India, to match it in weight and capacity in about 20 to 30 years. So we need America to strike a balance.’
He also warned Washington that it risked losing its global leadership if it did not remain engaged in Asia.
MM Lee was conferred a lifetime achievement award for helping to foster US-Asean relations at the dinner last week.
Many of those who responded were upset and said that MM Lee had treated the Chinese as outsiders although they had treated Singaporeans as ‘among their own’.
‘Lee Kuan Yew spoke for the feeling of those in the West who fear China’s rise would harm their vested interests,’ said one netizen.
Another described MM Lee as ‘a political animal’, saying that while he ‘relies on China to develop his country’s economy, he is ushering wolves here to deal with China’.
A third posting said: ‘Just because he has achieved some success in Singapore, he dares to play the guiding light that shows US the way. If he has the stuff, he should go to Africa and offer tips on how to shake off poverty and achieve wealth.’
Another posting brushed off his comments as insignificant as Singapore was a small country. ‘Lee Kuan Yew had made such comments likely because Singapore is a small country that needs an interplay of balances in the international arena,’ said the netizen.
‘However, what significance do his words carry when the reality is that for a voice to be heard and the views realised, one needs to be truly powerful?’ the netizen added. – ST
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18 Responses to “MM’s speech in US draws flak online in China”
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when in rome, do as the romans do … when in the US, kiss their ass
Doubt that he will have a warm welcome in China. How times have changed. Hero one day, villain the next.
Let us be mature here; The politics between the US and China is not dictated by MM Lee. His speech is not meant to provoke one superpower or contain the other. He was just stating a long standing fact about geopolitics: there must a balance of power for neutral countries to prevail.
Singapore happens to be one of the neutral country in Asia. We do not support China against anybody even if our bilateral trade benefits us. Similarly we do not support the US against China. For daring to make this stance international, MM Lee is a worthy speaker.
China netizens are so naive.
In politics,hear what Lord Palmerston has to say
“Nations have no permanent friends or allies, they only have permanent interests.”
The PRCs are angry because it is implied that they have sinister intentions for the region. I believe their anger is justified.
MM view on balance of power is absolutely correct. This also applies to political party and obviously there is no power balancing in Singapore!!!
Only in Singapore do people worship LKY. The rest of the world has no such delusions.
all these ah tiongs are just a bunch of 白眼狼。
说了那么多废话。。 还不是乌鸦坐在猪上，同流合污。
when the wind change direction, the old man will suck up to your 温家宝。 then the ah tiongs can lined up at tiananmen and suck up to the old man with your pom pom and cry aloud
李爷爷，宁回来了..
If LKY is just sucking up, then it doesn’t make much sense at this point of history to suck up to US…
The truth is that LKY’s call for balance does make sense and the fact that it has in the past drew flak from both sides of the divide only serves to validate his point.
Of course the fact that this balance doesn’t exist in local politics is somewhat inconvenient.
So the ah tiongs think that sinkapore is ‘one of them’? So they think sinkapore is now a china province, and our ministers cannot say anything that angers them??
I say good of LKY to say those words he said. Someone needs to remind the ah tiongs that this is a sovereign country, much more civilized and westernised than that country of ugly barbarians.
Chinese need to ignore the no identity Singaporean chink like the rest of Asia.
@angry_one
Calling people ugly when you look like them, loser. You have no culture or identity beside being enslaved by the British. Your ancestors was a coolies, bitch.
@ lol,
Funny that you’re so focused on deriding the chinese singaporeans just because Minister Lee has called for “a balance of powers” in the Asia Pacific region.
You see my friend, Singaporeans may not have an original “culture” but I ask what good is culture if it’s a culture that holds you back from developing a mind that is capable of critically thinking and looking at issues from different perspectives.
The Chinese who have received western education do have one upside, and that is they can understand that a Superpower like US or China, given sheer dominance for too long will become a corrupting force. This has been the case with the US and I believe that China is no different is given the same. The difference though that the mainland Chinese given their level of education are not able to critically think and analyse issues from different perspective because it is not encouraged by their “culture”. I should know because I have chinese ancestors as well. Thus, I believe that US and China should be as powerful as each other to keep each other in check.
Your act of simply deriding Singaporeans who have a better education system and hence a better earning capability both in and outside Singapore, reflects a lot on your “education” and your bitterness at the fact that on average, Nanyang Chinese still do earn a much better living standard than Mainlanders like you.
In short, culture can take a back seat when it holds us back from advancing ourselves. After all we can create “culture” that’s the beauty of having a western education. Good money too… Sorry to hear about your low salary, you shouldn’t take out your anger at your sucky life on the Nanyang Chinese you know…
@DM.. US must balance lah. thanks to them and Viet war, we survived our first years as a new country, keeping supply route & R&R available to these marines.
Thanks to manila for giving up the Subic Bay, the americans hv helped our economy again, setting up base here, with the wars in iraq and afghan, our logistic strenght grow. Plus of cos, regular visits by warships help keeps pple at Orchard tower happy.
How to depend on the chinese and indian navy?? don’t know how many months then they will return. Only pple in little india will be happy. But certainly their purchasing power so little.
@ Kancheong_spider on Thu, 5th Nov 2009 7:32 am
I believe DM’s comment is correctly placed. The key word is ..”at this point of history…”is qualifier NOT to suck up to US.
Right now, we are helping US in Afghanistan and recently pulled out involvement in Iraq – all basically serving American political interests. That could not endear us to our Muslim neighbours. Imagine the practicality of South Korea, they pulled out fast from Iraq and stayed away from Afghanistan EVEN THOUGH US IS DEFENDING THE 58th parallel.
We overstretched ourselves sucking up to US knowing that declining state of US economy will force their defence spending cuts which is already materialising already with its F35 strike aircraft purchases. These are signs of American military lethargy – they won’t be too keen in another military threatre of warfare while their economy stuck in a quagmire.
We should look to cultivating our own national interests in this part of the world with token appreciation of American’s interests globally.
Why not like South Koreans? Or Taiwan when they received by treaty US “protection” but assisting nothing of America’s military efforts anywhere in the world in history?
Well,why is China complaining?
They,too,in no small way is sucking up to the USA!
they parked more money in usa than any other country do!
To be fair,i still think actions speak louder than words!
Whatever it is,the USA is still a net-importer whilst China
is a NET EXPORTER of even humsn capital(labour)!
on a narrower perspective,i think the average chinese think more highly(like the american dream etc) more than any average
singaporean.
this is a mere farce!!!!
@ fair and square on Thu, 5th Nov 2009 11:02 am
i think the average chinese think more highly(like the american dream etc) more than any average singaporean.
this is a mere farce!!!!
OH YOU ARE DEADLY RIGHT ON THIS ONE.
The mentality inside China – even in bureaucracy is anything appertaining to American and British must be good. But Chinese citizens who ventured out to these countries, lived there for some time, thinks these two countries are NO better.
I found this a nice read. Here’s the link.
http://singaporerecalcitrant.blogspot.com/2009/11/booboo-of-minister-mentor-lee-kuan-yew.html