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FORGIVE AND PROGRESS: From left, Japan’s Emperor Hirohito, the prime minister’s wife, Kwa Geok Choo, the Empress Nagako and Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in 1968. PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Since Lee Kuan Yew, founding prime minister of Singapore, passed away on Monday, much has been said for and against him. A unique world statesman transcending his own culture, known and respected for his penetrating insights, Lee was fiercely sensitive to any criticism of Singapore’s authoritarian state yet never reluctant to advise, criticize or preach to others.
One lesson that Lee left us has been widely overlooked, and it has particular relevance for the rise of China. When it came to the sins of the past, he put reason ahead of emotion. A consummate pragmatist, Lee did not allow the many wrongs of history to rankle and fester, which allowed his country to benefit immensely.
Thrust into unanticipated independence in 1965, Singapore lacked any natural resources except its sheltered deep-water port, strategically placed on a major global sea route. Thanks to that situation and British imperial rule, Singapore had already made itself a leading world seaport by the early 20th century. But as a tiny new nation, Lee declared that “to understand Singapore, you’ve got to start off with an improbable story: It should not exist.”
With only human capital to work with, Singaporeans needed jobs to sustain life. The government had to expand the economy beyond the port and its trade, to build something more than what the maritime sector alone could provide. The port may have been First World; the rest was Third. Singapore also needed to create a national identity for a population diverse in ethnicity, religion, language and culture. Tensions among volatile groupings occasionally exploded into riots. In meeting both of these enormous challenges, economic and social, Lee artfully employed history to his advantage.
Unlike the other newly independent nations that proliferated with the quick collapse of the European oceanic empires following World War II, Singapore embraced its colonial past instead of excoriating it. Lee was ready to forgive the many sins of colonial rule. In a symbolic gesture, instead of removing a prominent statue of Sir Stamford Raffles, an arch-imperialist founding father of the British colony, Lee kept him standing in the heart of the city. He elevated Raffles to a pantheon of other Singaporean makers of the nation, using the Englishman to help fashion an identity for a newly independent state.
As a non-Asian, Raffles stood as a neutral figure conveniently apart from Singapore’s Chinese, Malay and Tamil ethnic groups. Lee used him to personify the positive and upscale aura of British imperial tradition—its stability and dignity, its language and global connections. All of these were attractive to the potential foreign investors whom Lee fervently wanted to court. Furthermore, colonial paternalism formed part of that legacy, an authoritarianism that Lee and his colleagues found most suitable for the needs of their struggling new state.
Just as Lee forgave British colonial arrogance, so did he forgive Japanese World War II military brutality. Unlike China and Korea, Singapore nurtures no sense of grievance towards its former occupiers, despite the hardship and exceptional cruelty of the wartime Japanese presence. Arbitrary face-slapping and public urination were the least of it. The Japanese chose Chinese Singaporeans, three quarters of the population, for the worst treatment due their suspected loyalties to China. The occupiers singled out those who had soft hands and wore glasses—marks of the leadership class—for execution. Many thousands died.
Yet Singaporeans after the war, under Lee’s governance, set aside these bitter memories of the past for the better interests of the present. Recognizing and admiring the extraordinary rise of modern Japan and its rapid recovery from war and defeat, in his scramble to create jobs for Singaporeans, Lee turned to the Japanese for advice on shipbuilding and electronics, successfully luring Japanese investment to help Singapore create a job-rich manufacturing economy. Americans eventually joined in and now have invested twice as much in tiny Singapore as in all of China.
For the city-state, here was the first step in a continuing and highly successful effort to scale the economic ladder by bringing in foreign capital and technology. This resulted in an advanced services sector helping to make Singapore the prosperous nation it is today, a symbol around the globe for economic achievement.
The lesson is clear. The U.S. “forgot Pearl Harbor” and soon began to build a significant mutually beneficial relationship with Japan. After centuries of animosity and conflict, another war between France and Germany is now virtually unthinkable. Both Koreas and China also could profit now from putting reason over emotion, laying aside past political grievances, horrendous as they might be, in favor of present economic realities and advantages.
Click here to view the original image of 1280x853px.
