私人订制
Following Singapore’s unique journey as a city-state to reveal its complexity_我的网站
一 | 今年年初，全省两会会场上，“为外卖骑手等户外劳动者新建1000家爱心驿站”被列入2026年省政府十大重点民生实事。 Editor's Note:
In an era of profound global shifts and increasingly complex regional dynamics, a proper understanding of the world must be rooted in "grounded experience" and localized insights. Global Times English edition, in collaboration with the Academy of International and Regional Communication Studies, Communication University of China, is proud to launch "Local Insights," an English-language column dedicated to original, field-based observations.
We invite Chinese scholars and professionals who are studying, conducting exchanges, or working outside China, as well as international students and friends living and studying in China who are familiar with the social contexts of their home countries or third countries, to begin from first-hand field experience and engage with social, cultural, and contemporary issues beyond China. The fourth article in this column, through the author's on-site experience, unpacks Singapore's distinctive national identity via its deliberate independence, structured multicultural integration policies and forward-looking urban and digital development plans.
For many years, Singapore has been a favored destination for tourists and a highly sought-after place for education and employment. But when we talk about Singapore, what exactly do we mean? Is it the cityscape dominated by the Merlion and Marina Bay Sands? Is it a global standard for effective governance and economic success? Or is it a nation with a Chinese majority that is nonetheless founded on the principles of multiracial, multireligious, and multicultural nation-building?
In late May, as part of a media delegation from China invited by Singapore's Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI), I had the opportunity to explore the country in depth. Following a narrative journey through the past, the present, and the future, I discovered a Singapore far more complex than its well-known global image suggests.
The birth of a nation: A deliberate choice
To truly understand Singapore, one must first understand its origins. For a long time, the prevailing story portrayed Singapore's independence on August 9, 1965 as a sudden break - Lee Kuan Yew's emotional announcement of separation from Malaysia, often seen as a forced expulsion. However, materials displayed at the National Library Board and MDDI's The Albatross File exhibition provide a more intricate picture.
The exhibition, which makes confidential documents from founding leaders like Goh Keng Swee and oral histories from Lee Kuan Yew and Kwa Geok Choo available, reveals a strategic, negotiated process behind the separation. These documents suggest that both parties - Singapore and Malaysia - increasingly recognized that given the circumstances, long-term stability was unattainable. Independence then emerged as a deliberate political choice, the result of calculated negotiations and a growing belief that a new nation based on equality beyond ethnicity was the only viable path forward.
The significance of The Albatross File lies not only in the historical details it unveils but in the shift in narrative from "forced survival" to "chosen destiny." The exhibition itself is equally revealing. Historical documents, immersive installations, AI-enabled experiences, and digital interfaces allow visitors not just to observe history, but to question and participate in its interpretation.
Leaving the exhibition, I gained more than just a deeper understanding of Singapore's founding; I became aware of how Singapore actively constructs its own historical narrative. In this young nation, history is about both the past and the shaping of future generations' understanding of what "Singapore" means.
While the archive tells the story of Singapore's birth, the city itself shows how a society of diverse ethnicities, languages, religions, and immigrant backgrounds has been transformed into a shared national identity.
Walking through Telok Ayer, Little India, and Kampong Glam, one experiences the reality of a society molded by Chinese, Malay, Indian, and global migrant communities. Temples, mosques, and churches stand close to each other. Thian Hock Keng, Al-Abrar Mosque, Nagore Dargah, and Christian churches coexist as part of a long-standing arrangement of pluralism.
This is not passive coexistence but a carefully cultivated social order shaped by decades of governance and policy design.
In 1991, Singapore's Parliament issued the Shared Values White Paper, outlining five core principles: Nation before community and society above self; Family as the basic unit of society; Regard and community support for the individual; Consensus instead of contention; Racial and religious harmony. In a young nation without a single dominant ethnicity, religion, or shared historical tradition, this value system serves as an ideological anchor that transcends differences.
At the Harmony in Diversity Gallery, key concepts like "mutual respect," "mutual understanding," and "finding common ground" are consistently highlighted. From "Many Faiths, One People" to "We, the Citizens of Singapore," the narrative repeatedly circles back to a central idea: Differences may persist, but a shared community must be maintained.
This idea of collective identity takes on another dimension at the SingapoREN exhibition at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre. Rather than focusing solely on preserving Chinese cultural heritage, the exhibition follows the transformation of migrants from temporary residents to citizens - from those who once saw themselves as transient to those who now fully identify as Singaporeans. It's not just a story of cultural preservation but one of identity transformation.
