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教 育 專 題 深 入 報 導《2004-08-27》 |
本期內容 | |
◎ 國際專題:李顯龍上台 新加坡解禁 |
國際專題:李顯龍上台 新加坡解禁 | |
策劃、編譯■成怡夏 | |
李顯龍上任 三把火續燒 新加坡兼任鼓勵生育跨部門委員會主席的貿工部長林勛強,日前公布新內閣鼓勵生育措施細節,預計政府將投入8億新元,約新台幣160億元的資金,來推動相關鼓勵生育措施。 這個措施是新加坡總理李顯龍於就職演說與國慶群眾大會,陸續針對鼓勵生育提出相關意見與措施後,提出的具體方案。李顯龍在當時就表示,新政府將面臨的問題從低生育率到中國快速成長引發的高失業問題。 因此他就任總理後的重要任務:一是繼續進行經濟改革,加強新加坡的競爭力;二是維持人民的凝聚力,尤其是確保中下層家庭能適應轉變中的環境。 李顯龍對新加坡人的生育率不斷下降表示憂慮。他在今年二月向國會發表新年度政府財政聲明時,特別提到新加坡培育下一代人口的巨大挑戰,宣布總理公署部長林勛強所領導的鼓勵生育跨部門委員會將負責全盤檢討增加新加坡人口的政策。 新的領導者也面臨著,隨出生率的降低和人口老化而加劇,在經濟快速成長的中國和印度的壓力下,高度的失業問題。 李顯龍將面對與他父親李光耀世代不同的問題,在這個嚴格控管的小島上,許多受過教育較有財富的人迫切需要更多自由,420萬的人口是他們唯一的天然資源。李光耀在1965年催生現代新加坡享有高度聲譽,他在經濟政策上的成功把原本沼澤滿地的第三世界海港,變成富裕高科技的大都會。 不過新加坡仍舊是一個在社會與經濟上高度控制的政府,長期執政的人民行動黨對於異議極少表現出容忍的態度。近年來新加坡愈來愈開放,也愈來愈多創意的藝術作品出現,新加坡最頂尖的時尚設計師Wykidd Song表示,這樣的趨勢將在李顯龍政府得到延續。 但是李顯龍也展現出父親剛烈強勢的個性,一月份他在新加坡哈佛校友會上就警告表示,他準備「制止或是破壞」政治評論家的行為,以免政府失去「道德上的權威。」 長子變成國家領導者,其實挺符合這個國家孔教家族文化色彩,但是從一位和藹可親的63歲平民化、贏得大眾好感的吳作棟到李顯龍,中間恐怕還是會有很大的轉變。 「在風格上他是接近父親的。」著名的異議政治家Joshua Jeyaretnam表示,他目前仍因誹謗官司纏身。「你如何能期待一位受到儒家文化浸潤長大的兒子,去違背他的父親?」 現年80歲的李光耀做為「內閣資政」仍舊在內閣掌有權力,新加坡的領導權力仍集中在以李家為中心的集團手中。 李顯龍分別在英國劍橋大學和美國哈佛大學拿到學位,軍階到准將,會說四種語言,從1990年就以吳作棟的代表為未來的領導地位做準備。他擔任過所有主管經濟事務的高階官位,像是財政部長,就職典禮中他承諾要讓新加坡更加繁榮。 新加坡近來在社會系統上逐漸自由化,包括鬆綁其惡名昭彰的禁嚼口香糖政策,以吸引更多國際企業進駐,也較能符合文化水平提升的民眾期待。 Lee Hsien Loong, eldest son of modern Singapore's founding father, will be sworn in on Thursday as the city-state's prime minister in a tightly choreographed succession aimed at underlining the island's stable reputation. At an evening garden ceremony at a 134-year-old colonial palace known as the Istana, Lee will officially form a new government of familiar faces, including his 80-year-old father Lee Kuan Yew and retiring prime minister Goh Chok Tong. Taxi drivers will rub shoulders with celebrities among the 1,400 invited -- a guest list that points to one of Lee's biggest challenges: to connect with ordinary Singaporeans who tend to view the 52-year-old as an aloof intellectual, or stern and authoritarian in the mold of his famous father. "He is seen as a product of his father, with a silver spoon in his mouth. This makes him appear out of touch with the grassroots," said 32-year-old businessman Edward Yap. The younger Lee, who holds degrees from Cambridge University in Britain and Harvard in the United States, military rank of brigadier-general and speaks four languages, has been groomed to lead since his appointment as Goh's deputy in 1990. Lee has held all the senior economic posts, including finance minister, which he keeps after Thursday's ceremony. The 8 a.m. EDT inauguration promises more flourish and seven times as many guests as his predecessor's 1990 swearing in -- and far tighter security. Lee's accession to the top job comes amid a year of political change in Southeast Asia. A new president of Indonesia is currently being elected and Malaysia's new prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi scored a landslide victory in March. Lee also faces different problems from those his father did, with a better educated, wealthier population pressing for more freedoms in the tightly controlled island, whose 4.2 million people are its only natural resource. The elder Lee is renowned for presiding over the birth of modern Singapore in 1965 and its runaway economic success since then which has transformed a swampy third-world sea port into a wealthy, high-technology metropolis. But Singapore is also a byword for strict government control over society and the economy and the long ruling People's Action Party has shown