Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Evolution of Contemporary China Studies in Singapore: From the Regional Cold War to the Present

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
  • Published:
Journal of Chinese Political Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study provides an overview of the development of contemporary China studies in Singapore from the regional Cold War to the present. It argues that the waxing and waning of China studies in Singapore were intertwined with state interests at different points in time, defined in accordance with the state’s self-professed “pragmatism”. In particular, this paper suggests that the state’s ostensible aversion to communist China during the regional Cold War, the decline of the Chinese language under its bilingual policy, and the state’s active courting of China from the 1990s have profound and lasting influence on the state of China studies in Singapore. All in all, in the context of a rising China and the state’s “pragmatic” responses, it is likely that China studies in Singapore shall continue to gravitate toward policy research for many years to come.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Refer to the works of An Chen, Ja Ian Chong, John Andrew Donaldson, Jing Huang, Gungwu Wang, John Wong, Forrest Zhang and Yongnian Zheng. Some recent publications include: An Chen [1, 2]; Ja Ian Chong [3]; John A. Donaldson [4]; Jing Huang and Xiaoting Li [5]; Gungwu Wang [6, 7]; John Wong [8]; Qian Forrest Zhang [9]; Qian Forrest Zhang and John Andrew Donaldson [10]; Yongnian Zheng [11].

  2. Other institutes in Singapore that have conducted some research on China are the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute (previously Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, ISEAS) and the Centre on Asia and Globalisation (CAG) at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Mingjiang Li is Associate Professor and coordinator of the China program at RSIS. ISEAS had an ASEAN-China study program from 2003 to 2006. Today it publishes the Anthem-ISEAS India-China Studies series. Jing Huang is Director at CAG, which conducts research on China-India relations and publishes the China-India Brief. For more information, refer to the Institutes’ websites at http://www.rsis.edu.sg/; http://www.iseas.edu.sg/index.cfm; http://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/cag/(accessed March 22, 2016).

  3. “Excerpts from an Interview with Lee Kuan Yew [13].

  4. Scholars have debunked the myth of “Asian values.” See, for example, Francis Fukuyama, “Asian Values and the Asian Crisis,” Commentary (February 1998); Donald K. Emmerson [15].

  5. Henri Ghesquiere cited in Kishore Mahbubani, “The Republic of Common Sense,” The Straits Times, September 9, 2009.

  6. Tan, “The Ideology of Pragmatism,” 75.

  7. For an overview of the Cold War in Southeast Asia, see [16].

  8. Refer to [18].

  9. Cheng, “The Chinese Culture Revolution,” 223. The radio station was closed down in 1981.

  10. Yinghong Cheng, “Mao zhuyi he ‘Wenge’ yu Xinjiapo zuoyi yundong jian de guanxi” (Maoism, Cultural Revolution and the relationship with Singapore’s leftist movement), Huaxia wenzhai (China News Digest) May 6, 2008, http://www.cnd.org/cr/ZK08/cr478.gb.html (accessed October 20, 2013).

  11. Lee, “China’s changing attitudes towards Singapore,” 17.

  12. Cheng, “The Chinese Cultural Revolution,” 231.

  13. Michael Leifer [21]. These concerns were exemplified by the Chinese table-tennis team’s visit to Singapore. Indonesia was notified ahead of the team’s visit; Lee Kuan Yew was reportedly upset by how Chinese Singaporeans cheered for the Chinese paddlers during the friendly matches. See transcript of interview with John Wong, http://politics.ntu.edu.tw/RAEC/comm2/InterviewSJohnWong.pdf (accessed October 6, 2013).

  14. Gungwu Wang et al., Report of the Nanyang University Curriculum Review Committee, May 14, 1965, http://www.nantah.info/publication/record/WangGungwu-Report.pdf (accessed November 18, 2013). According to the report, Nantah had a department of Chinese language and literature and a history department with courses that rested “too heavily on the side of Chinese history.” See also Irene Ng [23].

  15. See Lee, “China’s Changing Attitudes towards Singapore”; Lee, “Deng Xiaoping’s ASEAN Tour”; Lee [24–26]; Lee and Teik Soon Lau [27]; Lee [28].

  16. Author’s interview with Lai To Lee, October 17, 2013.

  17. Denis Bloodworth, “Singapore Tightens Down on Books,” The Age, January 7, 1959, http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19590107&id=dqoUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=g7IDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4652,669634 (accessed November 5, 2013). According to Cheng, “Hong Kong, a CCP information outpost with China-supported publishers and newspapers, had traditional trade and cultural relations with Singapore, and such relations facilitated CR propaganda. The CR materials were either mailed to Singapore or delivered there in commercial shipments many of which were commissioned to foreign companies but staffed by mainland Chinese or pro-Beijing Hong Kong union workers and sailors.” See Cheng, “The Chinese Culture Revolution,” 222.

