BEYOND SG

Doorstop Interview after the Informal Foreign Ministers' Meeting

Minister George Yeo's Doorstop Interview after the Informal Foreign Ministers' Meeting on 11 November 2009

George Yeo
Harold Fock
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Joint Media Conference of AMM Chairs

Joint Media Conference of AMM Chairs on 12 November 2009

George Yeo

Harold Fock
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

APEC - Leading the Way by George Yeo

APEC - Leading the Way
Op-Ed by George Yeo, Foreign Minister of Singapore

THE growing cooperation across the Pacific is reshaping the world. After a
century of war and revolution, East Asia has taken off. Transpacific trade,
which long overtook transatlantic trade, continues to grow. An intricate
web of political, economic and cultural relations increasingly binds the
countries on the Pacific Rim.

The most important institution bringing the two sides of the Pacific
together is the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum. Established
20 years ago to promote freer trade and investment, it now comprises 21
economies that account roughly for half of global gross domestic product
and global trade. It is by far the faster-growing half.

In November 1989, in the same week the Berlin Wall fell, foreign and trade
ministers from 12 countries held Apec's inaugural meeting in Canberra. The
inclusion of countries on both sides of the Pacific was deliberate. For the
politics in the region to stay peaceful and for trade to continue
expanding, a line must not be drawn down the middle of the Pacific. That
became a core founding principle.

At the Singapore ministerial meeting the following year, bringing in what
was then commonly termed the 'three Chinas' - mainland China, Chinese
Taipei and Hong Kong - became a key topic of discussion. If all three had
not been included, there would have been a gaping hole in Apec. After
intense negotiations, China agreed to the participation of Chinese Taipei
and Hong Kong in the 1991 Seoul meeting, not as countries but as economies.
For this reason, national flags are never flown at Apec meetings.

Two possible reasons could explain why China was prepared to accommodate
Chinese Taipei at that time. First, Deng Xiaoping was determined to press
on with China's reforms and opening up. Second, cross-strait relations had
been steadily improving. I remember a relaxed luncheon conversation at the
1992 ministerial meeting in Bangkok involving China's Li Lanqing, Chinese
Taipei's Vincent Siew and Hong Kong's Brian Chau.

When the United States hosted Apec in 1993, then-President Bill Clinton
convened the first Apec Economic Leaders' Meeting at Blake Island. That act
of leadership transformed Apec and gave it global prominence. It helped to
bring about the conclusion of the Uruguay Round. Apec has become the
principal forum for East Asian leaders to engage the US president every
year. It sits at the apex of regional forums like Asean Plus Three and the
East Asia Summit.

A second act of leadership the following year led to the announcement of
the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment among industrialised
economies by 2010 and among all economies by 2020. That Indonesia, which
still had a protected economy at that time, should make this bold move was
remarkable and a tribute to the vision of then-Indonesian President
Suharto.

Step by step, Apec developed form and function. Regular meetings of
leaders, ministers and officials forged personal bonds of friendship that
proved invaluable when crises erupted - like the 1997-98 Asian financial
crisis, Timor Leste's independence in 1999, Al-Qaeda's attacks on the US on
Sept 11, 2001, the outbreak of Sars in 2003 and last year's global
financial crisis.

The most important relationship in Apec is that between the US and China. I
remember vividly when China was Apec host in 2001.

In April that year, the Hainan EP-3 incident had suddenly chilled relations
between Beijing and Washington. When US Trade Representative Robert
Zoellick arrived for the Apec Trade Ministers' Meeting in Zhouzhuang in
June, he was received with a certain coolness. Mr Zoellick broke the ice
with his words of friendship, to which China's Commerce Minister Shi
Guangsheng responded in kind the following day.

On the sidelines, they finally agreed on China's terms of entry into the
World Trade Organisation (WTO), after negotiations that went late into the
night. After Sept 11, the two countries cooperated in the war against
terrorism. When then-President George W. Bush flew into Shanghai in
October, Chinese fighter planes escorted Air Force One into China's
airspace. Without Apec providing a ready forum, it would have been more
difficult to restore good relations between the two countries.

