A tale of two cities: Singapore, Hong Kong and their contrasting paths

In a new memoir No Borders: Journeys Across Islands And Continents, renowned historian Wang Gungwu traces his life across Malaya, London, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore, sharing both personal anecdotes and perspectives on the changes in China and the modern world. In the excerpt below, Wang reflects on his impressions of Singapore after arriving from Hong Kong with his wife Margaret in the 1990s, the differences between the two cities, and his work on contemporary China with Singapore’s research institutes.Coming from Hong Kong, Margaret and I expected no dramatic change in perspectives. Hong Kong and Singapore were both modern cities serving as global ports facing the South China Sea. Put simply, the main difference came from what the cities saw as their future.For Hong Kong, it consisted mainly of Chinese people who spoke Cantonese and thought they knew how to deal with British officialdom. Mandarin speakers were still regarded with suspicion or condescension.The city had its own pluralist features, greatly divided along many different political lines. They were prepared for the city’s return to a China homeland, but there were many who hoped that a reformed People’s Republic of China might eventually grow a system more like that of Hong Kong’s.In contrast, Singapore was a republic with a Chinese majority committed to a multifaceted Chinese-Malay-Indian-Others (commonly abbreviated as CMIO) nationhood. What made the task of its leaders so challenging was that each of the four groups was diverse and pluralistic in its own way. From the start, the legacy of British democracy was to provide legitimacy to a strong government that could manage this successfully.Wang Gungwu specialises in the history of China and Southeast Asia. Photo: HandoutFounding prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, believed that stable political power was essential to create the prosperity the port city desperately needed and that could only be achieved at a cost. His successor, Goh Chok Tong, looked out for new directions for the people to benefit more directly from what had been achieved. This was evident in the policies developed during the 1990s.