  18. Cheng, “The Chinese Cultural Revolution,” 231.

  19. Harding, “The Evolution of American Scholarship,” 20–22.

  20. Author’s interview with Lai To Lee. See also John Wong and Hongyi Lai, “Contemporary Chinese Studies in Southeast Asia: The Case of Singapore,” paper presented at conference on “Review of Chinese Studies in Asia,” Center for China Studies Abroad, The Chinese Academy of Social Science, Beijing, China, January 13–14, 2007.

  21. See transcript of interview with John Wong.

  22. Pao-min Chang [31]. Other works by Chang include: Chang, Sino-American relations and the question of Taiwan, Nanyang University, College of Graduate Studies, Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, occasional paper no. 81 (1977); Chang, Taiwan at the Crossroads, Nanyang University, College of Graduate Studies, Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, occasional paper no. 98 (1978); Chang, Beijing, Hanoi, and the Overseas Chinese, Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, Center for Chinese Studies, China research monographs no. 24 (1982); Chang [32].

  23. See for instance, John Wong [33]; Wong, Chinese Land Reform in Retrospect, Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong, occasional papers and monographs no. 13 (1973); Wong [34–36].

  24. Wong, The Political Economy of China’s Changing Relations, xi.

  25. Wong, “Goh Keng Swee and Chinese Studies in Singapore,” 249.

  26. Tony Tan, “Economic change and the formulation of education policy,” speech delivered at the Nanyang Technological Institute Forum, July 1986.

  27. Speech by Lee Kuan Yew at the Launch of the English Language Institute of Singapore (ELIS) on September 6, 2011, at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2011/09/06/speech-by-mr-lee-kuan-yew-at-elis-launch.php (accessed October 23, 2013).

  28. Refer to Shouhui Zhao and Yongbing Liu [41]. According to the authors, “The empirical findings show that the number of Chinese users is not only in steady decline, but more significantly and worryingly, the prestige of the Chinese language has also fallen far behind English, as manifested in the division between those in the higher socioeconomic brackets who use English and those in the lower brackets who use the Chinese language.”

  29. Zhao and Liu, “Chinese Education in Singapore,” 246.

  30. A minimalist definition of an area specialist, according to Walder, is “someone who at least is able to speak and read the language of the country sufficiently well to do extensive research in and about the country, using primary sources.” See Andrew Walder [43].

  31. Alexius A. Pereira [44]. According to Pereira, Lee Hsien Loong, then Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister, also acknowledged that the government had “underestimated the length of the chain of command between the centre and the locals, and the extent to which the locals have latitude.”

  32. Peirara, State Collaboration and Development Strategies in China, 169.

  33. Speech by Lee Kuan Yew at the International Conference on National Boundaries and Cultural Configurations, 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Centre for Chinese Language and Culture, on June 23, 2004 at the Nanyang Technological University. Cited in Silver, “The Discourse of Linguistic Capital,” 60.

  34. Wong, “Goh Keng Swee and Chinese Studies in Singapore,” 260.

  35. Ibid.

  36. Wong, “Promoting Confucianism for Socioeconomic Development,” 281.

  37. Kuo, “Confucianism as Political Discourse,” 303.

  38. Ibid., 306.

  39. Eddie C. Y. Kuo, Jon S. T. Quah and Chee Kiong Tong, Religion and Religious Revivalism in Singapore, Report prepared for Ministry of Community Development (October 1988); Kuo, “Confucianism as Political Discourse,” 307.

  40. Speech by Lee Kuan Yew at EAI’s 10th Anniversary, June 19, 2007 at the Shangri-la Hotel, http://www.eai.nus.edu.sg/MMSpeech.pdf (accessed October 19, 2013). See also “Singapore Acts to keep Religion out of Schools,” New Straits Times, October 17, 1989. Then Education Minister Tony Tan said, “a neutral approach had to be adopted because of the aggressive proselytizing of over-zealous preachers… Unlike 1982, there is today a heightened consciousness of religious differences and a new fervor in the propagation of religious beliefs…If carried to extremes this trend could disrupt Singapore’s traditional religious harmony.”

  41. Wong, “Goh Keng Swee and Chinese Studies in Singapore,” 249.

  42. Kuo, “Confucianism as Political Discourse,” 308; Wong, “Goh Keng Swee and Chinese Studies in Singapore,”

  43. Wong, “Goh Keng Swee and Chinese Studies in Singapore,” 246, 269. Goh told Wong, “I want IEAP to shift its research from classical studies to focus on Contemporary China. It is more useful and relevant for us in Singapore to know what is happening in China today, politically and economically.”

