HEARING Singapore mentioned, as an article in Lianhe Zaobao said, a Beijing taxi driver responded, “Oh, that place as tiny as a grain of rice！”
Recently, another article in Zaobao referred to Singapore as a “l(fā)ovely little red dot”, as former Indonesian president B J Habibie had dubbed it.
A grain or a dot, the imagery aptly highlights the point.
As a matter of fact, the country covers only 600-odd square kilometres, and one can traverse it by train from the east end to the west in less than two hours.
To Singaporeans, the small territory is a handicap： we lack land and have no natural resources, not even enough fresh water. But it can be a strength too： instantly all parts of the country got linked to the Internet.
And, in less than 20 years, almost the whole Chinese population learnt to understand and speak Mandarin. By contrast, many people in China have yet to master the tongue today, although a similar “speak putonghua” drive has been going on for nearly 50 years. The huge size of China does not serve it well in everything.
In fact, that China is a large country has a lot to do with its backward economy and prickly problems in reforms. Just as a bulky vessel has difficulty changing its course, so the leadership of a vast country can hardly have its directives fully carried out across the territory.
By contrast, as a small city-state, Singapore can adjust to changes promptly while the government can see its policies implemented with quick results.
Therefore, the size of a country, be it large or small, can have both advantages and disadvantages.
The small territory is not a problem for Singaporeans, but they should not become a petty people－with a narrow vision and a little mind.
Its size aside, Singapore is young. As a trading port, it is less than 200 years old； and as an independent state, she is still in her early thirties. So, because of its size and history, Singapore has brought up a people with a limited vision.
True, living in a wealthy state, many Singaporeans are well-travelled. But travelling alone may not broaden their vision, particularly if they just go on shopping trips, visiting stalls and booths in a foreign land, and taking photos or making video-tapes to record their tour so that they can brag about it later.
Or, they may keep their eyes open for whatever is inferior to Singapore, such as dirty and poor places infested with crime, and then return to their little clean and tidy homes, lying down in comfort and smugness.
Of the wide and broad world out there, it may seem, what they do need is the tiny piece of sky above their homes, where they live a cozy life.
If so, travelling can hardly help broaden their vision.
Not that Singaporeans fail to see the great world. Conversely, as a recent study has revealed, quite a number of Singaporeans admit that they view themselves as “citizens of the world”。 In other words, they are willing to be citizens of whatever country that offers a “l(fā)ife of good quality”。
They do have a large, world-embracing view indeed. To them, the discussion of “my country and my people” here would sound meaningless and unnecessary.
With a narrow vision and a petty mind, Singaporeans would become a small people, lacking the easy manner and liberal spirit that befit a great country. Worse still, some may even rest complacent with such a mindset, finding an excuse in the smallness of the territory.
Imagine that, handicapped by the size of this island, our forefathers had been a narrow-visioned, petty-minded people. Could Singapore have prospered, as it has done so far？
國(guó)小心胸要大
曾在早報(bào)上看到有人撰文,說北京的德士司機(jī),聽到新加坡時(shí),說：“哦！新加坡,那一粒米大的地方！”最近又在早報(bào)上看到李慧敏的文章“越看越可愛的小紅點(diǎn)”,稱新加坡為“小紅點(diǎn)”,當(dāng)是出自印尼前總統(tǒng)哈比比之口。無論是“一粒米”還是“小紅點(diǎn)”,都是形象地極言新加坡之小。
