Singapore and Hong Kong started trading in the 19th century. According to newspapers in Hong Kong, the idea of a rivalry between Hong Kong and Singapore had been around since the 1900s. In 1923, the Japanese Association of Singapore published a book named The Introduction of Singapore, which showed that there were trade relations between Hong Kong and Singapore and there were Japanese merchant ships operating routes between Hong Kong and Singapore.[4]
Cecil Clementi was the Governor of Hong Kong between 1925 and 1930 and the Governor of the Straits Settlements between 1930 and 1934
For example, Cecil Clementi was Governor of Hong Kong between 1925 and 1930 and the Governor of the Straits Settlements between 1930 and 1934. Robert Black was the Governor of Singapore between 1955 and 1957, and the Governor of Hong Kong between 1958 and 1964.
In addition, they would introduce practices in one colony which they had introduced in the other. For example, when Clementi was Governor of the Straits Settlements, Chinese people were appointed to the Executive Council of the Straits Settlements, as was the case with the Executive Council of Hong Kong.
Similarly, when Black was Governor of Hong Kong, he implemented the localisation of the civil service in Hong Kong, as had occurred in Singapore. He also appointed local people in Hong Kong to become high officials in the Government of Hong Kong.
Lee Kuan Yew, who became the Prime Minister of Singapore in 1959, had visited Hong Kong several times during his office and expressed opinions about political development of Hong Kong.[5] In 1984, the Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed between China and the United Kingdom stating that the former would take over Hong Kong on July 1, 1997, stimulating waves of mass migrations from Hong Kong. Hence, the government of Singapore issued a quota of 25,000 family immigrant visas for people in Hong Kong.
In 1997, Tang Liang Hong, the leader of the Workers' Party in Singapore fled to Australia. He published the book Memoir of Tang Liang Hong during his stay in Hong Kong with the assistance of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 2000, the Chinese University of Hong Kong conferred an honorary doctorate upon Lee Kuan Yew, to the dissatisfaction of the Student Union of the university. The union organized a petition to urge the university rescind the decision.[6]
Following Lee Kuan Yew's death on March 23, 2015, Leung expressed condolences over the death of Lee by sending a message to his son, Lee Hsien Loong, the Prime Minister of Singapore.[7]
On June 30, 2015, Amos Yee, a Singaporean blogger, was sentenced to four weeks in jail[8] due to uploading a video criticizing Lee Kuan Yew. Student unions from eight universities in Hong Kong protested near the Consulate General of Singapore in Hong Kong to urge the government of Singapore to release Amos Yee.[9]
Trade relations
In 2012, the value of goods exported from Hong Kong to Singapore was worth 2.53 billion US dollars,[10] while the value of goods exported from Singapore to Hong Kong was worth 16.8 billion US dollars.[11] Hong Kong mainly exported machines, precious metals and transportation facilities to Singapore,[10] while Singapore mainly exported machines, refined petroleum and precious metals to Hong Kong.[11]
The Singapore Chamber of Commerce was established in Hong Kong in September 1995.[12]
Cultural relations
In April 2004, Singapore and Hong Kong signed Memorandum of Understanding on Cultural Cooperation. In order to coordinate the signing of the memorandum, the Fringe Club organized the City Festival which was focused on Singapore in 2006.[13]
Nine undeclared Terrex belonging to the Singapore Armed Forces, found on a Taiwanese-registered container ship en route from Kaohsiung, Taiwan to Singapore after a military training exercise, was seized by Hong Kong customs officials on November 23, 2016, during a routine check in Kwai Chung Cargo Terminal, Hong Kong.[15] The vehicles were held for almost two months under the suspicion of trafficking of military equipment.
On November 28, 2016, the spokesperson for Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Deng Shuang, said in a press conference that "The Government of China has made representations to the Government of Singapore, requesting that Singapore follow the relevant laws of Hong Kong and cooperate with the Government of Hong Kong to resolve this issue. The Government of China has always been staunchly opposed any country with diplomatic ties to China maintaining official relations with the Republic of China in any form, including military exchanges and cooperation. We request that Singapore Government observe the principle of the One-China policy." On November 29, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore, Vivian Balakrishnan stressed that “Our relations with China and our interactions with Hong Kong and Taiwan are based strictly on our one-China policy. We have consistently abided by this policy and understandings reached when we established diplomatic relations with China in 1990, and we will continue to do so.[16]"
In January 2017, the Hong Kong authorities said they had completed their investigations and would release the Terrex vehicles to Singapore. It was concluded that the Singapore Government could not be held responsible for the breach as it was the consignee of the military vehicles who broke the law. The captain of the container ship belonging to the shipping company American President Lines was charged with not having a required licence for the Terrex carriers. The vehicles arrived in Singapore on January 30.[17]
Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean statesman and lawyer who served as the first prime minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. He served as the secretary-general of the People's Action Party (PAP) from 1954 to 1992 and was the member of Parliament (MP) for Tanjong Pagar from 1955 until his death in 2015. Lee is widely recognised as the founding father of the modern Singaporean state, and for his leadership in transforming it into a highly developed country during his tenure.