Perhaps the most tangible mechanism sustaining this multicultural cohesion is Singapore's public housing system, planned and developed by the Housing & Development Board (HDB). The apartments built by HDB are home to close to 80 percent of Singapore's resident population, of whom about 90 percent own their home. To promote racial integration and harmony, HDB introduced the Ethnic Integration Policy in 1989, which sets limits on the proportion of households from each ethnic group in housing blocks and neighborhoods to ensure a balanced mix of various ethnic communities in HDB towns.
Across HDB towns, public housing projects continue to evolve in response to demographic shifts and the rising aspirations of residents.
For example, Harmony Village @ Bukit Batok is an assisted living resident community jointly developed by HDB, Singapore's Ministry of National Development and Ministry of Health to expand the continuum of public housing options for seniors. Known as community care apartments, Harmony Village @ Bukit Batok is Singapore's first public housing development that integrates senior-friendly housing with care services that can be scaled according to care needs, as well as social activities to support seniors to live independently within the community.
Meanwhile, Punggol Point Cove is a public housing project situated along the shoreline of Singapore's north-eastern coastline. This waterfront development features wave-like architecture inspired by its location and the town of Punggol's heritage as a fishing village. Residents enjoy panoramic sea views and easy access to Punggol Promenade. It is also located near the Punggol Digital District, Singapore's first smart business district, where residents can benefit from job opportunities and new amenities near their home. Hawker centers further embody multiculturalism in everyday life. Dietary restrictions shaped by religion are managed through regulated food environments, allowing people of different ethnicities and income levels to share the same dining spaces. Whether it's Hainanese chicken rice, Indian roti prata, Malay nasi lemak, or Teochew fish ball noodles, cultural diversity is transformed from an abstract concept into daily practice.
Through shared space, shared consumption, and shared routines, Singaporeans, despite their varied ancestries, languages, and beliefs, become woven into a single social fabric. It is within this daily negotiation of differences that a true sense of national community emerges.
The future is already here: from planning to execution
At Gardens by the Bay, many visitors see a picturesque landmark. For Singapore, however, it is a model for future urbanism. Built on reclaimed land, the Gardens showcase how ecological design and engineering innovation can create a functioning ecosystem within an urban environment to support diverse flora and fauna. It reflects a belief that even within environmental constraints, human design can create new ecological possibilities.
If Gardens by the Bay represents the future of human-nature relationships, the Punggol Digital District embodies Singapore's vision for the future economy and society. As the country's first integrated smart district, it brings together industries of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and robotics within a unified urban space. The Singapore Institute of Technology is directly embedded within the district, ensuring that research outcomes translate into real-world urban solutions rather than remaining confined to academic publication.
The district's Open Digital Platform (ODP) aggregates data from more than 20,000 sensors in the district and connects various systems in real time, enabling deep integration among data systems, algorithms, and physical urban space.
This forward-thinking approach extends to national digital governance. In 2026, Singapore set out 10 refreshed priorities for the next round of AI development, including boosting AI transformation across strategic sectors, and nurturing 100,000 AI bilingual talents with domain expertise and AI capabilities who can apply AI meaningfully in their domains.
At the same time, the country actively tackles emerging risks such as deepfakes and cyberbullying, through a mix of legislation, platform accountability, digital literacy education, and community coordination.
From the existential survival concerns of its early years of independence to contemporary challenges like AI disruption and climate change, Singapore consistently demonstrates a strong focus on the future. It anticipates risks early, designs policies preemptively, and seeks solutions before crises fully emerge.
Looking back on this journey, the question I began with now has a different answer.
Singapore is more than an economic success story or a model of efficient governance. It is a nation born of political choice, held together by institutions that cultivate inclusion across diversity, and sustained by a continual capacity to adapt and reinvent itself.
Perhaps this is what we mean when we talk about Singapore.