  44. Wong, “Goh Keng Swee and Chinese Studies in Singapore,” 260–261.

  45. Wong and Lai, “Contemporary Chinese Studies in Southeast Asia”; Wong, “Goh Keng Swee and Chinese Studies in Singapore,” 261.

  46. Wong, “Goh Keng Swee and Chinese Studies in Singapore,” 263.

  47. Ibid., 262.

  48. Anonymous, “What Has Happened to China’s Financial Reform?” IEAP background brief no. 3, February 12, 1991.

  49. Ziying Zou, “The Split between Wang Zhen and Hu Yaobang: The Problem of Conflict between Interest Groups in the Chinese Communist Party,” IEAP background brief no. 33, June 17, 1992.

  50. Anonymous, “Power Struggle behind the Scenes during Tiananmen Demonstrations – Why Was There Delay in Resolving the Crisis?” IEAPE commentary no. 6, October 21, 1993.

  51. See Junxiong Chen, “Financing of Foreign-Funded Projects in China,” IEAPE background brief no. 90, August 1, 1995; Zhimin Tang, “More Tax for Foreign Investors in China?” IEAPE background brief no. 96, May 10, 1996.

  52. Based on the complete list of IEAP/IEAPE papers retrieved from the EAI Library.

  53. Anonymous, “The Central-Local Relationship in China,” IEAP background brief no. 2, January 25, 1991; Anonymous, “On Danwei Socialism and Enterprise Reform,” IEAP background brief no. 13, June 28, 1991; John Wong, “Understanding China’s Complex Political Structure,” IEAP background brief no. 14, July 8, 1991; Chooi Yip Eu, “The Contract Responsibility System in Chinese State-Owned Enterprises – A Flawed Device,” IEAP background brief no. 23, January 20, 1992; Bing Song, “The Reform of China’s Cadre System- Establishing the Civil Service (Part I),” IEAP background brief no. 25, March 27, 1992; Chooi Yip Eu, “China’s Retirement Pension Programmes Facing Crisis,” IEAP background brief no.26, March 31, 1992; Zhiliang Li, “The Household Registration System in China,” IEAP background brief no. 28, May 4, 1992; Zhiliang Li, “China’s Personnel Dossier System,” IEAP background brief no. 31, May 26, 1992; Xiaowei Zang, “Understanding ‘Central-Local’ Relations in China,” IEAPE background brief no. 49, October 12, 1992; Bing Song, “Direct Elections in China,” IEAPE background brief no. 51, October 19, 1992; Xiaowei Zang, “Guanxi in Contemporary China,” IEAPE background brief no. 59, July 14, 1993; Mu Yang, “Reforming China’s Tax System: Problems and Prospects,” IEAPE background brief no. 60, August 30, 1993; Huai Yan, “Structure of the Military in China,” IEAPE background brief no. 76, October 28, 1994; Ziying Zou, “A Modern Social Security System – An Urgent Need of China (Part I),” IEAPE background brief no. 77, November 7, 1994; Ziying Zou, “Debates about the Development of Township and Village Enterprises in the Top Leadership of China,” IEAPE background brief no. 86, Apr il 26, 1995; Huai Yan, “The Armed Police of China,” IEAPE background brief no. 88, June 1, 1995; Xieying Wu, “The Changing Role of China’s National People’s Congress as Reflected in its Recent Legislative Activities,” IEAPE background brief no. 89, July 11, 1995.

  54. Anonymous, “Power Struggle behind the Scenes during Tiananmen Demonstrations – Why Was There Delay in Resolving the Crisis?” IEAPE commentary no. 6, October 21, 1993; Anonymous, “The 4th Party Plenum – Emergence of a New Shanghai Clique in the Top Leadership,” IEAPE commentary no. 9, October 18, 1994; Anonymous, “Current conditions of top leaders in China – a Report,” IEAPE commentary no. 11, February 2, 1995; Anonymous, “Chen Yun – The Political and Economic Stabilizer of China,” commentary no. 14, May 3, 1995; Anonymous, “Resignation of Beijing Party Chief Chen Xitong, − A Politically-Motivated but Limited Move against Corruption,” IEAPE commentary no. 15, June 12, 1995; Anonymous, “Trends in the Top Political Circles of China,” IEAPE commentary no. 16, June 23, 1995; Anonymous, “Inside Zhongnanhai: Power Relations of China’s Elderly Leaders,” IEAP background brief no. 5, February 25, 1991; Anonymous, “Selection of Chinese Communist Officials,” IEAP background brief no. 9, 1 Apr 1991; Chooi Yip Eu and Ziying Zou, “Power Struggle after Deng,” IEAP background brief no. 17, October 14, 1991; Ziying Zou, “The Split between Wang Zhen and Hu Yaobang: The problem of Conflict between Interest Groups in the Chinese Communist Party,” IEAP background brief no. 33, June 17, 1992; Huai Yan, “Chen Yun’s Grip on the Party,” IEAPE background brief no. 42, August 25, 1992; Anonymous, “A Brief Introduction to the Politburo of the Fourteenth Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party,” IEAPE background brief no. 53, November 23, 1992; Huai Yan, “Zhao Ziyang’s Bold Political Reform Attempts at the 13th Party Congress,” IEAPE background brief no. 67, July 8, 1994; Huai Yan, “How Jiang Zemin Secured his Military Power,” IEAPE background brief no. 79, 1 December 1, 1994.

