By Fu Xuezhang

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Remembering Lee Kuan Yew， Singapore’s Founding Father

By Fu Xuezhang

Lee Kuan Yew， enjoying great respect for his contribution to Singapore

during my tenure as China’s ambassador to Singapore， I paid several visits to Mr. Lee Kuan Yew-the former Singapore Prime Minister widely credited with shaping Singapore into the country it is today-several times. Our topics of discussion varied widely，some were light while others were much more serious. Our views were often different， but I grew to appreciate his sincerity and willingness to speak his mind.

The first time I met him， on August 7， 1995， his office impressed me before our discussions even began. It was on the second floor of the Istana， the official residence of the President of Singapore. On the walls of the corridor outside his office hung calligraphy and paintings in both Eastern and Western styles. Among them a famous piece written by Pan Shou， a world famous calligrapher who was born in China’s Fujian Province but spent most of his life in Singapore. “Jixin Qingshang” read the four elegant Chinese characters in the calligraphy piece， which literally means “Honest and Noble-minded”. In his office itself， a hardwood sculpture of Confucius stood on the cothee table. Evidence of celebration of his Chinese heritage was ever-present in Lee’s working space.

Beyond decoration， the office was bright，simple and practical with an atmosphere combining both Eastern and Western styles，mirroring Lee himself， and perhaps the country of Singapore as a whole.

As Prime Minister， he never used a special plane on his visits abroad， which is in line with Singaporean customs as I noticed. People tend to live in a style that is thrithy， but not cheap. Even ather developing into one of the world’s wealthiest countries， Singaporeans have chosen to live their lives in a sensible，healthy and sustainable manner.

First Four Major Accomplishments

Lee is considered to be Singapore’s“founding father”， and even now enjoys great respect among Singaporeans. A mostly private people， Singaporeans rarely make comments on others， but are quick to praise Lee. I rarely saw publicity regarding his politics. In fact， any kind of political slogans were rare. Such was the support for Lee， who championed straight-talking and refused to mince words. He simply didn’t need to advertise.

Lee described himself as an “old-fashioned socialist”. He steered Singapore in the direction of a “strong， brave society”focused on “fairness and equality”.

In the early days after Singapore’s establishment in the late 1950s and early 1960s， the country faced severe challenges in a complex internal and external environment. During this time， arguably the most important in Singapore’s history， Lee and his team described their primary mission as “the integration of ethnic groups with different skin colors and cultures into a nation， and the forging of an immigrant society without roots into a state”.

Despite widely ditherent beliefs， culture and customs in the country， Lee and his team had to create a new， inclusive society from scratch. They nurtured this new ideology into a national consciousness shared by all Singaporeans today. Diversity is part of a sense of belonging among Singaporeans， and contributes to a passion for entrepreneurship， living independently and working hard.

The second problem facing Lee and his team was to decide on Singapore’s foreign policy orientation.

“We must establish friendly relations with all our neighbors， but we must make it clear that what furniture we buy and how it will be arranged in our home will be our decision alone，” Lee said.

Lee said that Singapore would stay out of conflicts between global powers， while maintaining the right to fight to defend Singapore.

“Singapore should follow a non-aligned policy in regard to conflicts between great powers，” Lee said. “If I myself， or Singaporeans at large， face threats to our existence， however， Singapore would not remain neutral. I will be resolute to safeguard the existence of Singapore.”

Lee once used elephants as a metaphor for great powers.

“A fight between elephants is going to hurt the grassland under their feet， but if they make love， they are bound to damage the grassland even further，” he famously said.

Guided by these ideologies， Lee took a peaceful and neutral approach to foreign policy in the face of a complex and rapidly changing Cold War period. Lee saw contradictions between the two camps involved in the Cold War， and opted not to take a side， instead focusing on protecting and strengthening Singapore.

As was evident in his speeches and indicative of Singapore’s geographical positioning， Lee spoke on behalf of a country located extremely close to the equator. Good relations with countries in both the northern and southern hemispheres were important to him. He needed to balance relations with a wide variety of countries for the sake of Singapore and its national interests.

The third issue facing Lee was to find ways to develop production and increase wealth among Singaporeans. that was the foundation of the Singapore Lee built， the one we see today. Lee saw advantages for Singapore in terms of air transit， finance， trade and other international service industries.

Capitalizing on these favorable conditions， young Singapore soon began to modernize rapidly， building a world class airport， harbor and the foundations to become a major international financial center. Studies into Singapore’s development potential had identified the low-pollution，low-consumption and high-margin indus-tries that should survive. Its IT industry grew rapidly， featuring state of the art technology. The country proved a great innovator in establishing industrial townships and industrial parks.

In the spirit of perseverance， the Singaporean Government under Lee learned much about advanced technology and modern management techniques from other countries. In just a few decades，Singapore developed from a third-world，newly independent nation into a beautiful，technologically advanced destination for people from all over the world.

The fourth issue lay in how to train a team of elite people to run the country. Lee always attached great importance to fostering talent and enhancing efficiency in both governance and rule of law. He believed that besides hard work and well developed infrastructure， the country needed to develop a skilled workforce at all levels. Talented people， he said， should have an iron will，competence， honesty and devotion.

