I have visited Singapore three times in recent years and, each time, the island-state gave me a different feeling and experience.
Overall, I think I am most impressed with the unity of the people under the leadership of the government and the courage of Singaporeans in the face of adversity.
I first visited Singapore in early 1997. Filled with a sense of curiosity, I found the experience rather refreshing. Its economy was thriving and there were numerous recruitment advertisements in the media.
During the one-month stay, I made cursory observations of the city-state more as a tourist than a journalist with 20 years of experience. When I returned to China, I wrote five articles on Singapore for Xi'an Evening News, the newspaper I work for.
In July 1999, I came to Singapore again and spent six months here. The longer duration allowed me to gain a better and more comprehensive understanding of the tiny nation. Singapore had just emerged relatively unscathed from the Asian economic crisis and the market was booming again.
I participated in many cultural, business and even sporting activities and met Singaporeans from all walks of life. In short, I wanted to find out what makes Singapore successful.
Many praises have been heaped on Singapore, such as an efficient and clean government, a strict and impartial justice system, a friendly and educated people and an orderly and open society. They sounded rather hollow to me at first, but soon became real and concrete through many of my personal experiences.
When I was back in China, I penned more than 10 articles which touched on areas such as Singapore's practice of imposing severe punishment on law-breakers and its primary and secondary education. These were picked up by many newspapers and websites.
Last November, I was here on my third visit when a General Election was on and the Singapore economy was in recession. I observed the hustings with great interests. And I was not surprised at all that the ruling People's Action Party scored a landslide victory by winning more than 75 per cent of valid votes.
The way I, a foreigner, saw it, the people should vote for competent parties which have produced results. The man in the street is rather down-to-earth - it is not what promises the politicians can make but what they can deliver that matters.
For 30 over years, under the PAP leadership, Singapore has grown from a poor country with hardly any resources to an affluent, modern and developed nation. Its success story is well-known and is reason enough for the people to continue to throw their support behind the party.
Unlike the previous visits, this time round I witnessed and heard many problems brought about by a slowing economy, including retrenchment, rising unemployment and a fall in media advertisements. In spite of all these, society remained orderly and the people kept their spirits high.
According to a recent news report, the economic downturn had not triggered a rise in crime rates. This really set me thinking as the underlying reasons were significant. While social chaos and rampant crimes are often the result of an economic recession, this has not happened in Singapore.
I guess it is a matter of confidence. And with the kind of confidence the government and the people have, there is no problem that they cannot overcome together.
（The writer is a journalist with China's Xi'an Evening News. Translated by Yap Gee Poh）
三進獅城感觸多● 張小乙
筆者作為一名有近20年新聞工作經(jīng)驗的記者,在近幾年中先后三次探親來到獅城,每次都有不同的感受和體驗。
新加坡珊頓道金融區(qū)。
但所見所聞,感受到新加坡人民在政府的領導下,舉國上下,團結一致,表現(xiàn)出良好的精神風貌和戰(zhàn)勝困難的勇氣,令我感觸多多。
第一次來獅城是在1997年初。我因是第一次來此,對周圍的一切頗感好奇和新鮮。當時的新加坡經(jīng)濟蒸蒸日上,媒體上的招聘廣告很多。
一個月的時間里,我更多的是以一個游客的身分浮光掠影地掃視周圍的一切。回國之后,我在所工作的報社《西安晚報》刊發(fā)了《獅城行車記》、《圖書館見聞》等5篇文章。
1999年7月,我第二次來到獅城。由于呆的時間較長（半年）,我能夠從各方面對新加坡進行全方位的觀察和了解。此時的獅城剛從波及全亞洲的經(jīng)濟危機中走出來,市場又恢復了往日的繁榮。我參加了多個文化、體育、商業(yè)的活動,接觸了各方面的人,力圖尋找獅城更深層、更有特點的東西。
政府的高效與廉潔,法律的公正與嚴明,人民的友善與文明,社會的開放與有序等等。這一切聽起來空洞,但卻通過我親身經(jīng)歷的一件件事,變得那么具體、生動。
回國之后,我又寫了《重罰出文明》、《我認識的獅城大學生》、《新加坡的中小學教育》等10多篇文章?？l(fā)后還被多家報刊和網(wǎng)站轉載。
去年11月,我第三次來到獅城探親。恰遇島國大選和嚴重的經(jīng)濟衰退。我以很大的興趣關注著這次大選全過程。對于行動黨最后以75%多的高得票率結果獲勝,我一點也不感到驚奇。
因為從我一個外國人的角度來看,人民理應選擇有能力、有實績的政黨來領導國家。老百姓是最樸實的,也是最講實際的。他們不看你說的多漂亮,多么動人,而是看你做的如何。
建國30多年來,行動黨帶領人民把一個貧窮落后、沒有任何資源的島國,建成了世人有口皆碑的富裕、文明的現(xiàn)代化國家。這是最有說服力的理由。
與前兩次不同的是,我這次看到和聽到了許多由于經(jīng)濟衰退帶來的問題。比如企業(yè)裁員、失業(yè)人數(shù)增加、媒體廣告滑落等等。但社會環(huán)境依然有序,人民的精神面貌還那么好。
也許是職業(yè)習慣,我對媒體比較關注。幾天前的一則電視新聞說,經(jīng)濟衰退并未引發(fā)全國各類案件的上升。
短短的幾分鐘倒讓我想了很久,因為它的背后潛藏了很大的信息量。經(jīng)濟衰退很容易引發(fā)社會混亂,導致犯罪率上升,各類案件增加。而一切并未在這里發(fā)生。
這說明政府有自信,人民有信心。在它們面前,還有什么困難不能克服呢？
Overall, I think I am most impressed with the unity of the people under the leadership of the government and the courage of Singaporeans in the face of adversity.
