Former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong touched on the challenges the country is facing at the Marine Parade National Day dinner, which was held on Saturday (Aug 13).
He underlined how heightening geopolitical tensions could affect Singapore, writing that “The strategic rivalry and distrust between the US and China is a key concern for Asia and the world. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan has further deepened this distrust and raised the temperature.
If not managed well by the parties concerned, the Taiwan question will spiral out of control. No good will come out of this.”
Mr Goh, who represented Marine Parade in Parliament from 1976 to 2020, stepped down prior to the General Election in 2020. He has been succeeded in his ward by Dr Tan See Leng, the current Manpower Minister.
Nevertheless, Mr Goh remains active on the ground at Marine Parade and is the Adviser Emeritus to the Marine Parade Grassroots Organizations.
“It has been some two years since I retired as MP for Marine Parade. But my heart has never left. I think of Marine Parade and Singapore’s future all the time,” he noted in a Facebook post about the event.
“To cope with this uncertain world, we need to have a strong, competent, fair and caring government, stay united and strengthen society together.
I am glad that Marine Parade has a good MP in Dr Tan See Leng. I could not have found a better person to succeed me.
See Leng, keep Marine Parade the best in the land,” the former Prime Minister added.
Ms Pelosi, along with a congressional delegation on a tour of Asian countries, visited Taiwan on Aug 2. She is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Taiwan in more than two decades.
Beijing had warned against the visit, characterizing it as a threat to China’s sovereignty.
President Xi Jinping made a phone call the preceding week to US President Joseph Biden, telling him there would be unspecified countermeasures as a consequence of the visit.
On Monday (Aug 15), a second US congressional delegation arrived in Taipei, led by Massachusetts Democratic Senator Ed Markey.
This visit was unannounced.
A spokesperson for Senator Markey said that the visit from the five-member delegation is meant to “reaffirm the United States’ support for Taiwan” and “will encourage stability and peace across the Taiwan Strait.”
The delegation will be meeting with Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, as well as hold discussions with the Taiwanese parliament’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense committee on security and trade issues. /TISG