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<TABLE id=msgUN border=0 cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>
Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Much to learn from the PRCs</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt_89 <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>May-14 10:25 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 3) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>33114.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>May 14, 2010
Much to learn from the Chinese
<!-- by line -->By Connie Er
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Chinese nationals in Singapore raising their flags at a Singapore-China football match last year. In Singapore-China networking, recent arrivals from China are taking the lead. -- TNP FILE PHOTO
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A CONFIDENT-LOOKING teenager strode up to the microphone at a recent forum in Singapore and asked if China's leaders had what it took to push for even greater reforms than what the legendary Deng Xiaoping accomplished.
Noting that the late paramount leader had the support of the military when he pushed through economic reforms, the Dunman High student wondered aloud how far President Hu Jintao and his likely successor Xi Jinping would be able to take reforms without a comparable military background.
Would China's economic development falter, causing instability or even the collapse of the Chinese Communist Party, asked the student.
The occasion was the first in the China Insight forum series organised by Singapore-based networking group Business China. The guest speaker was Hong Kong Phoenix TV commentator and veteran journalist Yang Jinlin.
The student's question earned him praise from Dr Yang.
'I'm very impressed that Singaporean students are of such high calibre. There's certainly great hope for Singapore!' declared Dr Yang.
The teenager replied: 'Er, sorry, but I'm from China.'
The audience roared with laughter.
The student was not the only Chinese person who spoke up. Out of eight questions from the floor, six others came from his countrymen.
It was a sober reminder that in Singapore-China networking, it is the recent arrivals from China who are taking the lead.
The forum had drawn some 500 people, mainly Business China members, working partners and university and Special Assistance Plan school students.
Many were Chinese exchange students. They were concerned about how China could win over the hearts of the Taiwanese and the world. In short, they wanted to know how China could promote its culture globally.
Resourceful young Chinese people studying or working in Singapore have been quick to link up with their countrymen and to stay abreast of new developments back home.
In a sign of the active participation of the Chinese in local networks, the April 4 inaugural forum was supported by the Xiamen University Alumni. (Dr Yang holds a doctorate in history from the university.)
Previous waves of immigrants, dating back to the 1850s, might have joined clan associations. But many of the recent arrivals from China, including students, are not from southern China. They do not speak the southern dialects of Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese or Hainanese.
They come from all over China, including mega-cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, and north-eastern provinces like Heilongjiang and the central provinces like Hunan.
Many of the newly arrived Chinese are better educated than previous generations of assimilated ethnic Chinese. They are keen to join broad-based associations organised by bilingual new migrants, like the Hua Yuan Association, reported Professor Liu Hong, formerly of the Chinese Studies department at National University of Singapore, in his book New Migrants And The Revival Of Overseas Chinese Nationalism.
The Hua Yuan Association as well as the Tian Fu Club and Tianjin Club are some of the groups formed by mainland Chinese in Singapore. The three groups have more than 4,000 members between them, many of whom are university graduates.
But the new generation of Chinese expatriates and immigrants is also keen to network through local organisations like the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) - which in fact started as a self-help group in 1906 to serve new Chinese immigrants.
To help the new arrivals integrate into society, the SCCCI set up its Immigrants Liaison Group in 2007 and it drew entrepreneurs and professionals into the fold.
Business China - a brainchild of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew - was also set up by the SCCCI, in November 2007.
It aims to help those who are interested in sharpening their bilingual and bicultural edge to engage China. The new forum series it is organising will invite academics and industry experts from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore to offer their views on issues that will have an impact on China and the world.
Business China's chief executive officer Josephine Teo, who is an MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, has said special attention would be given to helping younger Singaporeans know China better.
Judging from the response at the forum, Chinese nationals are also benefiting.
Only one question at the forum was posed by a Singaporean. It came after the forum's moderator, Ms Chun Guek Lay, specifically invited Singaporeans to speak up.
The Singaporean, who identified himself as an alumnus of Dunman High, greeted Dr Yang in Hokkien, and then asked, in Mandarin, about conflicts between old and new forces in China as it emerges as a strong power.
But it was the Chinese who had led the way in asking the questions. Singaporeans have much to learn from them - even in their own country.
After the session ended, the Dunman High student who had asked the question about Deng Xiaoping approached his teacher - also a Chinese national - who evaluated his performance.
