Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09SINGAPORE325
2009-04-07 06:52:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Singapore
Cable title:  

SINGAPORE OPENS DOOR TO CHINESE TO MAINTAIN ETHNIC

Tags:  PGOV PREL ASEAN PINR ELAB SN CH 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO1181
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHGH RUEHHM RUEHNH RUEHVC
DE RUEHGP #0325/01 0970652
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 070652Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6582
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2213
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2285
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SINGAPORE 000325 

SIPDIS

EAP/MTS - M. COPPOLA
ALSO FOR EAP/CM - J. HABJAN
NEW DELHI - J. EHRENDREICH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEAN PINR ELAB SN CH
SUBJECT: SINGAPORE OPENS DOOR TO CHINESE TO MAINTAIN ETHNIC
BALANCE

REF: 08 SINGAPORE 1036

Classified By: E/P Counselor Ike Reed for reasons 1.4 (b)(d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SINGAPORE 000325

SIPDIS

EAP/MTS - M. COPPOLA
ALSO FOR EAP/CM - J. HABJAN
NEW DELHI - J. EHRENDREICH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEAN PINR ELAB SN CH
SUBJECT: SINGAPORE OPENS DOOR TO CHINESE TO MAINTAIN ETHNIC
BALANCE

REF: 08 SINGAPORE 1036

Classified By: E/P Counselor Ike Reed for reasons 1.4 (b)(d).


1. (C) Summary: Faced with a chronically low fertility rate
and high emigration, Singapore has used a selective but
relatively open immigration policy to increase its
population, fuel its normally strong economic growth, and
maintain a politically delicate balance among its Chinese,
Malay and Indian ethnic groups. While the GOS keeps its
immigration numbers secret, it appears that a particularly
low birth rate among ethnic Chinese has allowed
Chinese-national immigrants to overwhelmingly benefit. Many
Chinese immigrants use Singapore as a stepping stone and
depart for greater opportunities abroad once they have
obtained Permanent Resident status. The integration of
culturally different mainland Chinese remains a challenge.
End Summary.

A Shrinking Population
--------------


2. (SBU) Singapore has long used selective but relatively
open immigration policies to offset a chronically low birth
rate and a persistent "brain drain" of educated citizens.
The country's birth rate has been below replacement level
(2.1) since 1975 and has now reached a level (1.29) so low
that without such offsets, Singapore's population would start
to shrink by 2020, Dr. Yap Mui Teng, a demographer at The Lee
Kuan Yew School of Public Policy told Poloff. The low birth
rate is even more pronounced among ethnic Chinese (who make
up approximately 75 percent of the population) and stands at
1.14.


3. (SBU) Attempts to address the low birthrate problem date
to the mid-1980s, when then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew made
several controversial speeches in which he unabashedly
lamented the low birth rate of educated Singaporeans and
urged college educated women to have more babies. (Note:
Although the GOS makes strenuous efforts to maintain ethnic
balance and harmony, some interpreted such remarks as chiefly

promoting fertility among Chinese, given their historically
higher levels of academic achievement. End Note.) More
recently, the low birth rate problem has begun to affect all
of Singapore's ethnic groups. While the birth rate of ethnic
Indians (9 percent of the population) has been below
replacement value since 1990, only in the last two years has
the birth rate among ethnic Malays slipped below replacement
level. Since 1986, the GOS has introduced a slate of
incentives to encourage families, especially working couples,
to have more children, including tax incentives, cash
bonuses, and programs to assist working mothers. Despite the
host of incentives offered, the GOS efforts have not
succeeded in arresting the problem, Dr. Yap acknowledged.

Persistent Emigration
--------------


4. (SBU) Compounding the problem of low birth rate, a
significant portion of Singapore citizens and Permanent
Residents (PRs) move away from the country each year, Dr. Yap
said. Each year over the past five years, between
5,000-8,000 Singapore citizens and PRs permanently left
Singapore. This occurred notwithstanding Singapore's
then-robust economic growth and strong job market. With an
average of only 30,000 births and 15,000 deaths each year,
the impact of so many departures on Singapore's population
was significant, Dr. Yap added.

Encouraging Immigrants
--------------


5. (SBU) In order to maintain (and indeed expand) its
population, the Government of Singapore actively encourages
immigration among skilled and well-educated workers. At
present, approximately 25 percent of Singapore's 4.8 million
people are non-residents. The majority of the non-resident
population is comprised of transient lower-skilled workers
that remain in Singapore for periods of two to four years and
work in the construction, marine and the service industries.

SINGAPORE 00000325 002 OF 003


However, a significant percentage of the non-resident
population is comprised of better-educated and skilled labor,
for whom gaining permanent residence status is quick and easy.


