TikTok User Says S’pore is Inferior to China; Local Netizens Fight Back

Apparently, the only thing Singaporeans hate more than foreigners saying good things about Singapore is foreigners saying bad things about Singapore.

A Chinese TikTok creator posted a video, claiming that Singapore lagged behind China in many areas. It quickly went viral, gaining over 194,000 views at press time.

TikTok User Lists 6 Areas Singapore Lags Behind China in

In it, the OP listed six points he felt China was far ahead in. This stirred up the rare patriotic fervour of Singaporeans, who rushed to rebut him.

Firstly, he said that cash and credit card payment was too prevalent in Singapore, with electronic payment through methods like QR codes less common than in China.

Redditors pointed out that QR code e-payment isn’t definitively superior to paying with credit cards. They brought up the ease of contactless card payment like payWave.

“Why does less e-payment mean Singapore is lagging behind?” A TikTok commenter echoed the sentiment.

Others pointed to the variety of payment methods as less restrictive to the general public.

Secondly, he compared Singapore’s e-commerce companies like Lazada and Shopee negatively to China’s platforms in terms of item variety and logistical speed.

The TikTok OP’s third point was that China had access to a wealth of internally-produced goods alongside imports, whereas Singapore relied nearly entirely on imports.

For these two, it’s fairly obvious that China’s online marketplaces have more goods available.

A netizen argued, however, that the reason was that each country requires different things, and e-commerce platforms would only buy or sell based on what the locals wanted.

The reason for the reliance on imports is fairly obvious. One country is small, the other country is big.

User Says Singapore Behind China in 5G & Electric Cars

Fourthly, he went back to the logistics point, saying same-day delivery was “unthinkable” in Singapore.

Singapore’s netizens argued that locals can access most shops in the entire country within the day to buy, not to mention the labour cost of same-day delivery that didn’t make sense.

For his fifth point, he pointed to Singapore’s 5G network, saying it lacked in countrywide adoption rate and signal strength compared to China’s.

The OP added that this made livestreaming in tourist hotspots difficult.

A netizen refuted this point, saying that for real-world use, 4G is already adequate. This is perhaps the only recorded case of a Singaporean defending the country’s telecommunications.

Lastly, the TikTok OP said that electric vehicles and hybrids were becoming more common in China, whereas Singapore still predominantly used combustion engine cars.

Well, fair point on this one, Singapore has been quite slow on electric vehicle uptake.

Singaporeans Ask About Currency & Food Safety Comparisons

Other than rebutting the video’s points, Singaporeans went and targeted other aspects of the comparison.

“Why is one SGD equal to 5.2 Chinese Yuan?” One asked cheekily.

“Actually, it’s equal to 5.4 Yuan nowadays.” Another replied.

“Can I ask why so many people from the ‘great power’ come to Singapore?”

A commenter went straight for the throat, writing, “Although all our food is imported, at least we can eat knowing it’s safe.”

Some questioned why these six points were picked for the TikTok comparison instead of safety, corruption index, freedom, or building quality, all of which Singapore surpasses China in.

Several netizens suggested that the OP was just purposefully using the video to bait angry Singaporeans for views.

“Don’t take it personally. They have acclimatised so well [that] they have picked up on our national pastime: complaining.”

Sure enough, the OP has since made two more videos on Singapore with similarly inflammatory remarks.