TR EMERITUS

Written by Our Correspondent An irate netizen by the name of Aurora Long has called on Singaporeans to gatecrash the "Water Festival" organized by Bukit Batok grassroots organizations to welcome the New Year for the Thai, Burmese, Laotian and Cambodians living in Singapore:   After the event was publicized on our site, many netizens expressed their dismay and disappointment at grassroots organizations using public monies for doing so. While they do not object to foreigners celebrating their cultural festivals in Singapore, many wonder why we have to foot the bill for organizing them. One commentator wrote in disgust: "When we go to the United States, do we expect its government to organize CNY or Hari Raya for us?" Due to the PAP's liberal immigration and pro-foreigner policies, foreigners now make up 36 percent of Singapore's population, up from 14 percent in1990. Of the remaining 64 percent who are citizens, an increasing number are born overseas. As too many foreigners were allowed into Singapore within too short a period of time, the PAP is now having serious trouble integrating most, if not all of them. To tackle the problem, it has unveiled a mega $10 million Community Integration Fund funded by taxpayers to organize events, seminars and language classes to make the immigrants feel welcomed in Singapore. The exact cost for organizing the "Water Festival" was not revealed, but it is likely to come from the Community Integration Fund. Ms Long hopes that those who are not supportive of the government wasting taxpayers' money on foreigners to turn up in BLACK on that day. [Source: Aurora Long's Facebook]   EDITORS’ NOTE: The Temasek Review is only reporting the event and does not endorse or support it. Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so and help us exceed the number of fans on the official YPAP Facebook page.   Related articles: >> PAP MP Grace Fu: organizing "Water Festival" is a way of telling foreigners we respect them >> Netizens protest against “Water Festival” organized by Bukit Batok grassroots organizations >> Singaporean unhappy at grassroots organizations hosting Water Festival for foreigners  Read More →

Dear TR,   I was browsing the NECDC newsletter "Spring" Mar/Apr 2010 when I came across an article "United for Life" about Mdm Cynthia Phua's view on marriage, family and love.   I have no problem with her views on marriage and family but what struck me as unusual is her parting advice to unmarried women, to quote   “Marry a man who is crazily in love with you and who loves you more than you love him".   I don't care if Mdm Cynthia Phua loves her husband less than he loves her, but coming from a Member of Parliament and a woman role model to boot, her advice is indeed unbecoming and imparting wrong values to younger generation. As  a married woman myself, I love my husband as much as he loves me, and that to me  is the very essence of a happy married life. Anything short of this may lead a man to stray out of wedlock, and we have only ourselves to blame.   In this new generation of feminine rights and equality of the sexes, we must give our love  as much as we receive.  I hope that her spouse will not be disappointed with her or have any regrets.   Yours sincerely,     Wendy Tan Happily Married for the past 10 years  Read More →

Guardian, 24 March 2010 One cold but sunny autumn day, a young white-collar worker in Shanghai received an anxious phone call from his family. The authorities were requisitioning their farmland for development. Wang Shuai believed the scheme was illegal, but officials refused to discuss it. He tried journalists, but they thought his story both too common and too sensitive. That was when he turned to the internet. "It was the choice of having no choice," he said. "But I had read complaints about injustices on the net before and I knew some cases had worked out. There were reports like officials who used public money for holidays; when they appeared, the nation began investigating." The authorities had launched an "anti-drought initiative" which included chopping down fruit trees – conveniently allowing them to slash compensation to families turfed off the land. "Great tactics for fighting drought in Ningbao village!" Wang headlined his post. Underneath, he added pictures of the tree stumps. It would indeed grab attention; but not quite as he had expected. Wang's story exemplifies the growing power of the internet in China: the airing of grievances; the ability to reach a wider audience; the use of satire to discuss serious topics. While China has the world's most sophisticated internet censorship system, it also has almost 400 million internet users – at least some of whom are challenging those restraints with increasing boldness. Controls mean that almost everyone self-censors to some degree. But some have used the variations and gaps in the system to stake out spaces where they can find or share viewpoints that are not officially sanctioned. Read rest of article here.  Read More →