Amidst Sam Pitroda’s racist remarks that Indians in the East look like Chinese, a heated debate erupted this week in Singapore regarding ethnicity and nationality. Notably, Singaporean nationals of Chinese ethnicity have registered strong protests against being labelled as Chinese. Expressing their distaste, most Singaporean nationals have stressed that they are Singaporean, not Chinese.
Singapore’s population of 4 million consists of individuals of various ethnicities, with 74% being of Chinese descent, followed by 13% Malays, and 9% Indians. The remaining 3% comprises other ethnic groups, including Eurasians. Additionally, the island republic is also the only country outside of Northeast Asia where over three-quarters of the population is ethnically Chinese.
The recent debate over ethnicity/race and nationality began after a TikTok video went viral on the internet. The 36-second video was uploaded by a user who implied that he came from China. In the video, he expressed shock at discovering that Singaporeans were reluctant to be regarded as “compatriots” with the Chinese. He alleged that citizens of the Chinese-majority nation (Singapore) might have “forgotten their culture”.
In the clip, the TikTok user named, “The Singaporean Son” recalled how a Singaporean Chinese national reacted to being called a “compatriot”. The TikTok user narrated the interaction saying, “Little did I know, the Singaporean’s face turned black. ‘Since when are we compatriots? I’m Singaporean, not Chinese’, the individual replied. I was stunned after that. Thereafter, I stopped saying such stuff.”
The video was also uploaded on Instagram.
The video sparked outrage among Singaporeans and it soon with more than 1,600 comments and 143,000 views in the three days since it was uploaded.
One online user noted, “Singaporean Chinese admit they are Chinese. They just hate [for] people to think they are from China.”
Slamming Chinese nationals, another user commented, “Chinese nationals travelling and visiting places no doubt created a bad image for themselves, such as: talking loudly, [having] no manners and bad habits.” While some defended the TikTok user arguing that Singaporeans who were ethnically Chinese did share the same ethnic ancestry as mainlanders (Chinese citizens living in the mainland as China allege Taiwan to be its own part).
This comes shortly after another TikTok video of a man, believed to be a Chinese tourist in Singapore, went viral on the internet. In the viral video, the Chinese user criticised Singaporeans for not being able to speak Mandarin and complained about the lack of Chinese signs on trains in the country. It sparked an outrage on social media with Singaporean nationals pointing out that their official language is English, not Mandarin, the official language of China.
Singapore is not a part of China, Ethnicity/Culture is different from Nationality
Leong Chan-Hoong is a senior fellow for social cohesion research at the Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. According to him, this conversation on nationality and ethnicity in Singapore is not new as it had emerged from a common confusion of Singapore being “part of China” which it is not.
He said, “For a long time, Singapore has been confused as being a part of China, and that comes mainly from Europe and North American societies … That primarily is because the two share a significant similarity in heritage and Singapore being a majority-Chinese country, so there is that tendency to perceive it as an allegiance.”
Leong added that countries working with Singapore need to know that it is a sovereign state, and “not one where we are part of a larger political alliance”.
He further stated, “Singapore’s Chinese values or heritage is also different from that of [China] because Singaporeans have a more distinctive multicultural contour and we live in Southeast Asia – a multicultural area – and it is a lot more inclusive, given to our regional exposure to different races and groups.”
A senior minister of state in Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sim Ann said in parliament last April that cultural ties between Singapore’s Chinese community and Beijing had undoubtedly enriched bilateral relations. However, she added that should not be the only way to view relations between both sides.
She said, “But to interpret Singapore-China relations from the cultural perspective may result in a skewed view or misunderstandings. Those who are not equipped with a deep understanding of Singapore might find it hard to hoist in this point.”
She added, “Singaporeans are citizens of an independent country, but may also identify culturally with being ethnically Chinese, Malay, Indian or others. National identity and cultural identity are two different matters.”
An interaction between two seemingly Singaporean-Chinese/Taiwanese of Chinese ancestry on X revealed similar discontent among people of Chinese origin for being forcibly “clubbed” with Chinese nationals against the fact that they prefer to be identified by their nationality.
Furthermore, in March 2024, TikTok Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Singaporean Chew Shou Zi was grilled on his nationality and links to the Communist Party of China (CPC) during a hearing before US lawmakers. The video clips of the exchange went viral, drawing outrage from Singaporeans. However, Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas later defended his questioning of Chew’s ties with the CCP.
Singapore established diplomatic relations with China in October 1990, only after Indonesia had done so. This move was aimed at preventing its Southeast Asian neighbours from seeing Singapore as a ‘Third China’.
However, in India, Congress leader, close aide and adviser of Rahul Gandhi, Sam Pitroda had garnered widespread criticism for liking Indians in the East with Chinese, West with Arabs, and North with White people and South Indians as Africans even when majority of Indians in this region, or in remaining part (Central), are not descendants of Chinese, Arabs, African or White Europeans or Americans.