The theme for the Leaders' Meeting in Singapore this year is 'Sustaining
Growth, Connecting the Region'. Keeping the Asia-Pacific region peaceful
and open to trade and investment must continue to be our collective goal.
Resisting protectionism is a particular challenge because of the global
economic crisis. With the Doha Development Agenda not making progress, it
is crucial for the Apec economies to take the lead.

The best way to achieve the Bogor Goals is a Free Trade Area of the
Asia-Pacific. Announcing this as a long-term objective will also help push
forward the Doha negotiations. In the meantime, a growing matrix of free
trade agreements has facilitated the flow of trade and investment
throughout the region. One of them, the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic
Partnership (TPP), merits particular mention.

Currently it is a free trade agreement among four relatively small
countries - Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, and Singapore. Last year, the US,
Australia, Peru and Vietnam expressed interest in joining the TPP.
Enlargement of the TPP will have a positive impact on trade dynamics in the
region.

Among the 21 Apec economies, there are big and small countries, rich and
poor, strong and weak. Together, they reflect the make-up of the United
Nations and the WTO. What Apec is able to achieve peacefully will point the
way forward for the rest of the world.

The Singapore meeting comes six weeks after the last G-20 meeting in
Pittsburgh, which was attended by 10 Apec leaders. We can therefore expect
continuity in the flow of discussion from Pittsburgh to Singapore, and from
Singapore to the next two G-20 meetings in Canada and South Korea before
the next Apec Leaders' Meeting in Japan at the end of next year. The G-20
is perhaps the most important agent of economic change in the world today.
A close overlap between the G-20 and Apec agendas will help this process of
change to take place in a consultative and inclusive way.

The end of the Cold War 20 years ago opened a new chapter in world history.
After 20 years, Apec has become an indispensable forum in the Asia-Pacific
region. Looking ahead, Apec can help create a better future for the whole
world.

This op-ed was published in the Straits Times on 11 November 2009.

Why I dislike company's year-end functions?

This is the time of the year companies and organisations hold their year-end functions.

I really dislike them.

I always watch in pure horror when companies organise the year-end functions and continue to humiliate their staff. The VIPs, all bosses and their spouses in their glittering gowns, will sit in the VIP tables. Surely they plot and scheme enough with each other to sit with the troops for once? Surely it is not a crime to sit with everyone to find out about their families and their concerns?

And the DJ/MC are always pre-warned to keep the VIP table "alone". And if the bosses make the slightest gesture of participation, he is known as "sporting". In the meantime, the staff who are slaving away for 364 days a year, is subject to more low-grade humiliation like collect 10 items to win some cheap prizes. Don't they fetch things for their bosses everyday? Why torture them further?

The most horrendous thing I heard in the 10-item hunt includes some very private "pigmented filaments characteristically growing from the epidermis of a mammal" (i got this from the online dictionary to avoid shocking the gentle readers here)! And the staff gleefully "collected" the item and rushed out to the stage. Trust me, they think twice donating bone marrow to their siblings but will do anything for a table prize :-) Do we really want to strip our more junior colleagues every bit of self-respect and self-worth? Do management dislike their staff so much?

This year, how about the bosses serve as waiters/servants to their staff and thank them humbly and sincerely? Not with a prepared speech and a 2-second handshake, but truly be with them as a team and comrade? And get rid of the DJ who does the 10-item hunt.

Harold Fock

Lift Upgrading

Last Saturday, I was at Blk 424 Hougang Ave 10 to announce the launch of a
lift upgrading programme (LUP) for a number of HDB blocks in the precinct.
Because the RC had gone around encouraging residents to come down, there
was a huge turnout, more than I had even seen before for an LUP.