新加坡之小,是客觀事實(shí)。一個(gè)小島,不過六百多平方公里的土地,坐地鐵從淡濱尼到裕廊西,一個(gè)多小時(shí),差不多已是從東北到西南,橫貫全國(guó)了。小,可以說是先天不足：因?yàn)樾?我們沒有土地,沒有資源,甚至沒有淡水；但也可以說是先天優(yōu)勢(shì)：因?yàn)樾?說電腦聯(lián)網(wǎng),嘩的一下就能全國(guó)聯(lián)網(wǎng)。
說推廣華語,二十年內(nèi)就幾乎人人能聽能說。要知道,中國(guó)推廣普通話快五十年了,還有多數(shù)人不會(huì)說呢。所以,大,也未必是好事。中國(guó)的經(jīng)濟(jì)貧窮,改革艱難,很重要的一個(gè)原因就是因?yàn)榇蟀?。所謂“船大掉頭難”,“山高皇帝遠(yuǎn)”嘛,不比小國(guó)家如新加坡,轉(zhuǎn)型快捷,到位迅速,且令出必行,行必有果。
由此可見,無論“大”或“小”,只是一個(gè)客觀條件,有利也有弊,實(shí)在不值得大做文章。對(duì)新加坡來說,國(guó)小無妨,最重要的是人千萬不能小。
所謂人不能小,是指兩個(gè)方面,一是眼界,二是心胸。
新加坡從1819年開埠至今,歷史不到二百年,作為獨(dú)立的國(guó)家的歷史不過三十幾年；國(guó)土面積在外人看來不過是一粒米或是個(gè)小紅點(diǎn)?？梢哉f,時(shí)間和空間雙重限制了國(guó)人的眼界。盡管現(xiàn)在經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展,人民富裕,隨便問一個(gè)新加坡人,恐怕至少都出國(guó)去過一、兩個(gè)地方,但出國(guó)并不必然地等于開闊視野。
尤其是如果出國(guó)的目的只是去shopping,流連于小攤小販之間；或者只是用照相機(jī)、攝像機(jī)記下“某某到此一游”,并以此作為談資吹本；或者只是看到貧窮、骯臟、零亂、犯罪率種種不如新加坡的地方,回來后于是便更安然地躺在干凈整潔的小小的安樂窩里。
所謂天地雖大,我只要這一小片天空,和在天空下安逸的小日子。如果是這樣的話,如此開闊眼界又有何益？
此言并不是說國(guó)人即使環(huán)游世界,也依然眼界狹小。事實(shí)上,也有極端的方面,最近就有研究表明,有相當(dāng)一部分的新加坡人不否定他們把自己當(dāng)作“世界的公民”,也就是說,只要哪里有“高質(zhì)量的生活”,他們就愿意做哪里的公民。
他們眼界可謂大矣,真正是放眼全球,心懷世界,只是對(duì)于這類世界公民傾向的新加坡人,我在這里討論的“吾國(guó)吾民”的問題就沒有絲毫意義,而應(yīng)該取消的了。
眼界小了,心胸小了,人也就自然變得小里小氣,少了一種大家的氣度和風(fēng)度。更有甚者,還會(huì)將“小”作為借口,說什么“小國(guó)無心胸”等等,并感覺心安理得。試想,我們的開國(guó)先驅(qū)們,如果也這樣只看到“小”的先天不足之處,并以此為借口,那還會(huì)有今天繁榮的新加坡嗎？
Recently, another article in Zaobao referred to Singapore as a “l(fā)ovely little red dot”, as former Indonesian president B J Habibie had dubbed it.
A grain or a dot, the imagery aptly highlights the point.
As a matter of fact, the country covers only 600-odd square kilometres, and one can traverse it by train from the east end to the west in less than two hours.
To Singaporeans, the small territory is a handicap： we lack land and have no natural resources, not even enough fresh water. But it can be a strength too： instantly all parts of the country got linked to the Internet.
And, in less than 20 years, almost the whole Chinese population learnt to understand and speak Mandarin. By contrast, many people in China have yet to master the tongue today, although a similar “speak putonghua” drive has been going on for nearly 50 years. The huge size of China does not serve it well in everything.
In fact, that China is a large country has a lot to do with its backward economy and prickly problems in reforms. Just as a bulky vessel has difficulty changing its course, so the leadership of a vast country can hardly have its directives fully carried out across the territory.
By contrast, as a small city-state, Singapore can adjust to changes promptly while the government can see its policies implemented with quick results.
Therefore, the size of a country, be it large or small, can have both advantages and disadvantages.
The small territory is not a problem for Singaporeans, but they should not become a petty people－with a narrow vision and a little mind.
Its size aside, Singapore is young. As a trading port, it is less than 200 years old； and as an independent state, she is still in her early thirties. So, because of its size and history, Singapore has brought up a people with a limited vision.
True, living in a wealthy state, many Singaporeans are well-travelled. But travelling alone may not broaden their vision, particularly if they just go on shopping trips, visiting stalls and booths in a foreign land, and taking photos or making video-tapes to record their tour so that they can brag about it later.
Or, they may keep their eyes open for whatever is inferior to Singapore, such as dirty and poor places infested with crime, and then return to their little clean and tidy homes, lying down in comfort and smugness.
Of the wide and broad world out there, it may seem, what they do need is the tiny piece of sky above their homes, where they live a cozy life.
If so, travelling can hardly help broaden their vision.
