Adam Khoo: The expats will rule Singapore

[csc]

tree nymph:

Actually, we don't discriminate the Chinese. But the Chinese reputation is spolit by a small number of Dragon Ladies. They created headlines for the wrong reasons. I think that's where the 'looking down' came about. I think the chinese lady cleaning our office toilets here is doing a fantastic job and we have even written letters to her boss singing her praises!

You are so right!

I just realised my children's Chinese tutor is from Shanghai and their piano teacher is from Canton.

Both have excellent work ethics. Very thankful for them. :lol:

[minnie2004]

csc:

tree nymph:

Actually, we don't discriminate the Chinese. But the Chinese reputation is spolit by a small number of Dragon Ladies. They created headlines for the wrong reasons. I think that's where the 'looking down' came about. I think the chinese lady cleaning our office toilets here is doing a fantastic job and we have even written letters to her boss singing her praises!

You are so right!

I just realised my children's Chinese tutor is from Shanghai and their piano teacher is from Canton.

Both have excellent work ethics. Very thankful for them. :lol:

The lady who does my facial is also from china. She used to be a lawyer in China!! My masseur is also from China. She was a TCM doctor there

[ChiefKiasu]

minnie2004:

... In fact it was just a feeling I had after reading Chief's post. He used a lot of \"we Singaporeans\", \"us Singaporeans\", conveying a strong \"we against the world\" message. Not just him, the frequency these phrases appear in other media is higher than I'm used to. In real life however, I don't feel like an outsider and have no problem getting along with locals.


BTW, i hope Chief won't be mad at me and black-list me from KSP ...

The connotation is not \"us against the world\". The message is that as a country, we are proud to have come together to achieve what we have done so far, and we are not prepared to sit back and let ourselves be labeled as a less than civil society bent on giving our PRs a hard time.

Singaporean's nationalism pales when compared to the South Korean and Japanese. But it's there because we are a country, afterall, and not just and part of another country.

PS. We only terminate spammers and trolls, and we publicly list all those accounts we terminate for transparency. As you are neither, you don't have to worry about being banned.

[gajidouma]

[quote]Actually, we don't discriminate the Chinese. But the Chinese reputation is spolit by a small number of Dragon Ladies[/quote]
I have no comments on this one. Takes two hands to clap. Reminds me of Jerk Neo.
[quote]He used a lot of \"we Singaporeans\", \"us Singaporeans\", conveying a strong \"we against the world\" message.[/quote]No problem with this one either. [quote]as a country, we are proud to have come together to achieve what we have done so far.[/quote]

[minnie2004]

Thanks Chief for clarifying your stance. I believe that’s the stance for the majority Singaporeans as well and I respect your nationalism and I’m not here to belittle your country.


Despite always being "just part of another country", HK’s success story was not much different from that of Singapore. We also had no natural resources and counted on the hard work of our people, many of whom, like those in Singapore, were immigrants from China. Although being a British colony before, we never really received much help from the host country except for the legal system and the clean and small government they provided. Social benefits were minimal and we were pretty much left to our own devices. So despite being a colony of a country, we belonged to no country, hence this lack of nationalism among us. Because of this, we learned to be practical, self-sufficient and highly flexible. After 1997, when everyone thought it was the end of HK, we evolved ourselves to become even more successful.

I can’t represent all HKers, but many of us (including those who carry foreign passports) are proud to call ourselves HKers, although HK is officially not a country. Despite many HKers have left HK after 1997 to escape communist China, our govt still welcomes them back to work and live with open arms, as long they’ve paid their taxes.

[ChiefKiasu]

minnie2004:

Thanks Chief for clarifying your stance. I believe that's the stance for the majority Singaporeans as well and I respect your nationalism and I'm not here to belittle your country...

Dear minnie2004, you are most welcome and your views on this issue of citizens vs PR carries weight because they are well-balanced and thought through. It is by such constructive exchanges that we can see the situation from each others' point of view and come to a common understanding. Hopefully, that will translate to solutions and policies that better meet the needs of both citizens and PRs.

[corneyAmber]

minnie2004:

... In fact it was just a feeling I had after reading Chief's post. He used a lot of \"we Singaporeans\", \"us Singaporeans\", conveying a strong \"we against the world\" message. Not just him, the frequency these phrases appear in other media is higher than I'm used to. In real life however, I don't feel like an outsider and have no problem getting along with locals.


BTW, i hope Chief won't be mad at me and black-list me from KSP ...

minnie2004, it is easy to be converted if you attend enough NDP. Perhaps you can try to get the tickets for this year....

[tree nymph]

ks2me:

minnie2004:

... In fact it was just a feeling I had after reading Chief's post. He used a lot of \"we Singaporeans\", \"us Singaporeans\", conveying a strong \"we against the world\" message. Not just him, the frequency these phrases appear in other media is higher than I'm used to. In real life however, I don't feel like an outsider and have no problem getting along with locals.


BTW, i hope Chief won't be mad at me and black-list me from KSP ...

minnie2004, it is easy to be converted if you attend enough NDP. Perhaps you can try to get the tickets for this year....

another competitor!!!

citizens got prioity or not??

:roll:

[Busymom]

tree nymph:

ks2me:

[quote=\"minnie2004\"]... In fact it was just a feeling I had after reading Chief's post. He used a lot of \"we Singaporeans\", \"us Singaporeans\", conveying a strong \"we against the world\" message. Not just him, the frequency these phrases appear in other media is higher than I'm used to. In real life however, I don't feel like an outsider and have no problem getting along with locals.


BTW, i hope Chief won't be mad at me and black-list me from KSP ...

minnie2004, it is easy to be converted if you attend enough NDP. Perhaps you can try to get the tickets for this year....

another competitor!!!

citizens got prioity or not??

:roll: :P[/quote]tree nymph,

You'd better clarify you are just trying to get the NDP tickets... :lol: :lol:

[Busymom]

Cheval:

I'd like share some personal experiences in France, where I studied and worked for 12 years altogether. All regular foreigners have exactly the same benefits and pay the same fees as French, except the right of voting. As such, when I was a student, I could also apply for housing subsidy just as my French classmates. French universities are free (i.e., wholly subsidized by the government) and this also applies to foreign students. For health care, the government takes on charge 85% of the cost. Usually people buy a 'Mutual' policy allowing to complete the rest. At the end of my study, thinking that I was going to leave soon, I did not renew my Mutual. Unfortunately, I got a serious bicycle accident and stayed 2 days in hospital on emergency. In the end, I paid only 300 francs (about 50 euros).

Thanks for your insight too, it has been good to read from your balanced views here.

I have long heard from my french colleagues that education in France is highly subsidized by the state. However, depending on which type of universities you go to, some are not free (the private business schools for instance). What is interesting to learn from you on the other hand, is that for a foreign student, the university education is also free. Must one be on some sort of scholarship? Just wondering, why don't people send their kids to France to study since it is free?