  55. Bing Song, “How China’s Parliament Works,” IEAPE background brief no. 36, July 8, 1992.

  56. Xieying Wu, “Legal Protection of Foreign Investment in China: Problems and Issues,” IEAPE background brief no. 39, July 29, 1992; Bing Song, “Why a Deficient Legal System Blocks China’s Economic Development,” IEAPE background brief no. 44, September 15, 1995.

  57. See, for instance, Anonymous, “Current Social Conditions in China,” IEAP commentary no. 12, March 31, 1995. Anonymous, “Increasing Seriousness of Corruption in China,” IEAPE background brief no. 84, March 8, 1995.

  58. See Seng Tan [49].

  59. Lee, “The Lion and the Dragon,” 418.

  60. Yearbook of Statistics Singapore 2000 (Singapore department of statistics), 137.

  61. Lee, “The Lion and the Dragon,” 418–419.

  62. Junxiong Chai, “Beyond Business: Cultural Issues when Doing Business in China,” IEAPE commentary no. 18, March 29, 1996; John Wong, “How Far has China Reformed its Foreign Trade Sector?” IEAP background brief no. 32, June 4, 1992; John Wong, “China and the GATT,” IEAPE background brief no. 38, July 21, 1992; Xieying Wu, “Legal Protection of Foreign Investment in China: Problems and Issues,” IEAPE background brief no. 39, July 29, 1992; Xieying Wu, “An Introduction to China’s Land Administration Law for Foreign Investors,” IEAPE background brief no. 52, November 4, 1992; Bing Song, “Understanding Administrative Legislation in China,” IEAPE background brief no. 55, January 6, 1993; John Wong, “Technology Markets: Commercializing Technology the Chinese Way,” IEAPE background brief no. 57, May 27, 1993; Mu Yang, “Have Triangular Debts been Cleared in China?” IEAPE background brief no. 58, June 24, 1993; Xieying Wu, “Does China have a Company Law? (Part 1),” IEAPE background brief no. 62, September 28, 1993; Bing Song, “Loud Thunder but Small Raindrops – An Analysis of China’s Act against Unfair Competition,” IEAPE background brief no. 66, July 1, 1994; Xieying Wu, “Booming Economy and Risky Skies – A Summary of China’s Regulations on Civil Aviation,” IEAPE background brief no. 71, September 13, 1994; Bing Song, “Direct Participation of Foreign Bank in the Chinese Banking Sector: Opportunities and Challenges,” IEAPE background brief no. 72, September 30, 1994; Bing Song and Junxiong Chai, “China’s First Foreign (External) Trade Act: Major Principles and Their Significance,” IEAPE background brief no. 75, October 21, 1994; Junxiong Chai, “Financing of Foreign-Funded Projects in China,” IEAPE background brief no. 90, August 1, 1995; Zhimin Tang, “Special Economic Zones – Still Special?” IEAPE background brief no. 91, September 14, 1995; John Wong, “China’s Economy: Review of 1995 and Outlook for 1996,” IEAPE background brief no. 93, December 20, 1995; Zhimin Tang, “More Tax for Foreign Investors in China?” IEAPE background brief no. 96, May 10, 1996; Shiyan Dai, “Labour Management in Foreign-Funded Enterprises in China,” IEAPE background brief no. 97, May 17, 1996; Junxiong Chai, “Corporate Strategies for Market Entry in China: An Analysis of their Pros and Cons and Differences,” IEAPE background brief no. 99, July 3, 1996; Qi Luo, “The Xiamen Experience in Utilizing Foreign Direct Investment,” IEAPE background brief no. 103, November 1, 1996.

  63. Wong, “Goh Keng Swee and Chinese Studies in Singapore,” 266.

  64. Wong, “Goh Keng Swee and Chinese Studies in Singapore,” 267. The endowment fund was raised by Goh. See transcript of interview with John Wong.

