Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

9-2003

Abstract

This article examines the management of Chinese identity and culture since Singapore attained independence in 1965. Due to the delicate regional environment, ethnic Chinese identity has been closely managed by the ruling elites, which have been dominated by the English-educated Chinese. There is the evolution from a deliberate policy of maintaining a low-key ethnic Chinese profile to the recent effort to re-sinicize--in form--the majority ethnic group. The article examines the policy impulses and implications for such a landmark change in reconceptualizing the Chinese-Singapore identity, which can be attributed to the needs of regime maintenance buttressed by Confucian ethos as well as the security and economic demands of nation-building.

Discipline

Asian Studies | Law and Politics | Law and Race | Race and Ethnicity

Publication

China Quarterly

Volume

175

First Page

751

Last Page

774

ISSN

0305-7410

Identifier

10.1017/S0305741003000432

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741003000432

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