6. (C) Chinese immigrants have traditionally formed a
disproportionate share of total immigration, and there have
been three major waves of immigration from China, the most
recent occurring over the last five years, Chinese Heritage
Center Director Dr. Leo Suryadinata told Poloff. The influx
of Chinese immigrants has allowed Singapore to maintain its
ethnic balance (now presently 75 percent Chinese, 14 percent
Malay, 9 percent Indian and 2 percent "other") over the years
despite the extremely low birth rate of ethnic Chinese
Singaporeans. To illustrate the effect of immigration, Dr.
Suryadinata pointed out that the birth rate for ethnic
Chinese has hovered between 1.07 - 1.6 for the last twenty
years, while the birth rate of ethnic Malays remained above
replacement level until 2007. Yet the ethnic Chinese
percentage of the population has only fallen 3 percent during
that period. The percentage of ethnic Malays has fallen half
of one percent, from 14 to 13.5 percent. The ethnic Indian
population increased from 7 to 9 percent despite a birth rate
that since 1990 has been well below replacement value,
indicating a large influx of Indian immigrants as well, Dr.
Suryadinata said.

Immigration Numbers Kept Secret
--------------


7. (C) Ever mindful of sensitivities about its active
management of communal issues, the Government of Singapore
keeps its immigration numbers secret, MFA North East Asia
Assistant Director Tracy Chan admitted. This is at least in
part an effort to avoid reigniting racial tensions that led
to race riots in the late 1960s. One practical effect of
such a policy is that no one outside the GOS knows the
precise ethnic mix among immigrants, students and other
foreigners living and working in the country. In
conversations with other embassies, we learned that many of
them have no idea how many of their nationals reside in
Singapore.

Singapore as a Stepping Stone
--------------


8. (C) While many Chinese skilled workers and students
eventually become Singapore citizens, a greater number
subsequently seek greener pastures once they have acquired PR
status, James Du, a Chinese-born consultant (now Singapore
Citizen) at Asia-Link Technology (a mainland China-focused
headhunting firm) told Poloff. Singapore has a policy of
recruiting the "best and the brightest" to Singapore, but
that policy is a double-edged sword, Du said. Although many
mainland Chinese feel comfortable in Singapore, many of the
more talented ones view Singapore as a stepping stone to the
west. Singapore is an ideal place for those with such
ambitions to learn western customs and improve their English,
Du said. May Fan Rong, a mainland Chinese undergraduate
studying in Singapore said that the majority of her
compatriots were looking to continue their studies and
careers in either the United States, Canada or Australia.
She was confident that all of them would receive PR status in
Singapore, but doubted any would remain here. "We'd only
stay on if we cannot find opportunities abroad," she said.


9. (C) Despite the large numbers of Chinese viewing
Singapore as a transit point, an increasing number do stay,
Du Zhi Qiang, Director of the Tianfu Association (a mainland
Chinese club) said. Du estimated approximately
300,000-400,000 Chinese nationals presently live in
Singapore. MFA's Chan agreed that the 300,000-400,000 figure
is realistic, and the Straits Times newspaper recently
reported that estimate as well. The Straits Times also
recently cited an estimate of 1 million Chinese in Singapore,
including those who have become Permanent Residents and
Singapore citizens. Chan said that figure is reasonable,
assuming it includes those Chinese who have immigrated to
Singapore since the 1980s. Commenting on the large number of
mainland Chinese in Singapore, Tianfu Director Du joked that
if one were to randomly throw a brick out of a window, odds

SINGAPORE 00000325 003 OF 003


were good it would hit a Chinese mainlander. (Note: Du
himself, now a Singapore citizen, immigrated to Singapore
from Sichuan, China in the 1990s. End Note.)


10. (C) Dr. Chen Gang, (a Chinese-national) Research Fellow
at the National University of Singapore's East Asia
Institute, explains that Chinese nationals living in
Singapore run the gamut, from students and scientists,
businessmen and factory workers, to workers in the service
sector and the sex-trade industry. While the global economic
crisis will likely cause a short-term downturn in demand for
foreign workers and may temporarily suppress emigration, he
thought the number of Chinese nationals here would certainly
increase over the long-term, especially with the
implementation of the recently signed Chinese-Singapore FTA
(reftel). Dr. Chen said that many mainland Chinese view
Singapore as a "Chinese outpost," and are thus attracted to
settling here.

Integration
--------------


11. (C) Although the Government of Singapore strives to
assist immigrants to integrate into society, many
Singaporeans grumble about the large number of mainland
Chinese now in Singapore, Dr. Yap said. Singaporeans often
get frustrated with the "unusual" attitudes and mannerisms of
the mainland Chinese, Dr. Yap said. Additionally, many
Singaporeans have been irritated to discover that a
significant percentage of the recent arrivals from mainland
China working in areas such as the service industry speak
little or no English, Dr. Yap added.


12. (C) On the other hand, some recent immigrants, Chinese
and Indian alike, are resented for increasing the already
overheated competition in Singapore's society and schools.
Many of the mainland Chinese students in Singapore become
leaders within their schools, in both academic and athletic
areas, Dr. Suryadinata said. He suggested that an area
requiring further study is how such "student leaders," with
very different cultural norms than Singaporeans eventually
adjust to life in Singapore. Will they go on to become
societal leaders, and if so, will they eventually present a
challenge to the system, he wondered.

Visit Embassy Singapore's Classified website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/singapore/ind ex.cfm
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