“Faesthetic fever” The Chinese Cultural Center of Singapore describes the national mood ahead of the Lunar New Year on February 10th. Another frenzy is plaguing the Singapore government. How to deal with what is described as China’s extensive influence operations in the city-state. This month, a sweeping new law banning foreign interference was invoked for the first time against Hong Kong-born Singaporean Philip Chan.
China’s shadow operations are not a new development. In 2018, Fang Jing, an academic at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School, was expelled from the country for his ties to China’s Ministry of Security. And misinformation and propaganda have long been circulating through Singapore’s social media. Laws have been enacted to regulate it.However, the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act, passed in 2021 and known as FICA, Gives Home Secretary K. Shanmugam new powers to investigate individuals suspected of involvement in information campaigns by hostile states. The government said in a statement that Mr. Chan “is susceptible to the influence of foreign powers and has shown a willingness to advance their interests.”
Mr Chan is a real estate investor with interests in both Singapore and Hong Kong. He forever appears in photos of dignitaries visiting business groups. There’s no harm in that. Also, he has not performed a duet with a Singaporean pastor at a charity event.
However, Mr. Zhang is a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party. It appears that they have crossed the line by promoting China’s interests. Last year in Beijing, he declared that the Chinese diaspora had an obligation to “tell China’s story well.” He added, “If we want to have a future, we must support the country that represents that future.” A similar message is conveyed in Chan’s various works. Lianhe ZaobaoSingapore’s Chinese daily newspaper.
Understandably, this worries Mr. Shanmugam and his colleagues. They hate seeing small, albeit prosperous, states bow to the will of regional hegemons. But China’s supreme ruler, Xi Jinping, has instructed the Communist Party to recruit Chinese nationals from other countries to build international support and thwart his political opponents. In 2018, responsibility for relations with the Chinese diaspora was transferred to the same United Front Department that oversees China. CPCC. Particularly in Southeast Asia, Chinese embassies and national security agencies are reaching out to Chinese businessmen, clan associations, and grassroots organizations. Mr. Xi’s approach privileges bloodline over citizenship, and Chinese people are considered to have obligations to their ancestral lands no matter how long their ancestors left China.
That there is little distinction between the Chinese nation, Chinese culture, and Chinese ethnicity should raise questions about the loyalty and identity of the tens of millions of Chinese nationals in Southeast Asian countries. This raises particular concerns for Singapore. It is the only state in the region with a Chinese majority, while Malays and Indians are minorities. It is an unusual state founded on the principle of multi-ethnicism. Racial identity is celebrated, but racial harmony is demanded and policed.
As Singapore’s ruling party sees it, Chinese interference poses a threat to the very idea of Singapore because it challenges the unity of the multi-ethnic nation. It’s no wonder, then, that the Singapore Chinese Cultural Center, a treasure trove of interactive exhibits, highlights both the unique regional aspects of Chinese culture and the most important points of loyalty to Singapore. It was established in 2017 with the support of the Chinese Embassy to establish its own cultural center.
However, Ian Chong of the National University of Singapore said the government’s approach to Mr Chan raises questions. What action will be taken against him? Or is the aim to scare people away from associating with him (he has already resigned from some of his positions in the association)? Or, in Chinese terms, is he the one who killed the chicken to scare the monkeys, an important figure trying to collude with China? A Singaporean businessman who is more influential than Mr. Chan is CPCC. no one suggested that Fika~By the way, Singapore has not named China as the perpetrator in the Chan case. In China, there is a way for everyone to become a chicken.
Read more from Asia columnist Bunyan:
Asian commercial influence helps sustain Russia’s war economy (February 1)
South Korea’s ban on praising North Korea is outrageous (January 22)
How Hindu is India’s foreign policy? (January 18)