Almost a year ago, as we were preparing to return to Singapore, I had to take Shasta to the vet to get him certified to "import" back to Singapore. After the visit to the vet, I went home and posted on this blog. The title was "
Singapore is not F**KING part of China".
Almost a year later and what seems like FOR-F**KING-EVER, I am going to have to relent and say that I was wrong. I was way too emphatic about my statement and the new statement I am going to make is:
Singapore is F**KING part of China OR Singapore is part of F**KING China.
(Like punctuation, where I put the F word changes the meaning of the sentence. Honestly, I don't care. I would put the F word twice in that same sentence.)
To make a sweeping statement like that, I would have to give you reasons and so here goes...
(Before I do so, this is MY opinion and no one else's. You are definitely free to disagree with me but, I really don't care 'cos I am never going to get into an argument with ANYONE about this topic.)
(1) PEOPLE
I don't know how many mainland chinese people there are here in Singapore, but there are just way too many. They have wiggled their way into all parts of society. However, the higher profile ones, they are not the ones that are plentiful. The Singapore newspapers had a feature a few weeks back of some of these chinese nationals who were business owners, designers, etc, etc. But for every one of them, there must be at least another 99 who don't hold those kinds of positions. They are weaved into the society mostly in blue collar roles. They are the ones that have higher visibility because they commute by public transportation. They are the ones you see riding bicycles and making this country look like a slightly smaller version of a big city in China. They are the ones you and I would run into in the course of our daily life because they work at food courts, restaurants, retail outlets, you name it, they are there. Their work ranges the entire gamut. From the advertising company owner to the retail store worker to the construction worker to the low end S$30/pop hooker.
They are ALL OVER the place. Actually, there is nothing wrong with that, being all over the place.
What is wrong is...
They still hold on to the arrogance that they are better because they are from the motherland... even if they are here to be construction workers and hookers.
They treat the country like they would treat theirs, many times, they treat it worse. Meaning, these are the f**kers that spit all over the street, they talk at the top of their voices, they have little regard for others (citizens or not).
They are... Chinese Nationals and they behave that way.
(2) POLITICS
Obviously, these people would have loved to immigrate to the US. But that has gotten harder and harder with each passing year. Logically, Singapore would be the next best place to go.
Their forefathers, some 100 years ago, came here.
It is definitely much nearer to their homeland than the US is. (Elaborate more on this in a bit)
And the political system is similar but with just a little more freedom and a just tiny bit more relaxed. AND, they are very much welcomed here.
The last statement is definitely a huge plus for them. The adjustment factor is decreased tremendously.
With a migration to the US, it is almost as if they were being thrown into the deep end of the pool... the biggest factor is that they will now have to THINK for themselves.
With a migration to Singapore, the adjustment will be for other factors like weather. They oftentimes can live in Singapore without an adjustment to their mindset. And they oftentimes DO NOT adjust their mindsets. They were FOLLOWERS in their former political system and they continue to be FOLLOWERS in their adopted new political system and believe you me, there are no better candidates in this world to be GOOD SINGAPORE RESIDENTS than FOLLOW-F**ING-ERS!!! (Read as you may, but yes, I have super embedded messages in that last statement)
AND, at the end of the day, when they are done sucking dry the resources of Singapore or when they are sick and tired of being second class residents, when they believe it is their right to be a first class resident, they pack up and leave. But Chinese being Chinese, before they bid their farewell, would already have explored their opportunities back in the motherland. THIS IS the reason why distance would make a difference. The ability to shuttle back and forth more frequently than they would have been able to, had they migrated to the US, makes Singapore a more sensible choice. The fact that Singapore has extremely relaxed immigration laws as compared to the US, Canada, Australia allows them to move in and out of Singapore with ease. Much like traveling within one's own country. When they are tired of the motherland again, Singapore will always welcome them back here.
At the end of the day, it is all about them. The Singapore government has already been slapped a few times by this selfishness but the upside (see above) seems to be a lot more attractive than the occasional slap in the face.
As for the immigration laws, they favor more and more immigrants. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. When I thought the country's infrastructure was struggling to keep up with 3 million residents, they were still inviting more (while asking our citizens to keep to 2 children). The country is now at 4.5 million people with an infrastructure that is definitely stressed but the goal is 6 million. With open arms, you are invited to this cluster-f**k.
And to elaborate on how relaxed the immigration laws are. There is nothing to stop a cheap ass ho from entering Singapore. The irony is that China has visa laws that prevent more cheap ass hos from traveling out of their country. I don't even dare to imagine what it would be like if China didn't have those travel visa restrictions in place... it would just be like the girls that travel to Sin City to sell their wares from all over the US.
Just like traveling within the SAME DAMN COUNTRY.
(3) LANGUAGE
They don't have to learn a new language. Plain and simple.
They probably already believe that some form of the chinese language is the world's most spoken language and that's the arrogance they have.
Immigrating to any other country in the world (except for Taiwan and you know that for sure ain't gonna happen) would guarantee they would have to learn a new language. Coming to Singapore eliminates that need.
This is actually the crux of this posting.
Being an english educated person in Singapore and having grown up and socializing with mostly english educated people, I have always known Singaporeans to learn Mandarin as a second language. I have always ASSUMED that Mandarin is but just a second language and English is every citizens' strength and main mode of communication. With the exception of my parents generation where there were many people who did not get a chance at education, I assumed that from my generation and onwards, English would be a strong first language.
After I had started my job, one of the first few things I commented on, was that the standard of english displayed by my kids was appalling. I really didn't know the reason for it and attributed it to the fact that many of my kids were unable to make it to better "institutions" because of their poor command of the english language. I would say that more than half of my kids have a problem stringing together a grammatically accurate sentence and that's how bad it is.
But yesterday, I discovered the reason why "SINGAPORE IS F**KING PART OF CHINA".
(Just a little background about the information I am about to share with you. The information being shared is from the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). This exam is an exam taken in Primary 6 (which is the equivalent of the 6th Grade). It is mandatory for all candidates to test in the 4 subjects listed below and while there are other varieties, this is the mainstream. This testing is done to "stream" students when "progressing" to the next level. In other words, at the tender age of 12, this will be the first of a few other "streamings" to determine your intelligence (and that's yet another whole topic for discussion). In the 3rd column, an "A*" represents a score of above 90% and an "A" represents a score of above 75%. After presenting the info, I will make my comments)
SUBJECTS
% PASS RATE
% A* & A
ENGLISH
97.5
44.4
MATHEMATICS
83.1
43.5
SCIENCE
90.9
43.3
CHINESE
98.1
81.4As you will note, the pass rate for both English and Chinese (Mandarin) is relatively similar. However, if you note, the "A* and A" percentage for Chinese is almost double that of every other subject taken at this exam.
When I first saw this information, I was almost positive that there had been a misprint but after verifying with several websites and other reliable (and some not so reliable) sources, I am satisfied that there was not a misprint.
And the information speaks for itself. In fact, the information speaks volumes to answering the question I have had about my kids level of English.
This also summarizes the ease at which chinese nationals can move and adapt to Singapore. There is seriously very little adapting to do. Honestly, it is much like taking a domestic flight from San Francisco to Anchorage.
Similar culture, similar politics, similar rule, similar language. In fact, like mentioned earlier, the only thing I can think of that is not similar is the weather. And they are welcomed with open arms. In fact, they are probably more welcomed than I was returning from the US.
And I am 100% positive they faced less of an adjustment than I had to face.
No wonder I am still experiencing culture shock...
And with the famous words of THE ROCK... "And that's the bottom line..."
SINGAPORE IS F**KING PART OF CHINA...