I first visited Singapore in early 1997. Filled with a sense of curiosity, I found the experience rather refreshing. Its economy was thriving and there were numerous recruitment advertisements in the media.
During the one-month stay, I made cursory observations of the city-state more as a tourist than a journalist with 20 years of experience. When I returned to China, I wrote five articles on Singapore for Xi'an Evening News, the newspaper I work for.
In July 1999, I came to Singapore again and spent six months here. The longer duration allowed me to gain a better and more comprehensive understanding of the tiny nation. Singapore had just emerged relatively unscathed from the Asian economic crisis and the market was booming again.
I participated in many cultural, business and even sporting activities and met Singaporeans from all walks of life. In short, I wanted to find out what makes Singapore successful.
Many praises have been heaped on Singapore, such as an efficient and clean government, a strict and impartial justice system, a friendly and educated people and an orderly and open society. They sounded rather hollow to me at first, but soon became real and concrete through many of my personal experiences.
When I was back in China, I penned more than 10 articles which touched on areas such as Singapore's practice of imposing severe punishment on law-breakers and its primary and secondary education. These were picked up by many newspapers and websites.
Last November, I was here on my third visit when a General Election was on and the Singapore economy was in recession. I observed the hustings with great interests. And I was not surprised at all that the ruling People's Action Party scored a landslide victory by winning more than 75 per cent of valid votes.
The way I, a foreigner, saw it, the people should vote for competent parties which have produced results. The man in the street is rather down-to-earth - it is not what promises the politicians can make but what they can deliver that matters.
For 30 over years, under the PAP leadership, Singapore has grown from a poor country with hardly any resources to an affluent, modern and developed nation. Its success story is well-known and is reason enough for the people to continue to throw their support behind the party.
Unlike the previous visits, this time round I witnessed and heard many problems brought about by a slowing economy, including retrenchment, rising unemployment and a fall in media advertisements. In spite of all these, society remained orderly and the people kept their spirits high.
According to a recent news report, the economic downturn had not triggered a rise in crime rates. This really set me thinking as the underlying reasons were significant. While social chaos and rampant crimes are often the result of an economic recession, this has not happened in Singapore.
I guess it is a matter of confidence. And with the kind of confidence the government and the people have, there is no problem that they cannot overcome together.
（The writer is a journalist with China's Xi'an Evening News. Translated by Yap Gee Poh）
三進獅城感觸多● 張小乙
筆者作為一名有近20年新聞工作經(jīng)驗的記者,在近幾年中先后三次探親來到獅城,每次都有不同的感受和體驗。
新加坡珊頓道金融區(qū)。
但所見所聞,感受到新加坡人民在政府的領導下,舉國上下,團結一致,表現(xiàn)出良好的精神風貌和戰(zhàn)勝困難的勇氣,令我感觸多多。
第一次來獅城是在1997年初。我因是第一次來此,對周圍的一切頗感好奇和新鮮。當時的新加坡經(jīng)濟蒸蒸日上,媒體上的招聘廣告很多。
一個月的時間里,我更多的是以一個游客的身分浮光掠影地掃視周圍的一切。回國之后,我在所工作的報社《西安晚報》刊發(fā)了《獅城行車記》、《圖書館見聞》等5篇文章。
1999年7月,我第二次來到獅城。由于呆的時間較長（半年）,我能夠從各方面對新加坡進行全方位的觀察和了解。此時的獅城剛從波及全亞洲的經(jīng)濟危機中走出來,市場又恢復了往日的繁榮。我參加了多個文化、體育、商業(yè)的活動,接觸了各方面的人,力圖尋找獅城更深層、更有特點的東西。
政府的高效與廉潔,法律的公正與嚴明,人民的友善與文明,社會的開放與有序等等。這一切聽起來空洞,但卻通過我親身經(jīng)歷的一件件事,變得那么具體、生動。
回國之后,我又寫了《重罰出文明》、《我認識的獅城大學生》、《新加坡的中小學教育》等10多篇文章?？l(fā)后還被多家報刊和網(wǎng)站轉載。
去年11月,我第三次來到獅城探親。恰遇島國大選和嚴重的經(jīng)濟衰退。我以很大的興趣關注著這次大選全過程。對于行動黨最后以75%多的高得票率結果獲勝,我一點也不感到驚奇。
因為從我一個外國人的角度來看,人民理應選擇有能力、有實績的政黨來領導國家。老百姓是最樸實的,也是最講實際的。他們不看你說的多漂亮,多么動人,而是看你做的如何。
建國30多年來,行動黨帶領人民把一個貧窮落后、沒有任何資源的島國,建成了世人有口皆碑的富裕、文明的現(xiàn)代化國家。這是最有說服力的理由。
與前兩次不同的是,我這次看到和聽到了許多由于經(jīng)濟衰退帶來的問題。比如企業(yè)裁員、失業(yè)人數(shù)增加、媒體廣告滑落等等。但社會環(huán)境依然有序,人民的精神面貌還那么好。
也許是職業(yè)習慣,我對媒體比較關注。幾天前的一則電視新聞說,經(jīng)濟衰退并未引發(fā)全國各類案件的上升。
短短的幾分鐘倒讓我想了很久,因為它的背后潛藏了很大的信息量。經(jīng)濟衰退很容易引發(fā)社會混亂,導致犯罪率上升,各類案件增加。而一切并未在這里發(fā)生。
這說明政府有自信,人民有信心。在它們面前,還有什么困難不能克服呢？