Not that Singaporeans fail to see the great world. Conversely, as a recent study has revealed, quite a number of Singaporeans admit that they view themselves as “citizens of the world”。 In other words, they are willing to be citizens of whatever country that offers a “l(fā)ife of good quality”。
They do have a large, world-embracing view indeed. To them, the discussion of “my country and my people” here would sound meaningless and unnecessary.
With a narrow vision and a petty mind, Singaporeans would become a small people, lacking the easy manner and liberal spirit that befit a great country. Worse still, some may even rest complacent with such a mindset, finding an excuse in the smallness of the territory.
Imagine that, handicapped by the size of this island, our forefathers had been a narrow-visioned, petty-minded people. Could Singapore have prospered, as it has done so far？
國(guó)小心胸要大
曾在早報(bào)上看到有人撰文,說北京的德士司機(jī),聽到新加坡時(shí),說：“哦！新加坡,那一粒米大的地方！”最近又在早報(bào)上看到李慧敏的文章“越看越可愛的小紅點(diǎn)”,稱新加坡為“小紅點(diǎn)”,當(dāng)是出自印尼前總統(tǒng)哈比比之口。無論是“一粒米”還是“小紅點(diǎn)”,都是形象地極言新加坡之小。
新加坡之小,是客觀事實(shí)。一個(gè)小島,不過六百多平方公里的土地,坐地鐵從淡濱尼到裕廊西,一個(gè)多小時(shí),差不多已是從東北到西南,橫貫全國(guó)了。小,可以說是先天不足：因?yàn)樾?我們沒有土地,沒有資源,甚至沒有淡水；但也可以說是先天優(yōu)勢(shì)：因?yàn)樾?說電腦聯(lián)網(wǎng),嘩的一下就能全國(guó)聯(lián)網(wǎng)。
說推廣華語,二十年內(nèi)就幾乎人人能聽能說。要知道,中國(guó)推廣普通話快五十年了,還有多數(shù)人不會(huì)說呢。所以,大,也未必是好事。中國(guó)的經(jīng)濟(jì)貧窮,改革艱難,很重要的一個(gè)原因就是因?yàn)榇蟀?。所謂“船大掉頭難”,“山高皇帝遠(yuǎn)”嘛,不比小國(guó)家如新加坡,轉(zhuǎn)型快捷,到位迅速,且令出必行,行必有果。
由此可見,無論“大”或“小”,只是一個(gè)客觀條件,有利也有弊,實(shí)在不值得大做文章。對(duì)新加坡來說,國(guó)小無妨,最重要的是人千萬不能小。
所謂人不能小,是指兩個(gè)方面,一是眼界,二是心胸。
新加坡從1819年開埠至今,歷史不到二百年,作為獨(dú)立的國(guó)家的歷史不過三十幾年；國(guó)土面積在外人看來不過是一粒米或是個(gè)小紅點(diǎn)?？梢哉f,時(shí)間和空間雙重限制了國(guó)人的眼界。盡管現(xiàn)在經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展,人民富裕,隨便問一個(gè)新加坡人,恐怕至少都出國(guó)去過一、兩個(gè)地方,但出國(guó)并不必然地等于開闊視野。
尤其是如果出國(guó)的目的只是去shopping,流連于小攤小販之間；或者只是用照相機(jī)、攝像機(jī)記下“某某到此一游”,并以此作為談資吹本；或者只是看到貧窮、骯臟、零亂、犯罪率種種不如新加坡的地方,回來后于是便更安然地躺在干凈整潔的小小的安樂窩里。
所謂天地雖大,我只要這一小片天空,和在天空下安逸的小日子。如果是這樣的話,如此開闊眼界又有何益？
此言并不是說國(guó)人即使環(huán)游世界,也依然眼界狹小。事實(shí)上,也有極端的方面,最近就有研究表明,有相當(dāng)一部分的新加坡人不否定他們把自己當(dāng)作“世界的公民”,也就是說,只要哪里有“高質(zhì)量的生活”,他們就愿意做哪里的公民。
他們眼界可謂大矣,真正是放眼全球,心懷世界,只是對(duì)于這類世界公民傾向的新加坡人,我在這里討論的“吾國(guó)吾民”的問題就沒有絲毫意義,而應(yīng)該取消的了。
眼界小了,心胸小了,人也就自然變得小里小氣,少了一種大家的氣度和風(fēng)度。更有甚者,還會(huì)將“小”作為借口,說什么“小國(guó)無心胸”等等,并感覺心安理得。試想,我們的開國(guó)先驅(qū)們,如果也這樣只看到“小”的先天不足之處,并以此為借口,那還會(huì)有今天繁榮的新加坡嗎？