  65. Goh Keng Swee [51]. This somewhat nebulous definition of “objectivity” was also stressed by Lee Kuan Yew who said, “EAI has built up its academic reputation, maintaining a balance between policy related and academic research. EAI studies are collated in background briefs. Ministers and officials keep abreast of developments in China through these analyses that consciously avoid viewing events from an ideological view point. We need to be objective in analysing China’s developments.” Refer to speech by Lee Kuan Yew at EAI’s 10th Anniversary.

  66. See Wong, “Goh Keng Swee and Chinese Studies in Singapore,” 270. Yet this supposedly “objective” approach to policy research is itself value-laden, motivated by the authoritarian regime’s instrumental concerns as well as Singapore’s interests as a small state.

  67. Refer to EAI, Redefining Traditions Embracing Modernity on EAI’s other roles as a think-tank. For the complete lists of background briefs, refer to EAI’s website, http://www.eai.nus.edu.sg/BB.htm (accessed November 3, 2013).

  68. For broad categorizations of the topics covered in EAI policy briefs, refer to Chang-Hung Chen, Xinjiapo Zhongguo yanjiu de zhishi mima (Decoding China studies in Singapore), (Department of Political Science, National Taiwan University, The Research and Education Center for China Studies and Cross Taiwan-Strait Relations, 2011), 179–190; Wong and Lai, “Contemporary Chinese Studies in Southeast Asia.”

  69. Some recent examples of these policy briefs include Alistair D. B. Cook, “The 2013 China-United States Strategic and Economic Dialogue,” EAI background brief no. 841, August 15, 2013; Min-Hua Chiang, “The Potential of China-Japan-Korea Free Trade Agreement,” EAI background brief no. 823, June 6, 2013; Liang Fook Lye, “Xi Jinping’s First Overseas Foray: Objectives, Outcomes and Implications,” EAI background brief no. 805, April 5, 2013; Katherine Hui-Yi Tseng, “Challenges in Marine Affairs Management under the New Chinese Leadership,” EAI background brief no. 803, March 28, 2013; Gang Chen, “China’s Growing Interests in the Arctic,” EAI background brief no. 797, March 1, 2013.

  70. Tan, “Faced with the Dragon,” 260.

  71. “Deepen China, Singapore Cooperation for a Better Future,” October 22, 2013, International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, http://www.iesingapore.gov.sg/Media-Centre/News/2013/10/Deepen-China-Spore-cooperation-for-a-better-future (accessed November 26, 2013); “New Initiatives to Strengthen China Singapore Financial Cooperation,” October 22, 2013, Monetary Authority of Sinagpore (MAS), http://www.mas.gov.sg/news-and-publications/press-releases/2013/new-initiatives-to-strengthen-china-singapore-financial-cooperation.aspx (accessed November 26, 2013).

  72. Other channels of information include IE Singapore and the Singapore embassies overseas.

  73. Author’s interview with EAI’s Assistant Director Lye Liang Fook, November 14, 2013.

  74. EAI, Redefining Traditions Embracing Modernity, 16–17.

  75. Author’s calculations, up to November 2013.

  76. See editors’ note on the submission of papers, http://www.eai.nus.edu.sg/CIJ_Submission.htm (accessed November 18, 2013).

  77. On the growing importance of quantitative methods, see Björn Alpermann [60]; Richard Baum [61]. Some notable exceptions in CIJ that deploy quantitative methods are: Fengliang Li, W. John Morgan, Xiaohao Ding and Longlong Hou [62]; Tingjin Lin [63]; Chia-Chou Wang [64].

  78. For policy-oriented pieces, refer to Cheng Li [65]; Kerry Brown [66]; Dingding Chen and Jianwei Wang [67]; Yongnian Zheng and Gang Chen [68].

  79. Speech by Lee Hsien Loong at the official opening of the rebuilt campus and 80th anniversary of the CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School, November 20, 2013, http://www.pmo.gov.sg/content/pmosite/mediacentre/speechesninterviews/primeminister/2013/November/prime-minister-lee-hsien-loong-s-speech-at-the-official-opening-.html#.UpQWwdIW0xE (accessed November 25, 2013).

  80. MOE’s email response to author’s questions, November 4, 2013.

  81. “Gongwuyuan duiwu xuyao gengduo ‘Zhongguotong’” (Team of civil servants needs more “China experts”), Lianhe zaobao, July 27, 2009.

  82. EAI, Redefining Traditions Embracing Modernity, 19.

  83. An indicator of this is that there are only three native Singaporean researchers at EAI today, and among them only two engage in China studies.

  84. In 2004, the government announced plans to cultivate 100–200 “Chinese elites” each year through a new scholarship program. Wang Huirong, “Shandaman: Huawen jingying jihua jiang zaipei xueguan zhongxi rencai” (Tharman: Chinese elite program shall nurture bicultural talents), Lianhe zaobao, June 16, 2004.

