Soon after Lawrence Wong was sworn in on Wednesday as Singapore\u2019s fourth prime minister since the city\u2019s independence, a mix of online content from media members and observers found its way onto Chinese social media.<\/p>\n
A video titled \u201cGreetings from Hainan Island in China\u201d appears to show a banner being put up in front of the Huang ancestral hall in Wenchang, Hainan \u2013 said to be Wong\u2019s ancestral home \u2013 congratulating him on his appointment to Singapore\u2019s top job.<\/p>\n
Articles and videos mostly traced Wong\u2019s ancestral ties to Beishan village in Huiwen town, noting his father first migrated from Hainan to Malaysia. Some clips highlight Wong\u2019s growing-up years in Singapore, from his education milestones to career achievements.<\/p>\n
Others, such as one by the Hainan Business Association in Shenzhen, detailed Wong\u2019s personal interests and hobbies, such as guitar playing and riding motorbikes.<\/p>\n
Describing Wong as a \u201cgrass-roots leader\u201d, Tian Yuzheng from China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations said in an article posted by his institute\u2019s WeChat account that as the first prime minister born after the island-state\u2019s independence, Wong would continue the republic\u2019s achievements.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe will also promote Sino-Singapore relations to keep pace with the times and move forward steadily,\u201d Tian said.<\/p>\n
One video quoted Wong as saying \u201cnever bet on the decline of China\u201d, a comment made after the then deputy prime minister wrapped up a visit to the country last year.<\/p>\n
Wong was pointing to the tremendous scale of China\u2019s economy and hailing its many different strengths in advanced manufacturing and in the green economy.<\/p>\n
Chinanews.com, a Chinese news portal, wrote of how Wong had \u201cshed tears in public\u201d, referring to how the former national development minister became overwhelmed with emotion in 2020 when citing how Singapore\u2019s healthcare workers and various sectors banded together to fight the Covid pandemic.<\/p>\n
Comments from Chinese online users ranged from admiration \u2013 how \u201cdiligent and outstanding overseas Chinese can thrive anywhere in the world\u201d \u2013 to hometown adoration on how \u201cWong is really the pride of Hainan\u201d.<\/p>\n
Others expressed interest in whether Wong could speak Hainanese, and how Singapore had thrived \u201cbecause of these exceptional overseas ethnic Chinese leaders\u201d.<\/p>\n
The lineage of Singapore\u2019s founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, as well as his son and Wong\u2019s predecessor Lee Hsien Loong, can be traced back to Dapu in Guangdong, while that of Goh Chok Tong \u2013 the nation\u2019s second prime minister after the elder Lee \u2013 can be tracked to Yongchun in Fujian province.<\/p>\n
Blurred lines<\/p>\n
Luwei Rose L\u00fcqiu, associate professor at Baptist University\u2019s Department of Journalism, said Chinese netizens had once again shown a keen interest in foreign leaders with Chinese heritage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not the first instance of such focus,\u201d noted the former long-time television journalist, citing former Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose ancestral home is in Meizhou, in Guangdong province.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Thaksin] was also the subject of similar attention,\u201d L\u00fcqiu said, adding that the connection to Chinese heritage made these leaders \u201cmore relevant\u201d to, and \u201cheightened interest\u201d among, Chinese online users.<\/p>\n
There was also a sense of pride in seeing someone of Chinese descent lead a foreign country, L\u00fcqiu said, noting such individuals were often regarded as \u201cChinese sons and daughters at home and abroad\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnderstanding these dynamics can provide deeper insights into the cultural and nationalistic underpinnings of such public interest,\u201d L\u00fcqiu said.<\/p>\n
China has often stated that there are about 60 million people of Chinese origin living abroad across nearly 200 countries and regions.<\/p>\n
Koh Chin Yee, managing director of Singapore Eye, a leading Chinese-language social media platform in Singapore, said \u201cit is not unexpected\u201d that the Hainan Wenchang Huang clan commemorated Wong\u2019s inauguration.<\/p>\n
Koh noted that although \u201cMr Wong is a Singaporean Chinese\u201d, the ongoing rise in Chinese online interest in Singapore\u2019s leader reflected a celebration of \u201ckinship and ethnic ties\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would worry me if the community in Wenchang chooses to ignore this important chapter, which is equally relevant to both Singapore and Wenchang. [That] would be a show of intentionally keeping a distance, and that implies distrust,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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