'I think you should have got straight to the point when asking questions, instead of providing so much context,' the teacher said. 'But hey, well done,' she added, beaming.
When even a question is a teachable moment, you know the Chinese here mean business
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Much to learn from the Chinese
<!-- by line -->By Connie Er
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar -->
<!-- story content : start -->
A CONFIDENT-LOOKING teenager strode up to the microphone at a recent forum in Singapore and asked if China's leaders had what it took to push for even greater reforms than what the legendary Deng Xiaoping accomplished.
Noting that the late paramount leader had the support of the military when he pushed through economic reforms, the Dunman High student wondered aloud how far President Hu Jintao and his likely successor Xi Jinping would be able to take reforms without a comparable military background.
Would China's economic development falter, causing instability or even the collapse of the Chinese Communist Party, asked the student.
The occasion was the first in the China Insight forum series organised by Singapore-based networking group Business China. The guest speaker was Hong Kong Phoenix TV commentator and veteran journalist Yang Jinlin.
The student's question earned him praise from Dr Yang.
'I'm very impressed that Singaporean students are of such high calibre. There's certainly great hope for Singapore!' declared Dr Yang.
The teenager replied: 'Er, sorry, but I'm from China.'
The audience roared with laughter.
The student was not the only Chinese person who spoke up. Out of eight questions from the floor, six others came from his countrymen.
It was a sober reminder that in Singapore-China networking, it is the recent arrivals from China who are taking the lead.
The forum had drawn some 500 people, mainly Business China members, working partners and university and Special Assistance Plan school students.
Many were Chinese exchange students. They were concerned about how China could win over the hearts of the Taiwanese and the world. In short, they wanted to know how China could promote its culture globally.
Resourceful young Chinese people studying or working in Singapore have been quick to link up with their countrymen and to stay abreast of new developments back home.
In a sign of the active participation of the Chinese in local networks, the April 4 inaugural forum was supported by the Xiamen University Alumni. (Dr Yang holds a doctorate in history from the university.)
Previous waves of immigrants, dating back to the 1850s, might have joined clan associations. But many of the recent arrivals from China, including students, are not from southern China. They do not speak the southern dialects of Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese or Hainanese.
They come from all over China, including mega-cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, and north-eastern provinces like Heilongjiang and the central provinces like Hunan.
Many of the newly arrived Chinese are better educated than previous generations of assimilated ethnic Chinese. They are keen to join broad-based associations organised by bilingual new migrants, like the Hua Yuan Association, reported Professor Liu Hong, formerly of the Chinese Studies department at National University of Singapore, in his book New Migrants And The Revival Of Overseas Chinese Nationalism.
The Hua Yuan Association as well as the Tian Fu Club and Tianjin Club are some of the groups formed by mainland Chinese in Singapore. The three groups have more than 4,000 members between them, many of whom are university graduates.
But the new generation of Chinese expatriates and immigrants is also keen to network through local organisations like the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) - which in fact started as a self-help group in 1906 to serve new Chinese immigrants.
To help the new arrivals integrate into society, the SCCCI set up its Immigrants Liaison Group in 2007 and it drew entrepreneurs and professionals into the fold.
Business China - a brainchild of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew - was also set up by the SCCCI, in November 2007.
It aims to help those who are interested in sharpening their bilingual and bicultural edge to engage China. The new forum series it is organising will invite academics and industry experts from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore to offer their views on issues that will have an impact on China and the world.
Business China's chief executive officer Josephine Teo, who is an MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, has said special attention would be given to helping younger Singaporeans know China better.
Judging from the response at the forum, Chinese nationals are also benefiting.
Only one question at the forum was posed by a Singaporean. It came after the forum's moderator, Ms Chun Guek Lay, specifically invited Singaporeans to speak up.
The Singaporean, who identified himself as an alumnus of Dunman High, greeted Dr Yang in Hokkien, and then asked, in Mandarin, about conflicts between old and new forces in China as it emerges as a strong power.
But it was the Chinese who had led the way in asking the questions. Singaporeans have much to learn from them - even in their own country.
After the session ended, the Dunman High student who had asked the question about Deng Xiaoping approached his teacher - also a Chinese national - who evaluated his performance.
'I think you should have got straight to the point when asking questions, instead of providing so much context,' the teacher said. 'But hey, well done,' she added, beaming.
When even a question is a teachable moment, you know the Chinese here mean business
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