  85. Refer to the MACC brochure, http://www.hss.ntu.edu.sg/Programmes/macc/Documents/MACC_Brochure.pdf (accessed March 22, 2016).

  86. Wong and Lai, “Contemporary Chinese Studies in Southeast Asia.”

  87. O’Brien, “Studying Chinese Politics,” 539.

  88. Refer to the list of former EAI staff, http://www.eai.nus.edu.sg/staff/former_staff.html (accessed March 21, 2016); David Shambaugh [73].

  89. China specialists have spoken of greater synergy and cross-fertilization between the various social sciences disciplines and China studies in the U.S. See Kevin O’Brien [74]; Walder [75].

  90. Yang Zhong, for one, rejects the call to “indigenize” political science in China. He writes, “As social scientists, we should not be content in using ‘local Chinese conditions’ or ‘special Chinese cultural factors’ to explain political behavior and phenomena in China. Instead, we should decompose the ‘special Chinese conditions’ and ‘cultural factors’ for the deeper meaning of these conditions and factors so that we can conceptualize and elevate these conditions and factors to a theoretical level.” See Yang Zhong [76].

  91. See “China’s Love of Lee’s Singapore Model Ran Deep for Decades,” Bloomberg News, March 23, 2015, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-23/china-s-love-of-lee-s-singapore-model-ran-deep-for-decades (accessed March 22, 2016).

  92. On China’s authoritarian resilience, see Andrew J. Nathan [78].

References

  1. Chen, An. 2014. How has the abolition of agricultural taxes transformed village governance in China? Evidence from agricultural regions. China Quarterly 219: 715–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Chen, An. 2015. The transformation of governance in rural China: market, finance, and political authority. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  3. Chong, Ja Ian. 2012. External intervention and state formation - China, Indonesia, Thailand, 1892–1952. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  4. Donaldson, John A. 2009. Why do similar areas adopt different developmental strategies? A study of two puzzling Chinese provinces. Journal of Contemporary China 18(60): 421–444.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Huang, Jing and Li Xiaoting. 2010. Inseparable separation: the making of China’s Taiwan policy. Singapore: World Scientific.

  6. Wang, Gungwu. 2014. Another China cycle: committing to reform. Singapore: World Scientific.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  7. Wang, Gungwu. 2013. Renewal: the Chinese state and the new global history. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Wong, John. 2015. The political economy of Deng’s Nanxun: breakthrough in China’s reform and development. Singapore: World Scientific.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Zhang, Qian Forrest. 2013. Gender disparities in self-employment in urban China’s market transition: income inequality, occupational segregation and mobility processes. China Quarterly 215: 744–763.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Zhang, Qian Forrest and John Andrew Donaldson. 2010. From peasants to farmers: peasant differentiation, labor regimes and land-rights institutions in China’s agrarian transition. Politics and Society 38(4): 458–489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Zheng, Yongnian. 2010. The Chinese communist party as organization emperor: culture, reproduction and transformation. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Ash, Robert, David Shambaugh, and Seiichiro Takagi (eds.). 2007. China watching: perspectives from Europe, Japan and the United States. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Lee Kuan Yew. 2007. International Herald Tribune. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/world/asia/29iht-lee-excerpts.html?pagewanted=all. Accessed 12 Nov 2013.

  14. Tan, Kenneth Paul. 2012. The ideology of pragmatism: neo-liberal globalization and political authoritarianism in Singapore. Journal of Contemporary Asia 42(1): 67–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Emmerson, Donald K. 1995. Singapore and the ‘Asian Values’ debate. Journal of Democracy 6(4): 95–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Lau, Albert (ed.). 2012. Southeast Asia and the cold war. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Cheng, Yinghong. 2011. The Chinese cultural revolution and the decline of the left in Singapore. Journal of Chinese Overseas 7: 211–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Poh, Soo Kai, Tan Kok Fang, and Hong Lysa (eds.). 2013. The 1963 Operation Coldstore in Singapore: commemorating 50 years. Malaysia: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre.

  19. Lee, Lai To. 1975. China’s changing attitudes towards Singapore 1965–1975. University of Singapore, Department of Political Science occasional paper no. 22.

  20. Lee, Lai To. 1981. Deng Xiaoping’s ASEAN tour: a perspective on Sino-southeast Asian relations. Contemporary Southeast Asia 3(1): 58–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Leifer, Michael. 2000. Singapore’s foreign policy: coping with vulnerability, 76. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Turnbull, C.M. 1989. A history of Singapore 1819–1988, 324. Singapore: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Ng, Irene. 2010. Singapore lion: a biography of S. Rajaratnam, 445. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Lee, Lai To. 1984. The structure of the trade union system in China 1949–1966. Hong Kong: Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong.

