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What makes Singapore tick?
By Zhang Xiaoyi
I have visited Singapore three times in recent years and, each time, the island-state gave me a different feeling and experience.
Overall, I think I am most impressed with the unity of the people under the leadership of the government and the courage of Singaporeans in the face of adversity.
I first visited Singapore in early 1997. Filled with a sense of curiosity, I found the experience rather refreshing. Its economy was thriving and there were numerous recruitment advertisements in the media.
During the one-month stay, I made cursory observations of the city-state more as a tourist than a journalist with 20 years of experience. When I returned to China, I wrote five articles on Singapore for Xi'an Evening News, the newspaper I work for.
In July 1999, I came to Singapore again and spent six months here. The longer duration allowed me to gain a better and more comprehensive understanding of the tiny nation. Singapore had just emerged relatively unscathed from the Asian economic crisis and the market was booming again.
I participated in many cultural, business and even sporting activities and met Singaporeans from all walks of life. In short, I wanted to find out what makes Singapore successful.
Many praises have been heaped on Singapore, such as an efficient and clean government, a strict and impartial justice system, a friendly and educated people and an orderly and open society. They sounded rather hollow to me at first, but soon became real and concrete through many of my personal experiences.
When I was back in China, I penned more than 10 articles which touched on areas such as Singapore's practice of imposing severe punishment on law-breakers and its primary and secondary education. These were picked up by many newspapers and websites. (来源：老牌的英语学习网站 http://www.EnglishCN.com)
Last November, I was here on my third visit when a General Election was on and the Singapore economy was in recession. I observed the hustings with great interests. And I was not surprised at all that the ruling People's Action Party scored a landslide victory by winning more than 75 per cent of valid votes.
The way I, a foreigner, saw it, the people should vote for competent parties which have produced results. The man in the street is rather down-to-earth - it is not what promises the politicians can make but what they can deliver that matters.
For 30 over years, under the PAP leadership, Singapore has grown from a poor country with hardly any resources to an affluent, modern and developed nation. Its success story is well-known and is reason enough for the people to continue to throw their support behind the party.
Unlike the previous visits, this time round I witnessed and heard many problems brought about by a slowing economy, including retrenchment, rising unemployment and a fall in media advertisements. In spite of all these, society remained orderly and the people kept their spirits high.
According to a recent news report, the economic downturn had not triggered a rise in crime rates. This really set me thinking as the underlying reasons were significant. While social chaos and rampant crimes are often the result of an economic recession, this has not happened in Singapore.
I guess it is a matter of confidence. And with the kind of confidence the government and the people have, there is no problem that they cannot overcome together.
(The writer is a journalist with China's Xi'an Evening News. Translated by Yap Gee Poh)
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