Low refutes claim of 'inciting xenophobia'

Member of Chinese clan body says WP chief was doing so in White Paper speech

By Andrea Ong, The Straits Times, 19 Feb 2013

WORKERS' Party (WP) chief Low Thia Khiang has refuted a charge that he was "inciting xenophobia" in his parliamentary speech on the Population White Paper.

In a letter to Lianhe Zaobao yesterday, he wrote: "WP's alternative proposal does not reject foreigners. It places importance on economic growth and even more so on creating a sustainable future for Singapore."

The anti-foreigner charge came from Mr Li Yeming, vice-chairman of the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations research and publications committee, in an earlier letter to the Chinese daily.

The letter, titled "What is Low Thia Khiang talking about?", accused Mr Low and the WP of fanning anti-foreigner and anti-immigrant sentiments during the White Paper debate.

Mr Low said he was shocked by this accusation, comparing it to old political tactics: "In the past, those who held different political views from the Government would often be charged with dividing society, inciting the people or different races, or being against the national interest."

This tactic created fear of the Government among the people, dampening society's strength and spontaneity, he added.

The exchange between Mr Low and Mr Li comes amid a debate about population issues, and days after one of the biggest crowds seen at Speakers' Corner turned up for a protest against the White Paper. There were no WP members among the 12 speakers, who included other opposition figures.

Asked about the protest, party chairman Sylvia Lim said: "It is healthy for this issue to be canvassed on appropriate and multiple fronts. WP has made its stand in Parliament."

In his letter yesterday, Mr Low charged that Mr Li, a new citizen from China, selectively interpreted his speech and the WP's proposals in the debate. The party had called for a freeze in foreign workforce numbers while encouraging greater labour participation by women and the elderly.

Mr Li had asked if Mr Low felt having more maids and foreign workers to help households and businesses would dilute the Singaporean core.

In his letter, Mr Low said that in speaking about the Singaporean core, he was referring to the number of foreigners who become new citizens every year. He pointed to his English speech, where he compared the highest rate of new citizenships being granted with the current birth rate.

"There will be 25,000 new citizens to 30,000 citizen births a year. This is almost one is to one," he wrote.

Mr Li had also asked why Mr Low felt the pool of new citizens coming in every year could not integrate in Singapore, which has historically always been open to immigrants.

He said Mr Low was dividing Singaporeans by making a distinction between "native-born" citizens and non-native citizens.

Responding, Mr Low said he had made no such distinction in his speech and had called for equal treatment for all citizens. However, he had cautioned that people need time to adapt and integrate with their surroundings.

Mr Low also noted that he was referring to non-citizen foreigners when he spoke about how the foreigner influx could change the character of the Singaporean population on the whole.

The WP chief ended his letter with his vision for Singapore when he joined politics. "I hope to see a society where civilised debate can create consensus and cohesiveness, and a Singapore where people feel a sense of belonging to their nation."

Xenophobia row: Clan group member resigns
By Andrea Ong, The Straits Times, 22 Feb 2013

MR LI Yeming, a new citizen who had an exchange of words with Workers' Party chief Low Thia Khiang over the issue of foreigners, is resigning from his post with the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations.

Mr Li, 43, said that when he wrote to Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao criticising Mr Low, he did so in his personal capacity and not on behalf of the clan organisation.

He told The Straits Times last night that after ST reported the exchange between the two and identified him as vice-chairman of the federation's research and publications committee, some people thought he was speaking on behalf of the clan federation.

The saga began last Friday when his letter to Zaobao was published. In it, he charged Mr Low with fanning anti-foreigner sentiments and dividing native-born and new citizens in his parliamentary speech on the population White Paper two weeks ago.

On Monday, Mr Low issued a strong rebuttal and said he was shocked that Mr Li had accused him of "inciting xenophobia".

The next day, The Straits Times reported the exchange and gave Mr Li's position with the clan federation.

Yesterday afternoon, he wrote to the federation, offering to resign.

"I don't want to bring more trouble to the federation. I am sorry for the bad impression created of the federation," he told The Straits Times last night. Also, he added that he had heard that members of the public had e-mailed and called the federation to scold the secretariat.

Mr Li, a systems analyst, stressed that his position with the clan body was a voluntary one and the federation had nothing to do with his views.

He also wrote a second letter to Zaobao on Wednesday, seeking to clarify the arguments in his first letter.

Mr Low had accused Mr Li of being selective in interpreting his speech and the WP's parliamentary proposals. Mr Li counter-accused the Aljunied GRC MP of taking his words out of context, and inciting WP supporters against him.

"My original sentence read 'inciting xenophobia is not patriotic'," Mr Li told The Straits Times last night. "It was a general statement that was not directed specifically at the WP."

Mr Low, in his rebuttal, had compared the charge of inciting xenophobia with the Government's old tactic of using the accusation of inciting people or races to quell those who held different political views.