We had a lively exchange.  Most residents were happy that, at long last,
the upgrading which they've been asking for would happen.  Because of the
internal voids in some of the blocks, a few residents were concerned about
the way new lifts would land on every floor.  Not only would there be
considerable inconvenience during the upgrading work, little spaces which
are now largely private might become more public.  The owner of one ground
floor unit worried about  a new lift shaft serving units above affecting
their privacy.  This provoked a sharp exchange with another resident whose
wheelchair-bound mother desperately needed a lift landing.  Both had
legitimate concerns and interests which should be properly addressed.
Security is also a big concern.

The key is good design.  The RC Chairman, Peter Tang, will chair a working
group which will work with residents, HDB and the architects to ensure the
best design possible for every block within the budget allocations.  In the
end, every design is a compromise.  We should try to have the lift stop at
every floor at grade at the same time minimizing the negative aspects.

After the formal session, a few older residents asked about payment.
Unlike PRs who do not receive any subsidy, Singaporean owner are subsidized
between 75% to 90%.  The total amount they have to pay is capped at $3000.
HDB has various schemes to help those in financial difficulty. For most
residents, the instalment payments are affordable.  Many can use their CPF.

 

 

 

 

Happy Deepavali - blog article by Ravi Velloor

Ravi Velloor was in Sri Lanka with Foreign Minister George Yeo recently.

http://blogs.straitstimes.com/2009/11/4/happy-deepavali

---

'Happy Deepavali.'
At 06:30 a.m. as I waited in the lobby of the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo recently, that was the call from the man striding by.
At first it didn't quite register. Then I awoke from my reverie:
Happy Deepavali, to you, Minister!
Perhaps it was fitting that the first person to wish me that day was George Yeo, Singapore's foreign minister. For Mr Yeo is an uncommon personality. Among all the global personalities I have encountered in a three decades-long career, I have met no one with such an interest in other cultures. I have watched him on an early winter morning, finishing up his breakfast, changing into chinos and a leather jacket to visit the historic Mughal built Sunday Mosque in Delhi's old quarter, only his bodyguards in tow. I have watched him in the dusty outback of India's Bihar state, standing amidst the ruins of the ancient university of Nalanda, fittingly in the company of some of the world's best known intellectual luminaries. He was there to participate in a Singapore-backed dream to revive that ancient Buddhist seat of learning for a new generation of Asians. Last month in Hua Hin, Thailand, the East Asia Summit endorsed that effort.
I am not a big fan of blogsites, but one I unfailingly check every few weeks is Mr Yeo's blog, if nothing else to catch up on some speech of his I may have missed.
On this Deepavali day, we would travel in a quiet land where there was little celebration despite the area being home to large numbers of Hindus. We would move by helicopter to Mannar in the northwest of Sri Lanka, then to Jaffna in the north and on to Trincomallee in the northeast. We would be briefed by military commanders and civilian administrators. We would visit irrigation projects and the Prima factory in Trincomallee, that iconic Singapore investment in Sri Lanka whose products have been consumed by every citizen of that nation. We would visit the historic Jaffna library and the famous Nallur Kandasamy temple in that town.
"Did you see the look on his face when he broke that coconut as an offering at the temple?" a Tamil Singaporean who was part of Mr Yeo's delegation told me later. "The reverence was real."
At the end of the day, having dined with a local industrialist and before embarking for Singapore, Mr Yeo sat down for a media wrapup. There, he unerringly pronounced correctly the names of every town we had visited and every person he met. I was taken aback.
I must have been to Sri Lanka more than a dozen times, sometimes for more than two weeks at a time, but I will not lay claim to have the same facility. Yet, this was only Mr Yeo's second visit to the island and the first was many years ago, when he holidayed there with his wife.
Does all that make him less Chinese, or less interested in the culture of his own forefathers?
Not at all.
In Trincommalee I watched a retired Sri Lankan admiral, now governor of the Eastern Province, brief Mr Yeo. The admiral mentioned an area called China Bay. Immediately, Mr Yeo's ears pricked up. He asked how the area got that name, then went on to answer his own question by discussing various possibilities, including a port call by the Chinese seafarer Zheng He.
Foreign ministers come in all sizes of intellect. Around the world there must be a few who can match Mr Yeo's intellect. But what probably sets him apart is his genuine interest in alien cultures and this surely must be of use in what probably is the world's most globalised island state.
Mr Yeo gives the impression of a man overawed by the splendour of the universe even as he marks his own place in it.
That thought struck me after seeing the transcript of a door-stop interview he gave Colombo journalists after bilateral talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart, Rohitha Bogollogama.
Dwelling on the talented Sri Lankan diaspora and how it could be harnessed for the country's post-war development, he had this to say: 'All my four children were delivered by Sri Lankan doctors.'
As a lifelong journalist my only regret about Mr Yeo is that he didn't choose to join my profession. Certainly, he had the opportunity.
My former editor in chief, Mr Cheong Yip Seng, once told me he had talent-spotted a young George Yeo just as he had entered government service as a bureaucrat. They were in Indonesia together, accompanying some heavyweight on an official trip.
Sadly, Mr Yeo declined Mr Cheong's offer of employment, choosing to stay on in government.
Too bad. The Straits Times newsroom could have used his skills to teach how to convey the most complex and beautiful thoughts in the simplest language.
And on that subject here is my favourite George Yeo line.
Turning up at an inter-religious meeting a couple of years ago in Singapore, Mr Yeo had this to say about the Parsis. This is the tiny community of Zoroastrians who migrated to India from Persia a thousand years ago and have been successful in business while being great philanthropists.
"The Parsis," said Mr Yeo at that meeting, "have always sweetened the milk that is their host."

