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作者：新加坡文献馆 摘录自《书评 新加坡威权政治研究》 1．经济发展与劳工政策 当代新加坡经济之所以‘成功’不是人民行动党提倡自由市场，或者是执政领袖具有远见智慧的结果。新加坡的经济制度仅是发展的必需而不是绝对条 件。一份研究报告就证实日本商家之所以到新加坡投资，并不是因为经济发展局的特别条件，因为各处的招商优惠条件基本上大同小异。日本人决定到新加坡设厂是 基于其他非新加坡因素的考量。此外，新加坡的第二次工业革命政策之所以彻底失败，也是因为在新加坡的外商依然可以理直气壮的拒绝新加坡政府的任何政策。在 制度经济学里，这种现象纯是一种即定政体的延续：昨天影响今天，今天决定明天的历史发展轨迹。 新加坡开埠时的国际政治关系至今始终维持不变：西方资本世界是政治强者，新加坡是政治弱者；强者可以向弱者任意索取。劳工经济学者Deyo在分析新加坡职工总会，外商与人民行动党的权势关 系就指出：职工会沦为外商与执政党的经济工具，无能保护工人利益。比如执政党就是通过劳工立法彻底解除工人的基本工业活动权力：罢工须获得政府的认可，不然属非法活动，要受法律制裁。而执政党的政策无非是要满足外商对经济环境的各种要求。Deyo认为工人和华商是新加坡经济架构的最低下层弱者，所以任由强者：外商与政府的索求。一些经济学者其中包括已故杨小凯认为四小龙经济之所以成功，是因为这些国家是美国的外围经济，与亚洲政治堡垒用以围睹共产中国。一 个初步的认知是，强权政治在新加坡经济的用途是压迫工人与小资本阶级，但未必能带来发展，因为新加坡发展是大幅度依赖世界资本体系的恩赐：美国资本，美国 技术与美国市场。因此，这一套理论也在基本上否定了新加坡经济结果，是因为执政党领袖具有远见智慧的观点：所以没有人民行动党就没有新加坡的说法纯是一则 政治竞选上的神话。正确的政治现实应该是：没有美国就没有新加坡。 2．居屋政策 居者有其屋政策就是里外不一，不能单从政策名堂上了解。首先，这绝对不是一个福利计划，因为李光耀痛恨福利主义，认为这是懒人主义。其次，这政策实质上是 一个财务计划，让政府把建屋经费转嫁人民身上。执政者之所以以购买住屋政策取代原有的政府租赁房屋政策，是因为可以免去供不应求以及驱逐无钱交付租金者的 政治成本。其三，以廉价出租房子不符国家财政必须赢余的政策。其四，让购屋者成为负债者，可以增加经済劳动力，因为人民必须劳作以偿还债务。这也可以把有 产者塑造为政治保守者，有利维持社会现状。因此，居者有其屋是一件政治工具，以维持执政党与人民之间的强弱与依赖关系。从产权经济理论来看，屋主仅有居住权，不享有自由交割转让权，也没有自由生产经济收益权。因为后两项经济主权仍是保留在政府手上。屋子产权内容不符张五常（注：香港大学经济学教授）对自由私有产权的经济定义。屋子即然不属私人产业就当然属政府产业，所以居者有其屋在实质上却是居者无其屋。 3．公积金储蓄 在同一经济原则下，作为人民退休金的公积金储蓄，也是政府合法强占私有经济产权的一个例子。公积金在法律上是个人的私有资产，但用于何处，何时可以动用，要在何种条件下动用的经济决策主权是在执政者手上。事实上，公积金是新加坡政府 的廉价资金源头，取之不尽用之不竭。 4．选举制度 人民行动党以定期举行选举，并长期获得选民支持来表示民主政治体系的实践，以及人民行动党的合法性。事实上，选举制度 经历长期的不断修订，原有的一人一票制度己经成为有人无票制度，因为制度变迁的结果是众多合格选民都没有实际投票的机会，形成有投票权力却没有投票机会。 从而导致新加坡的民主选举徒有形式没有实质。换言之，新加坡成为非典型的民主政治体系：人们有公民义务却没有公民投票机会。  Read More →

By Alex Lo from South China Morning Post When Charles Kao Kuen first proposed his revolutionary idea about fibre-optic communications more than four decades ago, he was laughed at and ignored. Today, the technology underpins the information superhighway and makes the internet possible. For his pivotal contribution, he became the first Hong Kong scientist to be awarded the Nobel Prize in physics yesterday. The retired head of the Chinese University shares the prize with two Americans, Willard Boyle and George Smith, for their pioneering work on semiconductors and digital imaging. Kao, 75, will receive half the prize money, about US$500,000, while his US counterparts will split the rest. "[Kao's] groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibres for optical communication, has shaped the foundations of today's networked societies," the Nobel jury said in a statement. "If we were to unravel all of the glass fibres that wind around the globe, we would get a single thread over one billion kilometres long - which is enough to encircle the globe more than 25,000 times - and is increasing by thousands of kilometres every hour. "[Kao's discovery means] text, music, images and video can be transferred around the globe in a split second." Kao and his family are out of the city. In a statement released by Chinese University last night, Kao said: "I am absolutely speechless and never expected such an honour. The Nobel has never been given out for applied sciences before. This is very, very unexpected. Fibre optics has changed the world of information so much in these last forty years. It certainly is due to the fibre-optical networks that the news has travelled so fast." Read rest of article on East Asia Review: http://www.eastasiareview.com/?p=188    Read More →

From our Correspondent "I am not afraid of embarrassment. I just want to be famous!", exclaimed dethroned Miss Singapore World Ris Low in an interview with Lianhe Wanbao. Though her name was tarnished overnight with the relevation that she was placed on probation for credit card fraud, Miss Low appeared to basking in the limelight at the moment. In fact, she claimed she is thankful to those who hate, criticize and lampoon her. "Because they make me famous overnight.Though my reputation is destroyed now, but if you look at things from different angles, I feel it does not really matter," she said. When asked about how she is coping with life now, she replied: "I don't see the need of hiding myself. On the contrary, I must face reality bravely. Though I know there are classmates who are gossiping behind my back, I still attend classes as usual." Miss Low said frankly that she loved to seek attention at a young age and it is her dream to participate in a beauty pageant which made her to decide to sign up for the Miss Singapore World competition at the risk that her past records may be exposed. She admitted readily that she became the target of finger-pointing now she walked in the streets, but she simply regarded it as public admiration for her "beauty. Miss Low has received a lot of flak from the public lately first for her poor command of the English language and subsequently for her past probation for credit card fraud. While some netizens have expressed their support and sympathy for her, it appears that she is unfazed by the negative publicity and is even capitalizing on it to make herself more well-known. It remains to be seen if her higher visibility will translate to more opportunities for her in the future. Interview source: Lianhe Wanbao  Read More →