The People's Action Party (PAP) is a major conservative political party of the centre-right in Singapore. It is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in the Parliament of Singapore, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and the Progress Singapore Party (PSP).
The Far Eastern Economic Review was an Asian business magazine published from 1946 to 2009. The English-language news magazine was based in Hong Kong and published weekly until it converted to a monthly publication in December 2004 because of financial difficulties.
Lee Hsien Loong is a Singaporean politician and former brigadier-general who has been a senior minister of Singapore since 2024, having previously served as the third prime minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2024. He has served as the secretary-general of the People's Action Party (PAP) since 2004 and has been the member of Parliament (MP) for the Teck Ghee division of Ang Mo Kio GRC since 1991, and previously Teck Ghee SMC from 1984 and 1991.
Ho Ching (Chinese: 何晶; pinyin: Hé Jīng; Wade–Giles: Ho2 Ching1; Cantonese Yale: Hòh Jīng; born 27 March 1954) is a Singaporean businesswoman.
The Cabinet of Singapore forms the executive branch of the Government of Singapore together with the president. It is led by the prime minister who is the head of government. The prime minister is a Member of Parliament (MP) appointed by the president who in the president's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the Members of Parliament (MPs). The other ministers in the Cabinet are Members of Parliament appointed by the president acting in accordance with the advice of the prime minister. Ministers are prohibited from holding any office of profit and from actively engaging in any commercial enterprise.
Lee Hsien Yang is a Singaporean businessman and former brigadier-general. Lee has been a member of Progress Singapore Party (PSP) since 2020.
Kwa Geok Choo was a Singaporean lawyer. She was the wife of Lee Kuan Yew, the founding Prime Minister of Singapore and the mother of Lee Hsien Loong, Lee Hsien Yang, and Lee Wei Ling.
Sri Temasek is a two-storey detached house built in 1869 which is sited within the grounds of the Istana in Singapore. During the island's colonial era, it served as the residence of the Chief Secretary. Since Singapore gained self-governance from the United Kingdom in 1959, the house has been the official residence of the Prime Minister of Singapore, though none of the prime ministers have ever lived there. Together with the Istana, it was gazetted a national monument on 14 February 1992.
The National Day Rally is an annual message delivered by the Prime Minister of Singapore to the entire nation, on the first or second Sunday after National Day on 9 August. Started in 1966, the national day rally is Singapore's equivalent of the President of the United States’ State of the Union address. The prime minister uses the rally to review the country’s status, its key challenges, as well as to set the country's direction, major policy changes, the economy, future plans and achievements. Currently, the prime minister does the rally speech in all of its official languages, English, Mandarin and Malay, except for Tamil, where only dubbing is available from its English broadcast.
The bilateral relations between the Republic of Singapore and the United States of America are positive. According to the U.S. Global Leadership Report, 77% of Singaporeans approved of U.S. leadership under the Obama Administration in 2010, and while this approval rating decreased slightly down to 75% in 2011, it nonetheless remains one of the highest ratings of the U.S. for any surveyed country in the Asia-Pacific region.
China–Singapore relations, also known as Chinese–Singaporean relations or Sino–Singaporean relations, are the bilateral relations between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Singapore. Singapore recognized the PRC in 1990. Diplomatic missions were established in the early 1990s based on trade and the warming of ties from other ASEAN countries towards mainland China.
Senior Minister of Singapore is a position in the Cabinet of Singapore. Holders of this office have previously served as either the prime minister or the deputy prime minister. Among the executive branch officeholders in the order of precedence, the position ranks after the prime minister and the deputy prime minister. Senior Ministers also serve as part of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and work at the Istana.
On 23 March 2015, Lee Kuan Yew, the founding prime minister of Singapore and co-founder of the People's Action Party, died at the age of 91 at 03:18 Singapore Standard Time (UTC+08:00), after having been hospitalised at the Singapore General Hospital with severe pneumonia since 5 February that year. A formal announcement was made on national television and radio by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at 08:00 that morning.
Amos Yee Pang Sang is a Singaporean convicted sex offender and former blogger, YouTuber, and child actor.
The First Cabinet of Lee Hsien Loong of the Government of Singapore was sworn into office on 12 Aug 2004.
Singapore–Vietnam relations refer to the bilateral relations between the Republic of Singapore and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Singapore and Vietnam started the trade relations in the 19th century. Due to the anti-communist policy of Singapore, Singapore supported South Vietnam before the unification of Vietnam. Singapore also started formal diplomatic relations with North Vietnam on August 1, 1973. After the unification of Vietnam, Singapore started to improve its relations with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Relations worsened during the Cambodian–Vietnamese War, but have improved once more after the People's Army of Vietnam withdrawal from Cambodia.
38 Oxley Road is an eight-bedroom two-storey bungalow located near Orchard Road, Singapore. The house was built in the late 19th century and was the residence of the first prime minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, from the 1940s until his death in 2015. The first meeting of the People's Action Party (PAP) occurred in the basement.
Philip Arthur Bowring is an English journalist and historian who was business editor, deputy editor and editor of the Asian news magazine the Far Eastern Economic Review for 17 years between 1973 and 1992.
Lee Wei Ling was a Singaporean neurologist. She was the director of the National Neuroscience Institute.
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