Sartaj Aziz

There is a special pleasure in meeting an old friend you are fond of but
never got to meet a long time.  When I accompanied MM to Pakistan in 1992,
it was my privilege to know Sartaj Aziz.  He was then the Finance Minister.
A Persian-speaking Pathan, he has a lively mind.  In Peshawar, he told me
about his plan to bring eletricity from Tajikistan through Afghanistan's
Wakhan corridor.  In Lahore, he followed closely Manmohan Singh's budget
speech broadcast carried 'live' on Amritsar radio and gave me an instant
analysis.  Later he presented me with a book he wrote about rural
development in China which I still keep on my shelf.  Yesterday I saw him
again after 17 years and listened carefully to his analysis of the
political situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  He is in Singapore on an
invitation from the Institute of South Asian Studies and is still an active

supporter of Nawaz Sharif.

 

Toadstools in the Garden

After the rainfall last night, beautiful white toadstools appeared in my
garden this morning.  Life is a brief moment in time.

 

Breakfast with Condi Rice

Having worked with her for a number of years, first as National Security
Advisor, then as Secretary of State, I was happy to meet Condi Rice again
over breakfast this morning.  Always courteous and dignified, she avoided
making any comment that might be construed as being critical of the Obama
Administration.  She has returned to Stanford and is looking forward to
teaching undergrads next year.

 
 

Meeting with Qinghai Party Secretary Qiang Wei

I was delighted to meet Qinghai Party Secretary Qiang Wei (强卫) so soon
after my call on him in Xining in August.  Although it has only a small
population of slightly over 5m (tiny by Chinese standards), the province
covers a large land area and has lots of natural resources.  It is also the
source of the Yellow, Yangtze and Mekong rivers.  With much better
infrastructure and air connectivity, Qinghai is no longer far from
Singapore.  Prospects for tourism development are very good.  I express the
hope that relations between Singapore and Qinghai will grow in the coming
years.

 
 

ASEAN Summit (23 Oct 09)

The day started with the Opening Ceremony and the singing of the ASEAN
Anthem  (Raise our flag, high,sky high; embrace the love in our heart ...).
Later the Leaders launched the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commmission on Human
Rights, which was an achievement.  When we first embarked on this exercise,
no one was sure that we could reach this point.  The newer members had deep
reservations because of the way the human rights issue has been used to
pressure them politically.  Then the Leaders met ASEAN business leaders
over lunch.  The meeting with Civil Society was voluntary; not all
countries were represented.  In the late afternoon, PM had a good bilateral
meeting with Vietnam PM Dung.  PM Abhisit hosted a working dinner during
which various issues were discussed including regional architecture and
connectivity.



