Many of their graphics leave a lot to be desired, I see mistakes or missed opportunities in almost all of them. I hope they can improve this, they are trying to get these to go viral.
Miscellaneous News
- Thread starter bd popeye
- Start date
Inflation is at >15% already. CPI is literally fake data with a lot of accounting magic sprinkled on top
This is the second time you post this crab.
I will try to give a more detailed reply, hopefully my last on this.
The US and Australia had a military base in Singapore since after the UK vacated from Singapore.
Also little known is a "reluctant to leave" Malaysian Navy finally left their Singapore base after we increased their rent massively in 1997.
Tiny Singapore needed defence agreements due to hostile neighbors wanting to swallow us up.
Konfrontasi, when Indonesia invaded Singapore in 1963-1966.
In 1971, Communist China was considered a threat to our region, with no diplomatic relations with any South East Asian nation.
Only Singapore was friendly, and we acted as the middleman, re-exporting Chinese goods to the region and facilitating diplomatic relations between Asean and China.
"
Lee Kuan Yew, the first Prime Minister of Singapore was very careful to avoid giving any impression to the other countries in Southeast Asia that Singapore, three-quarters ethnic Chinese, was a "Third China" (the first two being the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China). This was due to Singapore's experience with communists, the backdrop of the ongoing Vietnam War, as well as domestic political considerations.
As a result, Singapore did not establish diplomatic relations with China until the other countries in Southeast Asia had decided they wanted to do so, to avoid portraying a pro-China bias. His official visits to China starting in 1976 were conducted in English, to assure other Southeast Asian countries that he represented Singapore, and not a "Third China".
Singapore was the last country in Southeast Asia to formally recognize the People's Republic of China. "
In other words, WE HAD TO SHOW(/pretend) WE ARE NOT PRO-CHINA to survive in our hostile region. Apparently the leadership in China understands our predicament, maybe not their netizens and yourself.
nb. Even without diplomatic relations, ethnic Chinese Singaporeans were able to visit China fuss free.
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Ok I suppose I didn't make it blunt enough. Singapore is an occupied country. The present ruling party gained power by openly saying that if the anti-western Socialist Front won the 1963 election, the British-backed Malaysians will invade. Which was likely true. The deSinicization of Singapore was partly accomplished because of the real fear of Malaysia and Indonesian constantly threatening about Singapore's minority rights. The government is pretty much held hostage by the colour revolution threat, which the US saw fit to remind Singapore about during the Hendrickson Affair of 1988 when the US envoy just went around rallying opposition leaders. Not that Singapore did not profit; it did profit a lot from America's Vietnamese black hole. But let's not pretend that either the Singapore government or people can really make a reasonable difference if they changed foreign policy, without getting colour revolutioned and then nothing changes.
Well, just ask their incoming National Security Advisor, Professor Dr. Clarita Carlos of what she's going to be advising the newly elected President. The interview is mix of English and Filipino.
A few comments:
The CSIS host seems to think China misplayed Hong Kong and the SCS islands.
But he seems to have forgotten that it was Hillary Clinton "refreshed her memory" of a meeting (as per Geoff Dyer's book - The Contest of the Century) and announced to the world media that the SCS was now a core Chinese interest along the lines of Taiwan or Tibet. Clinton was right that China would have no choice but to embrace her announcement. But she was wrong that China would have no response and that the SCS nations would flock to the US for protection. Instead, China built the huge SCS island bases, which demonstrated US impotence. At the same time, these Chinese bases would be used to keep the sea lanes open for the countries adjoining the SCS in the event of the US trying to blockade China.
Plus was it ever realistic that the CCP would also the protestors to potentially vote in a pro-independence Chief Executive? And we saw the CCP be remarkably restrained in not sending in the Army and allowing the Hong Kong Police to deal with it, even though it lasted months.
Plus the overall US strategy seems to be to wait out China until it mellows. That's not a bad strategy as the current generation in charge will be replaced in the decades ahead with the 80s generation and then the millenials.