Since its founding, the CCP has sought to use the Leninist concept of the United Front to extend its influence abroad by weaponizing ethnic ties to the Chinese diaspora.
Lee Kuan Yew knew this first hand. In the 1950s–60s, Chinese medium schools and left wing unions in Singapore were heavily infiltrated by communist elements tied to Maoist China and the Malayan Communist Party. They caused a lot of trouble for him.
He once said:
"The danger is, if you are Chinese-educated and only Chinese-educated, you are monolingual, then your source of literature will be communist."
So one of the smartest things LKY did was to make English the working language of government, business, education, and administration (while promoting bilingualism with mother tongues).
Lee recognized that "ethnic strings" could be weaponized. Prioritizing English was more than just an anti-communist measure. Lee Kuan Yew understood that it would help create a neutral, unifying language and identity in Singapore’s multiracial society, while also cutting the emotional and cultural ties that linked its ethnic Chinese population to their ancestral homeland.
Ties which the CCP are only too happy to weaponize.
It's significant that Lee Hsien Loong - Lee Kuan Yew’s own son and Singapore’s former Prime Minister - chose to reaffirm the very ethos of his father’s founding vision before an audience in mainland China, speaking directly to the Chinese leadership and the CCP itself.
@DRTnky@SingaporeAir Agree. Just arrived in LA on EVA Air. More leg room & full service flight. Enjoyed this more than my previous SQ to Seattle non stop.
@DRTnky The Singapore business model is impeccable. Where else does the ruling government makes more for each car sold than the car manufacturers? This is a smart form of luxury tax on the rich !