Singing of ASEAN Anthem



PM Abhisit Making Address


Cultural Performance



Inauguration Ceremony of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human
Rights



ASEAN Leaders' Informal Dinner

PM Abhisit greeting Minister

Pre-dinner reception







PM's Bilateral Meeting with Vietnamese PM Nguyen Tan Dung

ASEAN Summit at Hua Hin (22 Oct 09)

ASEAN Coordinating Council Meeting

ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Informal Working Dinner

Sri Lanka

On my last day in Sri Lanka, the Government provided me a Mi-17 helicopter
to visit Mannar, Jaffna and Trincomalee.  At Mannar, I was briefed on the
ongoing de-mining work and the repair of the irrigation system.  Mannar has
a system of irrigation tanks which makes it a rice bowl.  I also saw a new
bridge being constructed by the Japanese to Mannar Island which is at one
end of the string of sandbanks connecting Sri Lanka to India across the
Palk Straits.

At historic Jaffna, I visited Jaffna Library and made a donation of books,
Nallur Kandaswamy Temple and an IDP camp.  Coincidentally we were there on
Deepavali which was auspicious.  At the IDP camp, conditions were not bad
but the separation of families must be wrenching.  The Sri Lankan
Government has assured a delegation of Indian MPs which visited recently
that the IDPs would be released to their villages in batches within the
next few months after proper de-mining has been carried out. They would be
given assistance to start life afresh.  But it would take time to overcome
long  years of suspicion and distrust.  Security continues to be taken very
serioiusly.

Trincomalee has a beautiful harbour, almost equal in size to Sydney's.  It
was once a major base for the Royal Navy.  Prima Flour has a huge facility
there which can mill over a million tons of wheat a year.

With the end of the war, the pressing task is national reconciliation.  The
Sri Lankan Government is aware that it has also to win over the trust of
the talented and well-connected Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora.  President
Rajapaksa has repeatedly put emphasis on rebuilding society giving
particular emphasis to education and the learning of English.  There is
much more hope now.

I could sense a strong wish for stronger relations with Singapore.  With
the opening of a new chapter, we should respond positively.

Visit to Mannar

Download IMG_0189

 

Visit to Jaffna

Visit to Jaffna Library

 

Visit to Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil

 

Visit to IDP Camp





Visit to Prima Ceylon Flour Mill

 

Inauguration Ceremony at Tangalle Primary School (16 Oct)

SPEECH  BY MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS GEORGE YEO AT THE INAUGURATION
    CEREMONY  FOR  TANGALLE  PRIMARY  SCHOOL, REWATHA NATIONAL COLLEGE AND
    VIJITHA  CENTRAL  COLLEGE,  AT  TANGALLE  PRIMARY SCHOOL IN HAMBANTOTA
    DISTRICT, SRI LANKA AT 10 AM ON 16 OCTOBER 2009


    Honourable Chamal Rajapaksa
    Minister of Ports and Aviation

    Honourable Kumari Balasuriya
    Governor of Southern Province

    Honourable Mahinda Amaraweera
    Minister of Water Supply

    Principals of Tangalle Primary School,
    Vijitha Central College, and
    Rewatha National College

    Distinguished Guests

    Teachers,  students,  proud  parents,  fellow Singaporeans, ladies and
    gentlemen

    1             I am deeply touched by your very warm welcome. Singapore
    is honoured to be in a position to render some assistance to Sri Lanka
    following the tsunami of 26 December 2004.

    2             This  morning,  we  mark the joint inauguration of three
    upgraded  and  refurbished  schools  - Tangalle Primary School here in
    Hambantota,  Vijitha  Central  College  in Matara and Rewatha National
    College  in  Galle.   In  addition  to  repairs and refurbishment, new
    facilities  have  been  provided.  More  classrooms have been added to
    Tangalle  Primary  School  and  Vijitha  Central  College.  With  more
    classrooms  and  better facilities, the three schools can now enroll a
    total of more than 6,400 students.

