History of anarchism in Singapore
There is a brief history of anarchism in Singapore . In contemporary times, there has been little or no significant presence of the ideology in the country.
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There is a brief history of anarchism in Singapore . In contemporary times, there has been little or no significant presence of the ideology in the country.
While the area which is now Singapore was inhabited for centuries prior to the arrival of European colonialists, the founding of modern Singapore took place in 1819. Founded by the British statesman Stamford Raffles, Singapore – as a colony of Britain – saw the Chinese become its largest ethnic group already in 1827. This trend has continued until today, with the Chinese Singaporeans making up approximately 74.1% of the population. [1]
The Chinese population, much of which came to Singapore due to political or economic reasons – such as migrants leaving southern China to escape economic hardships, and refugees from the First Opium War (1839–1842) and Second Opium War (1856–1860) – has historically been a driving force behind radical political ideologies in the country. During the anti-Manchu upheavals of the late 19th and early 20th century in China, Chinese anarchists played an influential part opposing and eventually overthrowing the Qing Dynasty. Singapore played an important role in this process, serving as a center for Chinese revolutionary activity. In 1906 it became the headquarters of the Tongmenghui, a left-wing nationalist group, in Southeast Asia. [2]
The branch was led by Sun Yat-sen, who would become a leader of the Revolution of 1911 and the early Republic of China. But political activity in Singapore was not limited to republican revolution. During this period, Sun was associated with the Chinese anarchist Zhang Renjie, who provided a significant amount of Sun's funding (Zhang's daughter Helen would later marry a doctor from Singapore, Robert Lim). [3] Zhang, a member of the so-called Paris group who was active in the colony, purchased a printing press to be used in producing anarchist texts. [4] Another member of the Paris anarchist group, Chu Minyi, joined the Tongmenghui while stopping over in Singapore. Years later, in the wake of the May Fourth Movement of 1919, anarchist groups were formed among overseas Chinese communities, in among other places Singapore. These radical societies published their own newsletters and periodicals and spread anarchist literature. [5] Some republican–influenced anarchists joined the General Labour Union of Guangzhou, which had formed in Singapore. [6]
In the modern period, political radicalism of all forms in Singapore has been far less common than in the past, especially for the political ideology of anarchism. Some rare anarchist-related instances have occurred, such as in May 2014 when five Singaporean teenagers were arrested for spraying crude anarchist symbolism and anti-People's Action Party slogans on a high-rise roof. [7] [8]
In Singaporean fiction, the plot of a 2003 six-part drama series produced by the now defunct SPH MediaWorks Channel U, entitled The Frontline (家在前线), circled around how the country coped after the German mastermind of a "neo-anarchist" organisation sets off a bomb at a naval base as an anti-imperialist statement against Singapore's ties with the United States.
The Tongmenghui of China was a secret society and underground resistance movement founded by Sun Yat-sen, Song Jiaoren, and others in Tokyo, Empire of Japan, on 20 August 1905, with the goal of overthrowing China's Qing dynasty. It was formed from the merger of multiple late-Qing dynasty Chinese revolutionary groups.
The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The revolution was the culmination of a decade of agitation, revolts, and uprisings. Its success marked the collapse of the Chinese monarchy, the end of 2,132 years of imperial rule in China and 276 years of the Qing dynasty, and the beginning of China's early republican era.
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The Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, also known as Wan Qing Yuan, and formerly as the Sun Yat Sen Villa, is a two-story colonial style villa in Balestier, Singapore. The villa is now a museum commemorating Sun Yat Sen (1866–1925), the founding father of the Republic of China who visited Singapore nine times between 1900 and 1911.
Anarchism and nationalism both emerged in Europe following the French Revolution of 1789 and have a long and durable relationship going back at least to Mikhail Bakunin and his involvement with the pan-Slavic movement prior to his conversion to anarchism. There has been a long history of anarchist involvement with nationalism all over the world as well as with internationalism.
Ng Eng Hen is a Singaporean politician and former oncologist who has been serving as Minister for Defence since 2011. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Toa Payoh Central division of Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC since 2001.
Anarchism in China was a strong intellectual force in the reform and revolutionary movements in the early 20th century. In the years before and just after the overthrow of the Qing dynasty Chinese anarchists insisted that a true revolution could not be political, replacing one government with another, but had to overthrow traditional culture and create new social practices, especially in the family. "Anarchism" was translated into Chinese as 無政府主義 literally, "the doctrine of no government."
Singapore in the Straits Settlements refers to a period in the history of Singapore between 1826 and 1942, during which Singapore was part of the Straits Settlements together with Penang and Malacca. Singapore was the capital and the seat of government of the Straits Settlement after it was moved from George Town in 1832.
Zainudin bin Nordin is a Singaporean former politician who served as Mayor of Central Singapore District. A former member of the governing People's Action Party, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Bishan–Toa Payoh North ward of Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC between 2001 and 2011, later the Toa Payoh East ward between 2011 and 2015.
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Zhang Renjie, born Zhang Jingjiang, was a political figure and financial entrepreneur in the Republic of China. He studied and worked in France in the early 1900s, where he became an early Chinese Anarchist under the influence of Li Shizeng and Wu Zhihui, his lifelong friends. He became wealthy trading Chinese artworks in the West and investing on the Shanghai stock exchange. Zhang gave generous financial support to Sun Yat-sen and was an early patron of Chiang Kai-shek. In the 1920s, he, Li, Wu and the educator Cai Yuanpei were known as the fiercely anti-Communist Four Elders of the Chinese Nationalist Party.
Zhang Ji, also known by his courtesy name Pu Quan (溥泉), was a Chinese anarchist and revolutionary who became a leading member of the right-wing faction of the Kuomintang.
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Anarchism in Malaysia arose from the revolutionary activities of Chinese immigrants in British Malaya, who were the first to construct an organized anarchist movement in the country - reaching its peak during the 1920s. After a campaign of repression by the British authorities, anarchism was supplanted by Bolshevism as the leading revolutionary current, until the resurgence of the anarchist movement during the 1980s, as part of the Malaysian punk scene.
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The Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations is an umbrella organisation for ethnic Chinese clan associations in Singapore.
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