Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew launches new book on world's major powers
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail Xinhua, August 6, 2013
Singapore's former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew has said that he does not see "very likely" or " unavoidable" military conflict between China and the United States.
In his new look One Man's View of the World, launched on Tuesday, Lee also said that he saw no bitter, irreconcilable ideological conflict between the Americans and a China that has enthusiastically embraced the free market.
"It is not in the interest of either power to face off on the battlefield," he wrote. "Both countries have nuclear arsenals, so they know there is a potential for extremely disastrous consequences."
China need friendly relations with the United States to secure continued access to its markets, investments, technology and universities, while the U.S. simply has no need to make a long- term enemy out of China.
Lee said that the biggest crisis that can arise is over the province of Taiwan.
"But I don't see America ever going to war with the Chinese to keep Taiwan independent. It doesn't pay ... reunification between Taiwan and the mainland is a matter of time," he said.
He also said that he saw the Chinese striving to keep the country's eastern seaboard free from American spying, as the Americans are at present able to come as close as 12 miles from the Chinese coast and look in.
"Just imagine the reverse. If the Chinese navy and airforce -- its aircraft carriers -- were to come that close to the American coast, the Americans would find it intolerable. They would never allow it. So you can imagine how the Chinese feel," Lee said in the book, which Lee completed with help of the staff from local daily Straits Times.
Lee also insisted for the presence of the United States in the region to balance the influence of China, and that Singapore can " try to maximize the space we have to manoeuvre among the big ' trees' in the region."
The book comprises 11 chapters covering countries or regions such as China, the United States, Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia, Singapore and the Middle East. Lee said it was based on his experiences of "three cycles of life," during which he met several generations of world leaders.
Lee, who turns 90 in September, has published several books over the past 15 years, including his two-volume memoir, as well as Lee Kuan Yew: the Man and His Ideas; My Lifelong Challenge: Singapore's Bilingual Journey, and Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going.
He said he saw a stable China as the lives of the ordinary people are getting better and are aware that a revolution could cost them all the progress they have achieved since Deng Xiaoping opened up the country.
"For their young people, economic prospects have never been better, standards of living are being enhanced daily and China is strengthening as a nation," he said.
Lee said that he expected the United States to remain competitive thanks to its efficient system, and that Europe is expected to continue to struggle with the challenges of keeping its union intact due to its being a monetary union without fiscal unity.
The Arab Spring will not bring one-man-one-vote to the Middle East, he said.
Lee also laments that Japan is strolling into mediocrity, mainly due to its demographic trend.
"Demographics determine the destiny of a people. If you are declining in population, as a nation, you are declining in strength. Old people do not change their cars and television sets, " he said.
He also rejected as "absurd" suggestions that the "Stop At Two" children campaign Singapore once pursued in the 1970s played a part in the decline of its current fertility rates.
Singapore's total fertility rate has dropped to around 1.2 in recent years, well below the level of 2.1 children per woman that is needed for the population to replace itself, despite measures to encourage people to get married and have more babies.
People are reluctant to have babies due to changed lifestyles and mindsets, and monetary incentives would only have a "marginal effect" in correcting the low fertility rate, Lee said. Endi
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)