Yesterday, Mr Li said: "I'm just an ordinary new citizen. How can I have such deadly intentions?"

He wrote his first letter because he felt Mr Low and the WP's speeches seemed to make a distinction between native-born and new citizens, he said.

Mr Low said he made no such distinction and called for equal treatment of all citizens. Mr Li, however, said this contradicted Mr Low's argument that people need time to integrate and adapt to new environments.

"WP seems to place new citizens outside the Singaporean core. Singapore has always been open to immigrants and it's not good to have such sentiments," said Mr Li, adding that he had received many hostile messages on Facebook and in e-mail.

Federation president Chua Thian Poh told The Straits Times last night the research and publications committee is looking into Mr Li's resignation.

"He is not in the council of the federation and is just in one of the sub-committees," said Mr Chua. "These are only his personal views and are not representative of the federation at all."

Xenophobia row: Police report filed

By Leonard Lim And Andrea Ong, The Straits Times, 23 Feb 2013

NEW citizen Li Yeming, who had accused Workers' Party (WP) chief Low Thia Khiang of driving a wedge between Singapore-born and new citizens, has made a police report against netizens whom he said falsely accused him of making anti-Singapore comments.

A friend had alerted him that netizens were circulating posts he supposedly made on his Weibo microblog, including one which said "I will send an army over to flatten your home (Singapore)!", he told police yesterday.

Mr Li, 43, said in his police report he had not written the posts "stating that I scolded Singaporean(s), threatened to flatten Singapore and also commented on how lazy Singaporeans are".

Yesterday, Mr Li told The Straits Times he hopes the police can find out who started them. He also hopes to set the record straight through the police report, so as not to affect relations between local-born and new citizens.

The authorities confirmed yesterday that the report had been lodged.

Mr Li's police report comes a day after he offered to resign from his post with the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations, following his exchange with Mr Low.

He had written a letter in his personal capacity to Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao, which published it on Friday last week. He charged Mr Low with fanning anti-foreigner sentiments and dividing native-born and new citizens in his parliamentary speech on the Population White Paper.

On Monday, Mr Low issued a rebuttal and said he was shocked that Mr Li had accused him of "inciting xenophobia".

The systems analyst then wrote a second letter to the Chinese daily on Wednesday, saying his sentence, "inciting xenophobia is not patriotic", was a general statement not targeted specifically at the WP. He had intended to question Mr Low's stance in the White Paper debate as it seemed to make a distinction between native-born and new citizens, he said. Mr Low has said he made no such distinction.

The Straits Times' report on the exchange identified Mr Li as vice-chairman of the federation's research and publications committee. This led to some thinking he was speaking on behalf of the federation, he said.

He has also received nasty comments from the public, but their reaction is understandable, he said yesterday.

"If they thought I had scolded a Singaporean MP while making anti-Singapore comments online, I don't blame them for being upset. But we can't let rumours affect our harmony here."

Clan federation: No need for new citizen to quit

By Andrea Ong, The Sunday Times, 24 Feb 2013

The Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations says it is not necessary for new citizen Li Yeming to resign from the body, after a public uproar over his comments charging Workers' Party (WP) chief Low Thia Khiang with dividing Singapore-born and new citizens.

"SFCCA does not find it necessary for Mr Li to resign from SFCCA, and hopes that he would continue to serve the community," it said in a statement yesterday.

Mr Li, 43, is a vice-chairman of SFCCA's research and publications committee.

The saga began when the systems analyst wrote a letter in his personal capacity to Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao, which published it on Feb 15.

Mr Li charged Mr Low with fanning anti-foreigner sentiments in his parliamentary speech on the Population White Paper.

Last Monday, Zaobao published Mr Low's rebuttal. He said he was shocked that Mr Li had accused him of "inciting xenophobia".

Mr Li wrote a second letter to Zaobao last Wednesday, seeking to clarify that his comment, "inciting xenophobia is not patriotic", was a general statement not targeted specifically at the WP.

He said he had intended to question Mr Low's stance in the White Paper debate as it seemed to distinguish between native-born and new citizens. Mr Low has said he made no such distinction.

The Straits Times' report on the exchange last Tuesday identified Mr Li's position in the clan body.

Mr Li said this led to some thinking that he was speaking on behalf of the federation, which had also received angry calls and e-mail messages. He offered to resign from the federation last Thursday.

Yesterday, the federation emphasised that Mr Li is a volunteer who is not reimbursed for the community services he provides.

"He wrote in his personal capacity, and not on behalf of SFCCA," it said.

The federation's social mission is to unite Chinese clan associations and promote ethnic harmony, it added.

It also called for all rational debate to be respected, adding that everyone is entitled to freedom of speech within the legal framework here.

Mr Li could not be reached for comment yesterday. He filed a police report last Friday against netizens who he said falsely accused him of making anti-Singapore comments.

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