    3             The  total  project  cost for the three schools is about
    $5.6  million Singapore dollars or about 460 million Sri Lanka Rupees.
    The  money  was  jointly  donated  by the Singapore Government and the
    Singapore  Red  Cross  Society.   Singaporeans  of different races and
    religions, from all walks of life, contributed through the Tidal Waves
    Asia Fund managed by the Singapore Red Cross Society.

    4             I  would  like  to  take  this  opportunity to thank the
    project  team  from  Singapore  comprising  representatives  from  the
    Singapore Red Cross Society, the Construction Industry Joint Committee
    and staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for all the work they put
    in  to  steer the project and see it to completion.  I would also like
    to  thank  the  Government  of  Sri  Lanka,  the Sri Lanka Ministry of
    Education,  and  the  principals,  staff  and  students  of  the three
    schools, for your cooperation and friendship throughout this period.

    5             I  would  like  to make a special mention of Sri Lanka’s
    Tsunami  Education Rehabilitation Monitor, or TERM. As project manager
    on  the  ground  overseeing  the  upgrading  and  refurbishment of the
    schools,   TERM  worked  closely  with  the  Singapore  project  team,
    providing  timely  and  sound  advice  throughout  the duration of the
    project.   Last  but not least, we thank the two contractors, Nawaloka
    Construction Company and Tharungi Construction and Supplies, for doing
    a  very  professional  job.   Together, the various parties had worked
    hard  to ensure the successful completion of the project, which was on
    schedule,  according to specifications and within budget.  Many of you
    who  laboured  long  and  hard  on  the  project are here today in the
    audience and I thank you personally for your labour of love.

    6             A  school  is  much  more  than  just  the buildings and
    physical  facilities.  What  matter  much  more  are the spirit of the
    school  and its traditions as embodied in the principals, the teachers
    and  the  students.   As  part  of  our continuous engagement with Sri
    Lanka, I am happy to invite the principals of Tangalle Primary School,
    Vijitha  Central College and Rewatha National College to Singapore for
    the   "Leaders  in  Education  Programme".   Participants  under  this
    programme  are  exposed  to various aspects of the Singapore education
    system  and  also various professional training programmes. It is also
    an  opportunity to build bridges of friendship and cooperation between
    our  two countries. I hope that the principals can take time off their
    busy schedules to attend the 10-day course.

    7             In  addition  to  the upgrading and refurbishment of the
    three  schools,  the  Singapore  Government  conducted  two customised
    teacher-training courses under the Singapore Cooperation Programme for
    31  teachers  from  the  three  schools in 2007. We were struck by the
    enthusiasm,  the  dedication and the passion of the teachers.  Because
    of  the success of the programme, I am happy to announce that two more
    courses  in “Enhancing Pedagogy” will be conducted for teachers of the
    three schools who had missed out on the courses conducted earlier.

    8             A  Singapore  book and stationery company called Popular
    Book  Shop  will  soon  be delivering various quantities of roller ink
    pens, pencils, school bags and other stationery items as a donation to
    the students of the three schools.  Seeing the bright eyes and smiling
    faces  of  some  of  the students who greeted us this morning, we from
    Singapore  feel very proud to be able to make a modest contribution to
    their  future.   And  we are delighted to be part of President Mahinda
    Rajapaksa’s  determination  for  the next war, for better education in
    Sri Lanka.

    9             Distinguished  guests, ladies and gentlemen, I hope that
    the  bonds of friendship between the peoples of our two countries will
    continue  to strengthen in the years ahead.  As Sri Lanka steps out of
    the  shadow of the tsunami and the civil war, I wish you every success
    in national reconciliation and the rebuilding of your country.

    10     Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

Photos: Visit to Sri Lanka (15 Oct 09)

Asia Cooperation Dialogue Opening Ceremony





Call on Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa
 

Reception at Temple Trees (Official Residence of the President)


 

waiting for my 'teh tarik'