little tolerance for dissent. Singapore has become much more open in recent years," said Wykidd Song, one of Singapore's top fashion designers. "There is more emphasis on the creative arts. I sense this will continue under Lee Hsien Loong. It's been growing slowly over the years." But Lee has displayed flashes of the harsh, autocratic streak of his father, warning in a January speech to the Harvard Club of Singapore that he was prepared to "rebut or even demolish" political critics lest the government "lose its moral authority." An eldest son becoming leader fits well with the country's Confucian-tinged patriarchal political culture but will mark an abrupt change in style from the affable 63-year-old Goh, whose populist touch won mass public appeal. "In style if anything he will be nearer to his father," said prominent opposition politician Joshua Jeyaretnam, who is still entangled in several libel suits brought by ruling party leaders. "Do you expect the son, brought up in Confucianist tradition, to disobey his father's wishes?," Jeyaretnam told Reuters. The elder Lee, now aged 80, remains a powerful force in cabinet as "minister mentor." And that post will do little to dispel charges that power in Singapore is concentrated in a tight-knit leadership circle centered around Lee's family. Lee Hsien Loong's wife, Ho Ching, is executive director of powerful government investment arm Temasek, which owns stakes in Singapore's top firms such as Singapore Airlines and Singapore Telecommunications, which is run by Lee's brother Lee Hsien Yang. Analysts say the smooth succession highlights Singapore's unique system of tight control over politics, the economy and society which have given it a reputation for stability in a politically volatile region. "This is perhaps the beauty of Singapore government," said Lian Chia-Liang, economist U.S. investment bank J.P. Morgan. "We know that policies won't be reversed just because of a change in personality," he said. 培養雙語人才 新加坡總理李顯龍在22日的國慶群眾大會發表演說,除提到訪台的理由與觀察外,也強調推行華語及雙語政策是教育基石,教育部將擬計劃培養熟悉中華文化及了解中國與台灣現況與想法的雙語人才。 隨後,星國教育部長尚達曼隔日表示,單元式的華語教學法仍是很好的教學法,教育部希望先著重聽和說的能力,然後才是閱讀,再來才是書寫能力,相關細節將會在2週內公布。 他強調,教學必須是學生自己喜歡學習,因此未來教育部將設計課程讓華語的學習變得有趣。 李顯龍在演說中,提到就職演說中雖然強調傾聽年輕人的意見,但也不會忘記照顧老人,並強調新加坡的公共場所都以英文標示,讓許多只懂華文的老人看不懂,因此政府決定要在所有地鐵設置多語文的標示。 此外,李顯龍強調,新加坡必須保留傳統文化,也就是華文文化,他因為曾經在華校就讀12年,奠定堅實基礎,不論他到中國或台灣訪問,都不需要翻譯,都聽得懂,官方交流也可直接用華語溝通,拉近感情,不會發生誤會。 因此,李顯龍強調,雙語教育政策將是新加坡教育的基石,教育部正在研擬一套計劃,將培育精通英語、華語兩種語文的人才,這些人不但精通雙語,還熟悉中華文化、了解中國的歷史、文化典故,及今天中國與台灣的現況與想法。此外,李顯龍說,在教育政策上,政府也將推動馬來人、印度人等各種族都能學習自己的母語。 口香糖解禁 新加坡政府在五月底終於取消了長達12年之久的「口香糖」禁令,准許國民嚼口香糖,不過,新加坡民眾想嚼上一口口香糖,還得通過層層關卡;包括新加坡政府只准許某一廠牌的口香糖進口,而民眾要購買口香糖,必須備妥身份證,而且只能到藥房去買。 新加坡政府表示,買口香糖要到藥房去買的原因是為了「便於管理」;至於民眾買口香糖需帶身份證,則是藥房老闆在賣口香糖時,必須登記購買人的姓名和身份證號碼,如果藥房老闆賣口香糖但沒登記買主的資料,被查出來就會被處以兩年有期徒刑,外帶5千美元的罰款。 開放室內演講 新加坡總理22日演說中,再度延續就職演說決定採更開放政策的基調,宣佈政府將取消室內演說的事先申請,鼓勵人民多參與、多辯論,自由表達自己的想法;此外,政府也將研議開放賭場設置。 李顯龍強調,政府鼓勵人民多參與政治、多辯論,應該表達自己的想法,雖然已經開放演講,但政府可以再做得更多,因此他已經決定,未來室內演講除非牽涉種族或宗教、動亂問題,都不需要申請。 李顯龍強調,如果要做一個展覽會,「盡管去做吧,要百花齊放,也盡管去吧,這都將是自由的,只要不牽涉種族、宗教或動亂,但自己發表的言論必須自己負責」。 對於新加坡爭論已久的開放設置賭場問題,李顯龍認為,開放外國人到新加坡賭博,有助旅客倍增,但設置的將不單是賭場,而是綜合娛樂中心,裡面有餐館,有電影院等等。李顯龍表示,他知道宗教團體反對賭場非常激烈,也有其事實根據,但「不應該乾脆不要,應該想想是否能開賭場,但仍能在控制之下,不會影響社會」。 與學子對談 陳水扁總統就職後,曾與青年學子在紅樓對談。重視新一代青年人的想法,在新加坡也一樣。 新加坡新任總理李顯龍在宣誓就職時,曾強調將滿足戰後出生新一代新加坡人的需求,並指人民應該自由表達不同意見,他更呼籲年輕人挺身而出,與政府共同創造一個更開放包容的社會。 日前,星國社會發展及體育部代部長維文即宣佈,政府將成立青年委員會,由社會發展及體育部政務次長孟理齊負責。維文指出,委員會將於未來六個星期廣邀星國海內外青年人共同暢談如何為國效勞,以及如何和政府合作以達成這個目標。 李顯龍上台後,由於強調重視新一代年輕人的想法,因此「社會發展及體育部」將於下個月正式更名為「社會發展、青年及體育部」,把青年事務也納入。 |
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