WP MP Sylvia Lim ‘can’t help but marvel’ at how far China has come

SINGAPORE: On her recent trip to China, Workers’ Party Member of Parliament (WP MP) Sylvia Lim (Aljunied) expressed amazement at how far the country has come. 

China, after all, is considered to be one of the two current global superpowers. Over the past few decades, it has become the second-largest economy in the world, growing in leaps and bounds in terms of infrastructure, manufacturing, and technology.

Ms Lim, who also chairs the WP, was part of a delegation of Parliamentarians headed by House Speaker Seah Kian Peng, who were on a six-day visit to China. The group went to Xiamen, Fuzhou, and Beijing and was back in Singapore by June 14.

Mr Seah said on June 8 that the invitation to visit China had come from Zhao Leji, the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, and the third-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, after the party’s general secretary and the Premier. 

Liang Eng Hwa (Bukit Panjang), Ms Lim, Poh Li San (Sembawang West), Wan Rizal (Jalan Besar), Elysa Chen (Bishan-Toa Payoh), and Nominated Member of Parliament Sanjeev Tiwari were the other members of the delegation.

FB screengrab/ Seah Kian Peng

Ms Lim, who has been in Parliament since 2011, wrote in a June 12 social media post that the agenda for that day had focused on China’s political history.

“From the Museum of the Communist Party of China, to the Great Hall of the People, one can’t help but marvel at how far China has come. Our meetings with national leaders evinced their commitment to improving the lives of the people,” wrote Ms Lim, adding, “If only my late grandmother, a Hokkien born in 1917, could see China today!”

Sylvia Lim

Sylvia Lim visits Xiaomi showroom in China

The WP Chair added that the group had been scheduled to visit an Electric Vehicle (EV) factory the following day.

An Instagram post showed that the group had gone to the Xiaomi facility in Beijing, and in her caption, Ms Lim sounded excited that Xiaomi EVs will be coming to Singapore around 2028.

She wrote that Singaporeans are more familiar with the company’s mobile phones and other appliances, and added that Xiaomi “decided to enter the EV market in 2021 and has not looked back. Their car specs include being able to charge up to 670 km range within 15 minutes! A testament to Chinese industry today. #EV” /TISG

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