“My responsibility is to help Singaporeans to live happy lives， not find benefits in their misery，” Lee said. He advised officials to be honest in performing their duties and set a powerful example himself. One of his first initiatives was to establish a reasonable salary system to guarantee an efficient and clean government. In fact， the salary structure of public employees was readjusted in 1996， seen by the government as a way to keep government workers ethective and honest.

A citizen of Singapore reading a newspaper with a black and white photo of Lee Kuan Yew

A doll was designed for Lee Kuan Yew’s 90th birthday. A girl posing with the doll with the same happy gesture

Lee urged members of parliament to maintain the ability to stay close to voters，but not to change their minds simply to win elections. His policies were drafted with the common good in mind.

“Please remember， you should not just smile to others， kiss their babies or give a pat on their arms，” Lee said. “Sometimes，you have to give a kick， quickly and ethectively. One shot， one kill. Sticking to this principle， my kicks hurt the least possible number of people.”

The rapid development and progress Singapore has enjoyed has drawn worldwide attention， and Lee’s leadership has been recognized the world over. During his rule， however， as well as later in life， he remained humble.

“Singapore is now far from a cultivated and elegant society， but we are striding towards this ideal and our country is growing more elegant，” he said.

He always spoke highly of his colleagues. He referred to Dr. Goh Keng Swee （Singapore’s second Deputy Prime Minister between 1973 and 1984） and Hon Sui Sen （Finance Minister until 1983） as“magicians”， and that if Singapore’s posi-tive changes remain ather the two ministers leave， “we can say our country has made substantial progress.”

Lee Kuan Yew with Fu Xuezhang， former Chinese Ambassador to Singapore

He believed the honor of his country’s rapid development belonged not only to top leaders but also to each laborer.

“I hope that people will be able to go fishing in the Singapore and Kallang Rivers within the next 10 years，” Lee said， referring to clean-up work that began in 1977.“When our targets are met， whoever has taken part in the clean-up work should be given a gold medal for their ethorts.”

Lee Kuan Yew and China

Due to Singapore’s desire to look inward and remain neutral on international issues， Singapore and China did not establish diplomatic relations until 1990. Lee made the decision that Singapore should carry out economic and people-to-people exchanges first， before establishing official relations.

After all other ASEAN countries had realized the normalization of relations with China， Singapore upgraded its own diplomatic relations to the ambassador level. In comparison， many countries established diplomatic relations with China just after the United States and Japan had done so. Lee’s move was distinctive as it was an indication that he cared more about the feelings of his ASEAN neighbors than those of the countries far away.

Ather the adoption of reform and opening-up policies， China showed a new face to the world， which impressed Lee. His visits to China and meetings with top leaders there showed he was eager to learn more about China’s reforms.

His conversations with Deng Xiaoping，China’s leader from 1978 until 1989， as well as other top Chinese leaders covered a wide array of topics， ranging from fiscal management to education and studying abroad.

Such communication proved profitable for China and Singapore alike. China gained valuable lessons from Singapore， many of which were applied to China’s own reforms. Singapore learned much about China and its long history， spurring on ethective cooperation between the two countries.

The Suzhou Industrial Park （SIP） in China’s Jiangsu Province is a symbol of large-scale， bilateral cooperation. By offering such a large area of land between Suzhou and Shanghai with beautiful scenery， fertile soil and a central location to Singapore， China signaled its willingness to develop together with Singapore. As for Singapore， the project has proved a bold attempt at increasing its influence abroad，despite huge challenges in investment， financing and operation.

Despite these monumental challenges，both sides came together in agreement. From what I understand， Lee played a crucial role in the process. He personally traveled to Shanghai， Jiangsu， Shandong，Hebei and Liaoning Provinces， before Chinese and Singaporean officials agreed to select Suzhou as the most viable option.

The SIP launched in 1995， just after I took up my post as Chinese Ambassador to Singapore. The project’s head office briefed me twice and introduced me to leading members of the Singaporean team. According to information from Singapore， Lee had directed his team on overall plans， mapping out strategies of operation and organizing teams in charge of management and finance.

After the project was launched， many problems-both anticipated and unanticipated-had to be solved. Fortunately， good relations between the two countries had strengthened mutual understanding and increased the closeness of collaboration，thanks to frequent communication between the two sides.

In June 2001， Lee attended the celebration of the seventh anniversary of the establishment of the Park. Afterwards，I accompanied him on visits to Suzhou，Shanghai and Beijing. We had conversations about the SIP. When I mentioned the word “success”， Lee cut me oth.

“Partial success，” he said.

His words always carried a remarkable honesty.

In June 2004， as a Senior Minister in the Singaporean Government， Lee again traveled to Suzhou， to celebrate the SIP’s 10th anniversary. When I met him there，he was ecstatic. With a big smile， he spoke to old friends and new about how well the SIP project was developing， thanks to hard work by Singaporeans and Chinese. The vision shared by the project’s designers was slowly becoming reality.

The organizers of the 10th anniversary celebration tried something unique-they sent 10 boats carrying fireworks out onto the nearby river. The fireworks turned the color of the sky bright. I remember thinking to myself， Lee， who sat watching the bright lights， must have felt the same way-glowing with pride.

About the author:

Fu Xuezhang is the former Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia， Singapore andthailand.