Singapore PM Lawrence Wong’s ancestral ties spark Chinese social media interest: ‘the pride of Hainan’
- Online material from videos to commentary highlight new prime minister’s past comments on China as well as his supposed ancestral home in Wenchang, Hainan
- Observers note the bump in online interest reflects blurred boundaries between Chinese nationality and ethnicity
Soon after Lawrence Wong was sworn in on Wednesday as Singapore’s fourth prime minister since the city’s independence, a mix of online content from media members and observers found its way onto Chinese social media.
A video titled “Greetings from Hainan Island in China” appears to show a banner being put up in front of the Huang ancestral hall in Wenchang, Hainan – said to be Wong’s ancestral home – congratulating him on his appointment to Singapore’s top job.
Wong’s family name is Huang in Chinese.
Articles and videos mostly traced Wong’s ancestral ties to Beishan village in Huiwen town, noting his father first migrated from Hainan to Malaysia. Some clips highlight Wong’s growing-up years in Singapore, from his education milestones to career achievements.
Others, such as one by the Hainan Business Association in Shenzhen, detailed Wong’s personal interests and hobbies, such as guitar playing and riding motorbikes.
Describing Wong as a “grass-roots leader”, Tian Yuzheng from China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations said in an article posted by his institute’s WeChat account that as the first prime minister born after the island-state’s independence, Wong would continue the republic’s achievements.
“He will also promote Sino-Singapore relations to keep pace with the times and move forward steadily,” Tian said.
One video quoted Wong as saying “never bet on the decline of China”, a comment made after the then deputy prime minister wrapped up a visit to the country last year.
Wong was pointing to the tremendous scale of China’s economy and hailing its many different strengths in advanced manufacturing and in the green economy.
Chinanews.com, a Chinese news portal, wrote of how Wong had “shed tears in public”, referring to how the former national development minister became overwhelmed with emotion in 2020 when citing how Singapore’s healthcare workers and various sectors banded together to fight the Covid pandemic.
Comments from Chinese online users ranged from admiration – how “diligent and outstanding overseas Chinese can thrive anywhere in the world” – to hometown adoration on how “Wong is really the pride of Hainan”.
Others expressed interest in whether Wong could speak Hainanese, and how Singapore had thrived “because of these exceptional overseas ethnic Chinese leaders”.
The lineage of Singapore’s founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, as well as his son and Wong’s predecessor Lee Hsien Loong, can be traced back to Dapu in Guangdong, while that of Goh Chok Tong – the nation’s second prime minister after the elder Lee – can be tracked to Yongchun in Fujian province.
Blurred lines
Luwei Rose Lüqiu, associate professor at Baptist University’s Department of Journalism, said Chinese netizens had once again shown a keen interest in foreign leaders with Chinese heritage.
“This is not the first instance of such focus,” noted the former long-time television journalist, citing former Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose ancestral home is in Meizhou, in Guangdong province.
“[Thaksin] was also the subject of similar attention,” Lüqiu said, adding that the connection to Chinese heritage made these leaders “more relevant” to, and “heightened interest” among, Chinese online users.
There was also a sense of pride in seeing someone of Chinese descent lead a foreign country, Lüqiu said, noting such individuals were often regarded as “Chinese sons and daughters at home and abroad”.
“This sentiment aligns with the sometimes vague official narratives that attempt to blur the boundaries and differences between Chinese citizens … and ethnic Chinese who are citizens of other countries.
“Understanding these dynamics can provide deeper insights into the cultural and nationalistic underpinnings of such public interest,” Lüqiu said.
China has often stated that there are about 60 million people of Chinese origin living abroad across nearly 200 countries and regions.
In 2022, speaking during the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front – the body responsible for dealing with non-party individuals and groups both inside and outside China – Chinese President Xi Jinping called the front “an important magic weapon for uniting all Chinese sons and daughters at home and abroad to realise the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation”.
Koh Chin Yee, managing director of Singapore Eye, a leading Chinese-language social media platform in Singapore, said “it is not unexpected” that the Hainan Wenchang Huang clan commemorated Wong’s inauguration.
Koh noted that although “Mr Wong is a Singaporean Chinese”, the ongoing rise in Chinese online interest in Singapore’s leader reflected a celebration of “kinship and ethnic ties”.
“It would worry me if the community in Wenchang chooses to ignore this important chapter, which is equally relevant to both Singapore and Wenchang. [That] would be a show of intentionally keeping a distance, and that implies distrust,” he said.
