Li Shengwu weighs in on Yale-NUS closure

Singapore — In a rather political Tweet, Li Shengwu weighed in on the closure of Yale-NUS college.

He was responding to another Tweet by one Jason Stanley, who said: “When I arrived at Yale, faculty were still not speaking to one another about the conflict about Yale-NUS, whose founding many faculty opposed. Now, abruptly, Yale-NUS is over. A liberal arts college in an authoritarian country didn’t work out after all”.

When I arrived at Yale, faculty were still not speaking to one another about the conflict about Yale-NUS, whose founding many faculty opposed. Now, abruptly, Yale-NUS is over. A liberal arts college in an authoritarian country didn’t work out after all.

— Jason Stanley (@jasonintrator) August 27, 2021

In response, Mr Li, the grandson of Lee Kuan Yew and son of Lee Hsien Yang Tweeted: “The Singapore regime exercises substantial control on universities based there, including tenure decisions and class content”.

“Yale-NUS has collapsed under its contradictions”, Mr Li added.

The Singapore regime exercises substantial control on universities based there, including tenure decisions and class content.

Yale-NUS has collapsed under its contradictions. https://t.co/mLWMa5c3W4

— Shengwu Li (@ShengwuLi) August 27, 2021

A decade after it was the first liberal arts college in Singapore and one of the first in Asia, Yale-NUS College is shutting down.

The National University of Singapore (NUS) is merging the University Scholars Programme (USP) and Yale-NUS College into a new college, which has yet to be officially named, said NUS in a media release.

NUS did not elaborate on why it is not renewing the affiliation agreement with Yale.

Yale-NUS College was set up in 2011 as a collaboration between NUS and Yale University. In response to its formation, Yale professors passed a resolution in 2012 expressing concern over Singapore’s “lack of respect for civil and political rights”.

Netizens who commented on Mr Li’s Tweet felt that they too did not see any feasibility in the merger of the two schools.

/TISG