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by Pang Cheng Lian (Author)
Singapore's success story is essentially a "people" story. Singaporeans have good reason to celebrate the nation's golden jubilee with pride. In the short space of five decades the country has moved from Third World to First, and its real GDP has grown by 40 times! For this phenomenal progress, credit must go to its people, the Republic's primary resource.
Against all odds and amidst dire predictions, Singaporeans proved that a united and resourceful community could build a nation from scratch. This book is dedicated to one segment of these Singaporeans -- the Chinese community. In particular, this collection of essays focuses on the Chinese speaking members of the community whose many contributions are less familiar to those brought up on a strict diet of the English language.
This celebratory book is divided into four broad categories. The first section examines the major Chinese organisations and their contributions in the past five decades. These include the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations, the Chinese Development Assistance Council and the Chinese Heritage Centre. In addition, it looks at the history and work of some of the social clubs and charitable organisations in the Chinese community.
The second section examines some community issues that have engaged the Chinese community in Singapore's first 50 years. Two senior journalists and two academics review the evolution of the Chinese language, the integration of new immigrants from China and the influence of Chinese religions. The five essays in the third section trace the development of Chinese visual and performing art in the Republic. The last section looks at the interactions between Singapore's Chinese community and China on the one hand, and with the regional Chinese communities on the other.
The contributors of this salute to the Chinese community are/ have been directly involved or are passionate about the subjects of their essays.
Front Jacket
English is the dominant language in Singapore but in some segments of the Chinese population, especially among the more elderly, Chinese (Mandarin or dialects) continues to be a primary language. This segment will decrease in the coming years, but as this volume will show, the Chinese speaking community made significant contributions in the first 50 years of nation building. Readers of Chinese and English newspapers in Singapore will realise that the issues and challenges considered important to the Chinese speaking Singaporeans are not necessarily shared by their fellow English educated compatriots. But readers of this volume will discover that the end objectives are the same to create a stable and prosperous Republic of Singapore but with an additional proviso, that the society be anchored to a strong Asian heritage. Besides covering the major Chinese civic organisations such as the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations, this book also examines some of the major issues hotly debated by the Chinese community such as the role and standard of the Chinese language and the integration of the new immigrants. The book also examines the significant roles played by the Chinese community in the relations with China and the Southeast Asia neighbours.