  25. Lee, Lai To. 1986. Trade unions in China. Singapore: Singapore University Press.

  26. Lee, Lai To. 1987. China’s trade union leadership in the post-Mao Era, a preliminary analysis. In Political leadership in a changing society, ed. Asian-Pacific Political Science Association, 247–261. Seoul: Asian-Pacific Political Science Association.

  27. Lee, Lai To and Lau Teik Soon. 1988. Introduction. In The security of the sea lanes in the Asia-Pacific region, ed. Lee Lai To and Lau Teik Soon, 1–5. Singapore: Heinemann Asia.

  28. Lee, Lai To. 1989. The PRC and Taiwan - moving toward a more realistic relationship. In: Asian security issues: regional and global, ed. Robert Scalapino, 165–195. Institute of East Asian Studies.

  29. Harding, Harry. 1993. The evolution of American scholarship on contemporary China. In American studies of contemporary China, ed. Shambaugh David, 14–40. New York: M. E. Sharpe.

  30. Wong, John. 2012. Goh Keng Swee and Chinese studies in Singapore: from Confucianism to China watching. In Goh Keng Swee: a legacy of public service, ed. Chew Emrys and Kwa Chong Guan, 245–277. Singapore: World Scientific.

  31. Chang, Pao-min. 1986. The Sino-Vietnamese territorial dispute, 8. New York: Praeger. The Washington Papers 118.

  32. Chang, Pao-min. 1985. Kampuchea between China and Vietnam. Singapore: Singapore University Press.

  33. Wong, John. 1973. Land reform in the People’s Republic of China: institutional transformation in agriculture. New York: Praeger Special Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Wong, John. 1974. The political economy of Malaysia’s trade relations with China. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

  35. Wong, John. 1979. ASEAN economies in perspective: a comparative study of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. New York: Macmillan Press.

  36. Wong, John. 1984. The political economy of China’s changing relations with Southeast Asia. London/New York: Macmillan Press.

  37. East Asian Institute. 2012. Redefining traditions embracing modernity: commemorating EAI’s 15th anniversary. Singapore: East Asian Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Kam, Ho Wah and S. Gopinathan. 1999. Recent developments in education in Singapore. School Effectiveness and School Improvement 10(1): 99–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Goh, Chor Boon and S. Gopinathan. 2008. The development of education in Singapore since 1965. In Toward a better future: education and training for economic development in Singapore since 1965, ed. Lee Sing Kong et al., 12–38. Washington DC: World Bank; Singapore: National Institute of Education.

  40. Stroud, Christopher and Lionel Wee. 2007. Consuming identities: language planning and policy in Singaporean late modernity. Language Policy 6: 253–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Zhao, Shouhui and Liu Yongbing. 2010. Chinese education in Singapore: constraints of bilingual policy from the perspectives of status and prestige planning. Language Problems and Language Planning 34(3): 236–258.

  42. Silver, Rita Elaine. 2005. The discourse of linguistic capital: language and economic policy planning in Singapore. Language Policy 4: 47–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Walder, Andrew. 2004. The transformation of contemporary China studies, 1977–2002. In The politics of knowledge: area studies and the disciplines, ed. David L. Szanton, 314–340. Berkeley: University of California Press.

  44. Pereira, Alexius A. 2003. State collaboration and development strategies in China: The case of the China-Singapore Suzhou industrial park (1992–2002). London: Routledge Curzon.

  45. Wong, John. 1996. Promoting Confucianism for socioeconomic development: the Singapore experience. In Confucian traditions in East Asian modernity: moral education and economic culture in Japan and the four mini-dragons, ed. Tu Wei-Ming, 277–293. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

  46. Chua, Beng Huat. 1995. Communitarian ideology and democracy in Singapore. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  47. Kuo, Eddie C.Y. 1996. Confucianism as political discourse in Singapore. In Confucian traditions in East Asian modernity: moral education and economic culture in Japan and the four mini-dragons, ed. Tu Wei-Ming, 294–309. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

  48. Lee, Edwin. 2008. Singapore: the unexpected nation. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

  49. Tan, See Seng. 2012. Faced with the dragon: perils and prospects in Singapore’s ambivalent relationship with China. The Chinese Journal of International Politics 5: 245–265.

  50. Lee, Lai To. 2001. The lion and the dragon: a view on Singapore-China relations. Journal of Contemporary China 10(28): 415–425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Desker, Barry and Kwa Chong Guan (eds.). 2011. Goh Keng Swee, a public career remembered. New Jersey: World Scientific.

