Singapore Responded Pointedly to The Washington Post’s “Attack” on Lianhe Zaobao

Last Updated on 2023-08-29 , 11:28 am

By now, you’re probably already aware of The Washington Post’s allegations against local Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao.

In an article titled In Singapore, Loud Echoes of Beijing’s Positions Generate Anxiety, The Washington Post claimed that Lianhe Zaobao leans towards China’s narrative to generate more readership.

When Lianhe Zaobao first responded to the allegations, people thought this would be the end of the saga.

However, the Singapore Government has since entered the saga.

A rebuttal, written by Singapore Ambassador to the United States, Mr Lui Tuck Yew, has been issued to The Washington Post.

Rebuttal Letter Issued to the Editor of The Washington Post

On 5 August, the letter was made available on the Singapore US embassy in Washington’s website.

Mr Lui highlighted that the article “wrongly suggests” that Lianhe Zaobao “echoes Beijing’s propaganda”.

He emphasised that Singapore is a multi-racial and multi-religious country, writing, “Singapore’s mainstream media, including Lianhe Zaobao, reflect our distinct societal concerns, cultural history and perspectives.

“They report local and global news for Singaporeans and play a crucial role in preserving the voices of our multicultural communities.”

Mr Lui added, “In my former role as Singapore’s Ambassador to China, I have often heard its readers of various nationalities affirm Lianhe Zaobao’s balanced coverage and uniquely Singapore viewpoints.

“I’m therefore not surprised that Lianhe Zaobao has categorically rejected how it was wrongly portrayed in the article and clearly explained its editorial stance.

“It bears repeating that Singapore conducts its foreign policy based on our own interests. We do not pick sides but uphold consistent principles.”

Singapore’s Stance

In his response letter, Mr Lui asserted that Singapore’s stance towards foreign policy “enjoys strong public support”.

He even went one step further and supported his points with concrete statistics.

Referencing a July 2022 poll by the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI), Mr Lui noted that 86% of Singaporeans believed that the Singapore Government “should always act in Singapore’s best interest”.

Furthermore, the Government should “not take sides between the US and China”.

If you need a comparison, only 4% of poll participants felt that Singapore should lean towards China, while 4% believed that the country should lean towards the US.

In a more recent poll published in June 2023, the New York-based Eurasia Group Foundation polled 1,500 adults from Singapore, South Korea and the Philippines on their feelings towards US-China relations.

The poll found that Singaporeans tended to have relatively balanced views of the US and China compared to respondents from the other two nationalities.

Mr Lui emphasised the fact that Singaporeans consume news from a wide variety of sources.

Furthermore, many Singaporeans use American and British media as their primary sources of international news.

Mr Lui wrote, “It is misguided for American news outlets to expect Zaobao to resemble The Washington Post or for Singapore to follow either the US or China.

“Our media and society are unique, and offering valuable perspectives that contribute to the global dialogue.”

MCI’s Statement

Before the fated article was published, the MCI issued a statement to the American newspaper.

The ministry said its data “suggests Singapore’s media provide a balanced perspective that Singaporeans trust”.

It also highlighted that polls consistently showed that Singaporeans understand the need for an independent foreign policy.

The MCI also referenced the poll that Mr Lui mentioned in his response letter.

It added, “Polling conducted since 2018 has consistently found a significant majority comfortable with the state of our relations with both the US and China.”

The ministry noted that the percentage of individuals satisfied with Singapore-China relations has increased from 49% in 2018 to 58% currently.

Meanwhile, the percentage of individuals satisfied with Singapore’s relations with the US has increased from 61% in 2018 to 69% presently.

While The Washington Post partially referenced MCI’s statement at the end of its article, it has yet to respond to the Ministry of Foreign Affair’s requests to publish Mr Lui’s letter.

Recap of the Incident

In case you’ve been living under a rock, here’s a brief recap of the situation:

On 24 July 2023, The Washington Post ran an investigative piece alleging that Lianhe Zaobao leans towards China’s narrative.

The paper alleged that while Singapore has been a longtime ally of the US, the Chinese community in Singapore has become increasingly sympathetic towards China.

According to The Washington Post, this claim was not created solely because of the Chinese majority in Singapore.

It alleged that there is CCP messaging in Lianhe Zaobao’s reporting.

The article asserted some hefty claims, including allegations that Lianhe Zaobao has denied evidence of rights abuse in Xinjiang.

It also claimed that the Chinese news media uses China state sources more often than other sources and has regular opinion columns from at least two CCP officials without being transparent about its party affiliations. 

The Washington Post alleged that Lianhe Zaobao was doing this because its readership has been dropping.

The article referenced the fact that the Chinese news media’s digital and print subscriptions fell from 187,900 in 2015 to 144,000 in 2020.

The article then compared this statistic to Lianhe Zaobao’s reader base in China, which boasts over 4,000,000 monthly readers.

Unnamed inside sources also claimed that the changes began in 2019 when Lianhe Zaobao’s main WeChat was blocked in Hong Kong.

After this, Lianhe Zaobao allegedly prioritised not to be blocked in China.

Of course, Lianhe Zaobao responded to these claims, calling them “biased comments and unfair statements”.

Emphasising its aim to “provide fair and balanced reporting”, the Chinese news media highlighted how its articles “draw extensively from international news sources” and “features articles with diverse perspectives”.

It added, “Our reporting features viewpoints from China and the West, including policy statements from officials, analyses from academics, media coverage and commentaries.”

It also claimed that The Washington Post “selectively left out some facts while intentionally highlighting and putting together some information”, calling this move “regrettable but not surprising”.

Why the Big Hoo-ha?

So, why is there such a big hoo-ha around this saga?

Once again, it boils down to the tensions between the US and China.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, recall the incident involving China’s “spy balloon”.

China wasn’t happy when the US shot the balloon down, even deeming President Biden’s actions an “overreaction”.

In April 2023, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong highlighted three crises that could potentially endanger Singapore, naming the deepening hostility between the US and China as one of them.

He specifically noted the contentiousness of Taiwan’s status as a country.

Singapore has long-standing relations with both the US and China.

27 April 2023 marked the three-decade anniversary of historical talks between both superpowers about Taiwan.

Earlier in March 2023, it was reported that Singapore was willing to facilitate talks between the US and China to repair their relations.

Unfortunately, tensions seem to be deepening.

PM Lee added, “Tensions between China and the US will expose our population to emotional pulls, commercial pressure, and influence campaigns, from one side or the other, to take their point of view and support their cause.”