The author is a PhD candidate in International Communication, and research fellow at the Academy of International and Regional Communication Studies, Communication University of China
。在人社部门统筹牵头下，湖南福彩主动扛起公益使命，深度融入全省民生服务大局。依托全省近千家福彩公益驿站阵地，按照统一建设标准，一批福彩销售网点通过升级改造，成为集便民服务、公益帮扶、志愿服务于一体的福彩“爱心驿站”。（怀化市福彩爱心驿站一角）小店藏大爱盛夏的长沙宁乡，烈日烘烤着龙溪路的柏油路面。玉金花园小区旁的福彩爱心驿站外，一名路人因高温突发眩晕，网点业主刘雨菲见状立刻快步上前，将人搀扶进店安置降温，同时第一时间联系社区医生到场处置，一场突发险情就在邻里守望的暖意里平稳化解。“福彩本身就是做公益的事业。”对刘雨菲来说，这样伸手相扶早已是日常。多年来，她以这间方寸小店为圆心，把善意铺进周边的街巷楼宇：多次参与公益活动，登门看望辖区孤寡老人与困难家庭。（福彩业主刘雨菲热心服务群众）一张福利彩票，承载着普通人对美好生活的期许，更镌刻着“扶老、助残、救孤、济困”的公益初心。
二 | 福彩爱心驿站、公益驿站能长久运转、持续发热，离不开千千万万像刘雨菲一样扎根街头巷尾的福彩网点业主们。常德“福二代”业主刘环宇，不仅延续父亲诚信经营传统，更在网点设立“公益角”，为环卫工人提供热水、为老人免费测血压。
三 | 岳阳福彩业主丁玉芳常年组织当地福彩业主成立志愿者小分队，近五年来参与公益活动20余场。长沙福彩业主邓华常年为社区居民与户外工作者提供便民帮助：骑电动车的母子摔倒擦伤，他拎起医药箱上前消毒止血；忘带降压药的老人走失求助，他帮忙测血压、联系家属、协调社区医生送药。
四 | ……没有惊天动地的壮举，尽是烟火人间里的细碎善举。正是这一桩桩日常微光，让一间间小小的驿站暖意长存，涌动生生不息的公益力量。微光聚星河“来啦？快坐，今儿给您剪个清爽的发型。” 一句熟络的招呼，藏着街坊邻里独有的默契。（浏阳福彩开展“福彩有爱 发短情长”长效公益义剪项目）在浏阳市北正中路的福彩“爱心驿站”外，每逢固定日子，总有这样的暖意在流淌：红马甲志愿者手执剪刀，指尖起落利落娴熟，碎发顺着围布簌簌落下，椅上的老人眯着眼，眉眼间全是松弛舒展的笑意。
五 | 买一张彩票、理一次头发、唠几句家常，这间不大的驿站，早已成了周边老人心照不宣的温情落脚点。今年以来，浏阳福彩推出“福彩有爱・发短情长”长效公益义剪项目，固定每月7日、17日、27日为敬老服务日，依托全市福彩爱心驿站与公益驿站阵地，为60周岁以上老人免费提供理发服务。百里之外的郴州，同样暖意融融。今年端午期间，郴州市北湖区南湖路的福彩“爱心驿站”热闹非凡。非遗体验、助残帮扶、法律咨询、健康义诊……一场场活动接续开展，方寸驿站成了市民家门口实打实的“暖心港湾”。（郴州福彩开展公益义诊活动）驿站内的公益义诊点位前，医护人员耐心为市民与户外工作者量血压、把诊问脉，细致讲解夏季防暑、艾草养生、日常劳损防护等健康知识；针对户外从业者常年劳作落下的身体不适，医生一对一答疑解惑，给出个性化的养护建议。一旁的法律服务台前，专业律师定期驻点坐班，免费提供法律咨询。邻里纠纷、劳务维权、消费陷阱、老年反诈……百姓关心什么，就现场讲透什么。既给大伙提了醒、撑了腰，也用专业力量守牢了寻常日子的安心。这样的暖心场景，如今正在三湘大地遍地开花。近年来，各地福彩紧扣本地需求，依托福彩“爱心驿站”“公益驿站”，常态化联动业主、购彩群众与社会志愿者组建福彩志愿服务队，打磨出各具特色的“服务配方”。长沙联动黄兴路步行街中心广场献血屋，推出赠票体验活动，向每一位无偿献血者传递敬意；长沙、湘潭在酷暑时节开展“送清凉”专项行动，为环卫工人、城管队员、园林养护工人送上防暑大礼包；郴州还联动市红十字会开设急救培训专场，让户外劳动者实打实学会应急救护技能……“以前总觉得福利彩票就是卖彩票，没想到背后藏着这么多暖心事。”“学会了心肺复苏和 AED 操作，遇上紧急情况，我也能搭把手，收获满满。”从歇脚纳凉、饮水补给，到义诊理发、法律咨询，从单点便民帮扶到多元综合服务，一场场活动办下来，越来越多市民走近福彩、读懂福彩，对福彩公益事业也多了一份理解与认同。截至2025年底，全省福彩累计销量超1201亿元，筹集公益金超360亿元，资助各类福利公益项目超3万个。展望未来，湖南福彩将始终锚定“扶老、助残、救孤、济困”的发行宗旨，持续深化爱心驿站建设，不断拓展服务内涵、打磨服务品质，让更多善意在湖湘大地流淌，让福彩公益之光照亮更多角落、温暖更多人心。（新湖南 杨文韬）。
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