  52. Shin, Chueiling. 2014. Understanding Chinese economy accurately - John Wong and his China research. East Asia: An International Quarterly 31(2): 157–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Bo, Zhiyue. 2004. The 16th central committee of the Chinese communist party: formal institutions and factional groups. Journal of Contemporary China 13(39): 223–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Qi, Dongtao. 2013. Globalization, social justice issues, political and economic nationalism in Taiwan: an explanation of the limited resurgence of the DPP during 2008–2012. China Quarterly 216: 1018–1044.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. He, Alex Jingwei and Qian Jiwei. 2013. Hospitals’ responses to administrative cost-containment policy in urban China: the case of Fujian province. China Quarterly 216: 946–969.

  56. Yew, Chiew Ping. 2011. Explaining land use change in a Guangdong county – the supply side of the story. China Quarterly 207: 626–648.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. Yew, Chiew Ping. 2012. Pseudo-urbanization? Competitive government behavior and urban sprawl in China. Journal of Contemporary China 21(74): 281–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. Yu, Hong. 2014. The ascendency of state-owned enterprises in China: development, controversy and problems. Journal of Contemporary China 23(85): 161–182.

  59. Walder, Andrew G. and Zhao Litao. 2006. Political office and household wealth: rural China in the Deng Era. China Quarterly 186: 357–376.

  60. Alpermann, Björn. 2009. Political science research on China: making the most of diversity. Journal of Chinese Political Science 14: 348–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. Baum, Richard. 2007. Studies of Chinese politics in the United States. In China watching: perspectives from Europe, Japan and the United States, ed. Ash Robert, 147–168. New York: Routledge.

  62. Li, Fengliang, W. John Morgan, Ding Xiaohao and Hou Longlong. 2012. The choices and effects of institutional embeddedness: evidence from China’s highly transitional graduate labour market. China: An International Journal 10(3): 42–62.

  63. Lin, Tingjin. 2012. The promotion logic of prefecture-level mayors in China. China: An International Journal 10(3): 86–109.

    Google Scholar 

  64. Wang, Chia-Chou. 2013. Political interest distribution and provincial response strategies: central-local relations in China after the 17th national congress of the CPC. China: An International Journal 11(1): 21–39.

    Google Scholar 

  65. Li, Cheng. 2012. Leadership transition in the CPC: promising progress and potential problems. China: An International Journal 10(2): 23–33.

  66. Brown, Kerry. 2012. The communist party of China and ideology. China: An International Journal 10(2): 52–68.

    Google Scholar 

  67. Chen, Dingding and Wang Jianwei. 2011. Lying low no more? China’s new thinking on the Tao Guang Yang Hui strategy. China: An International Journal 9(2): 195–216.

  68. Zheng, Yongnian, and Chen Gang. 2009. Xi Jinping’s rise and political implications. China: An International Journal 7(1): 1–30.

  69. Yang, David Da-hua. 2004. Civil society as an analytic lens for contemporary China. China: An International Journal 2(1): 1–27.

    Google Scholar 

  70. Walder, Andrew G. 2004. The party elite and China’s trajectory of change. China: An International Journal 2(2): 189–209.

    Google Scholar 

  71. Wang, Zhengxu. 2006. Explaining regime strength in China. China: An International Journal 4(2): 217–237.

    Google Scholar 

  72. Ho, Christina S. 2010. Health reform and De Facto federalism in China. China: An International Journal 8(1): 33–62.

  73. Shambaugh, David. 2009. The China Quarterly and contemporary China studies. China Quarterly 200: 911–916.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  74. O’Brien, Kevin. 2011. Studying Chinese politics in an age of specialization. Journal of Contemporary China 20(71): 535–541.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  75. Walder, Andrew G. 2010. The transformation of contemporary China studies, 315; Kenneth Lieberthal, reflections on the evolution of the China field in political science. In Contemporary Chinese politics: sources, methods, and field strategies, ed. Carlson Allen, 266–277. New York: Cambridge University Press.

  76. Zhong, Yang. 2009. The logic of comparative politics and the development of political science in China. Journal of Chinese Political Science 14(4): 335–342.

  77. White, Lynn. 2009. Chinese political studies: overview of the state of the field. Journal of Chinese Political Science 14(3): 229–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  78. Nathan, Andrew J. 2003. Authoritarian resilience. Journal of Democracy 14(1): 6–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. SIM University, Singapore, Singapore

    Chiew Ping Yew

Authors
  1. Chiew Ping Yew
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chiew Ping Yew.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Yew, C.P. The Evolution of Contemporary China Studies in Singapore: From the Regional Cold War to the Present. J OF CHIN POLIT SCI 22, 135–158 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11366-016-9416-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11366-016-9416-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation