Tell me when is the world a level playing field? Tell me even at the national level, discrimination doesn't exist? Tell me in communist China, every citizen is treated equal.
Loh, it is the same everywhere and China is no different from other countries including the US, Singapore and the Sudans. But what is your take on the potential problem being played out now? Surely, you have some conviction and perhaps some courage to express your opinions.
Loh, do you know that China has suddenly become Singapore's second largest trading partner, having overtaken the US and the EU. This compares with almost zero trade not many years ago. Soon, Singapore will be flooded with Chinese investments, businessmen, students, badminton and table tennis players, and also property speculators who will make Singaporeans hopping mad. In less than a decade China will contribute to more than 50% of Singapore's economy. Time to study Chinese, the simplified version! Malaysia has already stolen a march ahead of Singapore by becoming China's largest Asean trading partner. With trade ties with the US and the west rapidly losing out to China, Singapore or rather its leadership, will be quick to realign its friendship antenna. Perhaps a Chinese military/naval base in the foreseeable future? Loh, you must be prepared for the changing of the guards so one can adapt.
Why don't you talk about your adopted home Hong Kong, which is slowly being forced to go the way of China? When will you be leaving permanently for your birthplace in Malaysia instead of trying to be an armchair critic on other countries. Why don't you talk about events in Malaysia and how eager you are to return home? As far as Singapore is concerned, we are a sovereign entity, a member of the UN. We decide our own destiny. As a global city we can deal with any country which is friendly to us and whose relationship is mutually beneficial. So far China has been good for us and if things continue to improve I think we can certainly do more in areas that serve our purposes well. I'm sure many other countries would like to be in our position with a growing China that is already the world's second biggest economy. So what is so wrong when Hong Kong is almost entirely dependent on China? No doubt Singapore will continue to maximise opportunities with all friendly countries besides China.
Of course Hong Kong will be absorbed into mainland China in the year 2047, as provided in the Basic Law that governs HK. Meantime, HK people will have enough time to adjust to what is coming in 2047. The One-country Two-systems for HK is legally valid for only 50 years from 1997, the year HK reverted back to China. But come 2047 China will become the undisputed world leader and the US, its allies and the rest of the world will by then have adapted to a new world order. Singapore will become an outpost of China but with complete autonomy, so that it will not be swallowed by Indonesia/Malaysia. You think I am talking nonsense? Just have a look around you in today's Singapore and you will see new arrivals from China in numbers far greater than what you read in the press. As usual, take a local cab in Singapore and strike up a conversation with the driver, but first tell him you are from Malaysia. You will get a real grass root feedback from the true Singaporean. But Singapore leaders are very adaptable. Your prime minister just traveled to China and it of course was not a holiday vacation. Unfortunately, China's next leader in waiting cancelled a meeting with your PM and also a meeting with Hillary Clinton, with no reasons. Perhaps it is a sign of times to come?
Singapore is stuck in between a rock and a hard place (China and Indonesia) based on today's perception. But longer down the road both the rock or the hard place may be a paradise. Why? Simple, China will become the world's number 1 economy very soon, in less time than a couple of years. Indonesia will leap to become the world's number 6 or 7 economy by 2030, overtaking Germany and the UK, according to McKinsey and Company, and the world's number 4 economy by 2050. Now, Singapore is indeed blessed by such powerful neighbors. Loh, I know it is hard to 'stomach' such scenarios for you and many Singaporeans, given today's global economic architecture. It is going to be impossible to then 'punch above your weight' when the day of reckoning arrives. But like the East Asians who have evolved more than other races through the centuries we must adapt and evolve so that we are one step ahead in brain power, i.e. IQ.
Loh, here is the latest update about the current 'explosive' situation about Iran and the west's threat of even more sanctions or else? Why is the US, its Allies, and Israel putting the screws on Iran with so much threats now? Is it all about the fake justification of Iran being on the verge of getting a bomb and then wiping Israel off the map of the world? The White House, the Pentagon, US intelligence, and reportedly even Israel intelligence and leaders of the Israeli military, as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) all have reached the same conclusions about Iran's nuclear program: 1. Iran does not have a nuclear weapon-it only ha a civilian nuclear program at this point. 2. Iran is not building a nuclear weapon. 3. Iran has not made the decision of whether or not to build a nuclear weapon in the future. In other words, the US, European allies and even Israel generally agree on 3 things about Iran's nuclear program. Iran does not have a bomb, has not decided to build one, and is probably years away from having a deliverable nuclear warhead. But in spite of these the US and the Europeans are now imposing even more sanctions on Iran. The US has even reclassified a terrorist Iranian Opposition Group as no longer 'terrorists', ostensibly to be used as a front like in Syria today to topple Iran. This is geopolitical machinations that are played out on the world stage and nobody except Russia, China, and African and Latin American countries dare to speak up against. You may ask why are all the ME countries so quiet on this? The reason is for supremacy in the ME, between the Arabs, the Persians (Shias, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Hesbollah), and the Turks. There is another group called the Kurds who have been chopped up into different parts in Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, etc who couldn't care less about the others. Loh, do you see the West using the old and well tried 'divide and conquer' strategy here? Or are you so thoroughly indoctrinated by western ways that it is so difficult to think outside the box? If so then it is a lost cause.
Singapore has just announced that it will be restricting the import of foreigners. This may cool the temper of local Singaporeans who are starting to resent bumping into too many foreigners everywhere-in the workplace, on streets, MRTs, restaurants, etc. This is shortsighted especially in the current slow global economic environment. This may not cause the sky to fall in Singapore but it will certainly put a dent in its economy. With the Golden week in China I would think it would be a smart thing to do to open your borders more, especially with so many millions of Chinese making overseas tours during this Golden week and with a boycott of Japan as a destination. The Koreans are laughing all the way to the bank, seeing Chinese tourist jumping more than 100% each year for the past 4 years. Also the Chinese are the world's biggest spenders by at least 50% higher than Japanese or Americans. But can Singapore handle say half a million Chinese tourists in one week? The Chinese spend an average of US$2,000 and if you multiply this amount by half a million, this is no small change for just one week! But if the Chinese are not welcomed then they will go to Sabah and other countries, by the millions.
so the sky falling because SG cannot handle half a million chinese tourist in one week? someone is way off topic and uncle loh,u should just ignore him.
Limsy, welcome to this thread. I only hope you will not find that you are out of your depths in this area. There are projections that the world's 10 largest economies by 2050 will exclude all western countries except the US. Even Japan only manages to be #10. The new kingpins in 2050 will be China, India, USA, Indonesia, Brazil, Nigeria, Russia, Mexico, Egypt, and Japan in last place. Germany, the UK, France and all other EU countries are thrown out of the league. With a new world order the current UN Security Council permanent members will all be thrown out except for China, USA, and Russia. Perhaps, the US's decision to focus more on the Asia Pacific region is more forward thinking than what appears on the surface, although its long European allies will not be too pleased to be dumped come 2050. Limsy, what is your take on this?
The Fed fights back: Bernanke defends QE3 Updated 08:48 AM Oct 02, 2012 INDIANAPOLIS - United States Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (picture) yesterday delivered a broad defence of the central bank's controversial bond-buying stimulus plan, saying it is necessary to support a flagging economic recovery. Mr Bernanke pushed back against accusations that the Fed's policy is laying the groundwork for inflation, enabling the government to run large budget deficits, undercutting the US dollar and hurting savers. He said that, while the country's unusually weak economic performance had forced the Fed to resort to less conventional tools after lowering interest rates to effectively zero, its goals of price stability and maximum sustainable employment have not changed. "These goals mean, basically, that we would like to see as many Americans as possible who want jobs to have jobs, and that we aim to keep the rate of increase in consumer prices low and stable," Mr Bernanke told the Economic Club of Indiana. In response to the financial crisis and deep recession of 2007 to 2009, the Fed slashed overnight borrowing costs to rock bottom and bought some US$2.3 trillion (S$2.8 trillion) in mortgage and Treasury securities in an effort to keep down long-term rates and stimulate investment. Last month, in a move dubbed "QE3", or the third round of quantitative easing, the Fed said it would buy US$40 billion in mortgage-backed securities every month until the jobs outlook improved substantially as long as inflation remained contained. The Fed's unconventional efforts to spur growth have not been without critics, including many Republicans, who have argued they threaten future inflation and were abetting profligate spending in Washington. Mr Bernanke essentially laid out a primer on the Fed's policies that took on the criticisms one-by-one. "As long as price stability is preserved, we will take care not to raise rates prematurely," he said, noting that inflation had fluctuated close to the Fed's official target of 2 per cent for a long time and inflation expectations have remained stable, suggesting low risk of a sudden spurt of price rises. He also downplayed fears that the policies would damage the long-run value of the US dollar, saying the stronger growth would actually support the currency. "I don't see any inconsistency with our policy and maintaining a strong dollar," he said. Mr Bernanke expressed confidence that the Fed had the right tools to keep inflation at bay and suggested the central bank's unconventional policy easing made the challenge of knowing when to remove stimulus no greater now than in the past. "Determining precisely the right time to 'take away the punch bowl' is always a challenge for central bankers, but that is true whether they are using traditional or non-traditional policy tools," Mr Bernanke said. "The Federal Reserve's price stability record is excellent and we are fully committed to maintaining it." He also argued against the notion that the Fed was monetising the federal debt or effectively printing money to keep the government's borrowing costs low. "That's not what's happening and that will not happen," he said. REUTERS US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. REUTERS
Loh, what are you trying to tell us by merely reproducing Ben Bernanke's words? What are your own opinions about what he says? If you don't have any opinion then it is alarming. Limsy, do you know why I say its is alarming? Here is where you can show us that you are more than background noise.
Here is the main reason why the US will never attack Iran despite all the threats and Israel's instigations, www.japantimes.co.jp/text/eo20121003rb.html. This does not bode well for the US. It is now confronted with a different ME, one less friendly, despite its role in the Arab Spring, which has backfired. This is called unintended consequences of the wrong kind. With so much potential trouble in store in the ME the US is foolishly moving its armed forces to the East instead of increasing them in the now more volatile and more unfriendly ME. No wonder Israel is feeling so insecure and is pressing the US to attack Iran before it moves house to Asia. To make matters worse the US is now talking about sending troops into Libya to track down those responsible for the killing of US diplomats. This may have the potential of sucking in more and more troops and another foolish adventure. Don't they have solutions that do not use force and bombs? Loh and Limsy, you may disagree or perhaps even agree?
Pimco or Pacific Investment Management Co, the world's largest bond investor has just likened both the US and the UK dependence on debt as crystal meth addiction. They plus France, Spain, Japan, and Greece are sitting in a ring of fire. The US will within a decade become another Greece. Do you smell the 'Sky is falling'? The new more unfriendly ME plus the military push to Asia will make the demise even faster and harder. Then all hell will break loose and we will see the mother of all 'The sky has fallen'.
No, there will be no end to such senseless slaughters in the US. There was another case at about the same time in China but the end results are telling! In the case of the US it is always deaths on a tragic scale. In China, it is always horrible injuries with minimal or no deaths. The reason for the difference is obvious. But will the US learn from China? No way, because they have nothing to learn from China.