FORGIVE AND PROGRESS: From left, Japan’s Emperor Hirohito, the prime minister’s wife, Kwa Geok Choo, the Empress Nagako and Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in 1968. PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Since Lee Kuan Yew, founding prime minister of Singapore, passed away on Monday, much has been said for and against him. A unique world statesman transcending his own culture, known and respected for his penetrating insights, Lee was fiercely sensitive to any criticism of Singapore’s authoritarian state yet never reluctant to advise, criticize or preach to others.
One lesson that Lee left us has been widely overlooked, and it has particular relevance for the rise of China. When it came to the sins of the past, he put reason ahead of emotion. A consummate pragmatist, Lee did not allow the many wrongs of history to rankle and fester, which allowed his country to benefit immensely.
Thrust into unanticipated independence in 1965, Singapore lacked any natural resources except its sheltered deep-water port, strategically placed on a major global sea route. Thanks to that situation and British imperial rule, Singapore had already made itself a leading world seaport by the early 20th century. But as a tiny new nation, Lee declared that “to understand Singapore, you’ve got to start off with an improbable story: It should not exist.”
With only human capital to work with, Singaporeans needed jobs to sustain life. The government had to expand the economy beyond the port and its trade, to build something more than what the maritime sector alone could provide. The port may have been First World; the rest was Third. Singapore also needed to create a national identity for a population diverse in ethnicity, religion, language and culture. Tensions among volatile groupings occasionally exploded into riots. In meeting both of these enormous challenges, economic and social, Lee artfully employed history to his advantage.
Unlike the other newly independent nations that proliferated with the quick collapse of the European oceanic empires following World War II, Singapore embraced its colonial past instead of excoriating it. Lee was ready to forgive the many sins of colonial rule. In a symbolic gesture, instead of removing a prominent statue of Sir Stamford Raffles, an arch-imperialist founding father of the British colony, Lee kept him standing in the heart of the city. He elevated Raffles to a pantheon of other Singaporean makers of the nation, using the Englishman to help fashion an identity for a newly independent state.
As a non-Asian, Raffles stood as a neutral figure conveniently apart from Singapore’s Chinese, Malay and Tamil ethnic groups. Lee used him to personify the positive and upscale aura of British imperial tradition—its stability and dignity, its language and global connections. All of these were attractive to the potential foreign investors whom Lee fervently wanted to court. Furthermore, colonial paternalism formed part of that legacy, an authoritarianism that Lee and his colleagues found most suitable for the needs of their struggling new state.
Just as Lee forgave British colonial arrogance, so did he forgive Japanese World War II military brutality. Unlike China and Korea, Singapore nurtures no sense of grievance towards its former occupiers, despite the hardship and exceptional cruelty of the wartime Japanese presence. Arbitrary face-slapping and public urination were the least of it. The Japanese chose Chinese Singaporeans, three quarters of the population, for the worst treatment due their suspected loyalties to China. The occupiers singled out those who had soft hands and wore glasses—marks of the leadership class—for execution. Many thousands died.
Yet Singaporeans after the war, under Lee’s governance, set aside these bitter memories of the past for the better interests of the present. Recognizing and admiring the extraordinary rise of modern Japan and its rapid recovery from war and defeat, in his scramble to create jobs for Singaporeans, Lee turned to the Japanese for advice on shipbuilding and electronics, successfully luring Japanese investment to help Singapore create a job-rich manufacturing economy. Americans eventually joined in and now have invested twice as much in tiny Singapore as in all of China.
For the city-state, here was the first step in a continuing and highly successful effort to scale the economic ladder by bringing in foreign capital and technology. This resulted in an advanced services sector helping to make Singapore the prosperous nation it is today, a symbol around the globe for economic achievement.
The lesson is clear. The U.S. “forgot Pearl Harbor” and soon began to build a significant mutually beneficial relationship with Japan. After centuries of animosity and conflict, another war between France and Germany is now virtually unthinkable. Both Koreas and China also could profit now from putting reason over emotion, laying aside past political grievances, horrendous as they might be, in favor of present economic realities and advantages.
Yes the power of forgiveness is divine. However don't do itthat to the point of selling justice out for profit. It numbs your soul.