Singaporean foreign policy and the Asian Values Debate, 1992–2000: reflections on an experiment in soft power

Between 1992 and 2000, the international order witnessed a clash of discourses not seen since the height of the Cold War when both superpowers engaged in propaganda offensives to assert the superiority of their respective governing ideologies. However, unlike the Cold War, the Asian Values Debate did not involve a supporting cast of armed occupations, insurgencies and the preaching of revolution. It involved instead statements of difference couched in intellectual and material terms, and also relied heavily on persuasion by words and symbolic deeds. This article seeks to evaluate Singaporean foreign policy in the Asian Values Debate by using the concept of soft power as described by Joseph Nye. However, soft power, as the ability to obtain foreign policy ends through attraction or convincing rather than through coercion, is itself vulnerable to instances where the ideas propounded diverge from the practices they purport to inspire. Singapore’s role in the Debate will be examined through three events at its zenith between 1992 and 2000: the clash between Asia and the West at the 1993 United Nations World Conference on Human Rights at Vienna, the Michael Fay Caning Affair which directly pitted Singapore against the US in 1994, and the fate of the Asian exceptionalist argument in the face of the 1997–99 Asian Financial Crisis. The conclusion suggests that Singaporean foreign policy’s experiment in soft power has had its successes, but it remains qualified in its applicability to other Asian foreign policies by certain limits inherent in the Singaporean discourse.     

Singapore Inc. Goes Shopping Abroad: Profits and Pitfalls

Efficient state-led, market-driven intervention has been the hallmark of Singapore's success story but the exportability of state credibility, systemic efficiencies and local advantages into alien contexts is a matter of academic and political controversy. This article scrutinises Singapore's experience with outward investment in order to objectively examine the role of Temasek and of the government-linked corporations (GLCs). It uses the case of Temasek's investment in Thailand to reflect upon the economic and political impacts of the GLCs' global quest. It shows that resistance to Singaporean acquisitions reflects a combination of factors, including a general turn towards “economic nationalism,” attempts by other governments to replicate the city-state's state-led modernisation, and Temasek's and GLCs' underestimation of the risks that are germane to their international strategy.     

The Politics of the Minimum Wage in Hong Kong

This article provides an account of the recent introduction of a minimum wage in Hong Kong in 2011. Traditional welfare state theories had their origins in rich democracies. We refine the theoretical arguments in accordance with the semi-democratic nature of Hong Kong. We argue that the legislation was initiated reluctantly by the business-friendly government under unfavourable economic conditions. Any subsequent concessions to labour were not attributable to labour strength or political oppositions, which were very weak. Instead, multiple miscalculations by the politically dominant business side allowed the labour movement to gain limited grounds throughout the struggle. We also apply our arguments to the case of Singapore, illustrating how welfare state theories can be adapted to less democratic systems.     

新加坡宗教事务的法律治理

新加坡是东西方文明的交汇之地,妥善处理不同种族、宗教之间的关系至关重要。在对本国多元宗教、多元民族的基本国情充分认知的基础上,新加坡政府采取了务实的宗教政策。通过宪法和宗教自由法确立了政教分离、宗教自由和平等保护原则,制定了维护宗教和谐法,实现了宗教间的和谐与容忍,为世界各国宗教事务的法律治理树立了典范。     

晚清时期儒学在新加坡的传播与变革

在新加坡,儒学或曰孔学、孔教,一直被认为是中国传统文化思想的正宗,在一切思想流派中具有无可争辩的统治地位。随着19世纪初期新加坡开埠,华侨来此定居者日益增加,儒学也逐渐在当地华人社会传播开来。自19世纪80年代,晚清设置驻新加坡领事以来,新加坡儒学发展出现兴盛局面。清政府领事官员以及当地华人绅商通过办文社、建孔庙学堂和推广普及双语等方式,实现儒学与西学的对接,将新加坡儒学的发展推向一个新的阶段。     

Have you signed your electronic contract?

The ease with which business can be transacted over the Internet raises various issues, not least among which are writing and signature requirements. While it has been established that an electronic record is a functional equivalent of writing, the position appears to be less clear with regard to electronic signatures. This paper examines the signature requirement as it applies to electronic contracts, in particular the form of electronic signature that can serve the functional equivalent of a handwritten signature for the purpose of the English Statute of Frauds 1677 and its various re-enactments. Reference will be made to legislation, the relevant UNCITRAL Model Laws and UN Conventions as well as to the substantial body of case law on paper contracts for analytical and comparative purposes.     

试论新加坡政府投资高等教育的特点

本文主要探讨新加坡高等教育的经费来源主体是政府、政府控制其教育投资规模及调控其运用等特点。在此基础上,分析新加坡政府重视高等教育投资以及改变与完善投资模式的原因。