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Call on US Trade Representative Ron Kirk
US-ASEAN Business Council Luncheon
Delivering an address
With Ambassador Scot Marciel
Meetings with US Senators
Calling on Senator Joseph Lieberman
With Senator Jim Webb
With Senator Richard Lugar
I had a full day of meetings today exchanging views with Secretary Hillary Clinton, National Security Advisor Jim Jones and Chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senator John Kerry today.
George Yeo
At Media Briefing with Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton
Shaking Hands with Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton
Shaking Hands with National Security Advisor, James Jones
With Chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator John Kerry
Wu Guanzhong (吴冠中) is one of the world's great artists. His recent donation of 113 pieces of his works to Singapore was an unbelievable gift to us. When he did so, he explained that he saw Singapore as a country which harmonized east and west. When he gave his first work to Singapore in 1988, it was a painting of the base of a tree with extended roots. Wu Guanzhong has been to Singapore many times before. I remember meeting him once at a dinner hosted by Dr Arthur Lim in the 90's.
The exhibition of all 114 pieces at the Singapore Art Museum(113+1) is breathtaking. They are a representative selection of his life's work and not only concentrated on jiangnan (江南) sceneries which he is most known for. It is a pity that the spaces at the old SJI are not big enough to provide the viewing distance for some of his larger works.
I spent an hour, accompanied by Kwok Kian Chow, the Director, and Jane Ittogi, the Chairman of SAM. Their explanations made my appreciation of Wu Guanzhong's works so much richer. The catalogue is particularly useful because it gives the background to the paintings. The title 风筝不断线 was taken from Wu Guanzhong's writings on what art should be. The kite must be allowed to fly freely in response to the shifting winds but it is always connected, however tenuously, to the past and to society. In his earlier years, he was criticized and persecuted especially during the Cultural Revolution. Now, despite his fame, he lives in a small apartment in Beijing. Like the Taoists of old, his physical needs are simple but his mind and his art soar. We are so fortunate that he sees in us something special and unique. Asked for my reflection at the end of my visit, I wrote: A kite flies over Singapore - unexpectedly.
George Yeo
At the exhibition entrance
Photo of Wu Guanzhong
"Pandas Painting"
Viewing "Buddha on Mountain Wall"
"Leopards"
"Painting of Literati"
Viewing "Portrait of a Lady"
"Red Lanterns on House"
"The Five Oxen"
As our convoy travelled from Pattaya to U-Tapao Airforce Base at about 4pm on Saturday for our flight home , it was as if nothing had happened. Apart from litter outside the hotel, there was not a red shirt in sight. Everywhere there were signboards welcoming leaders from ASEAN and the wider region with their national flags fluttering in the wind.
But in fact huge damage had been done to ASEAN and to Thailand. For the second time, an ASEAN Summit had to be postponed because of demonstrations. This time leaders were already in Pattaya or arriving. Except for Indonesian President SBY who arrived late and could not leave U-Tapao, the other ASEAN leaders were staying at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort. The leaders of China, Japan and Korea were at the Dusit Thani unable to join us at the conference centre. Australia's PM Rudd was in the air and flew back. The NZ PM was probably in Bangkok. UNSG Ban Ki-moon stayed on in Vientiene. Others like the heads of the World Bank, IMF, UNCTAD and ADB also had their travel plans disrupted.
We sympathised with Thai PM Abhisit and knew that he had no choice but to cancel the Summit meetings. The alternative was violence which he was determined to avoid especially when so many leaders were in Thailand as guests of the government.
It is unclear how the red shirts were able to break through the cordoned areas. The reason for the Summit meetings being held in Pattaya and not in Bangkok was precisely so that the conference area could be properly secured. Up till Friday evening, all seemed well. Then on Saturday morning, we learned that the Chinese PM could not get through. We were then told that the meetings would be rescheduled to the afternoon and evening. Having arrived at the restaurant for lunch early, I was waiting for other ministers when hundreds of soldiers with plastic shields streamed in on the far side of the swimming pool. I decided to go out to take some pictures. I was assured that the soldiers were only having a lunch break. Only later did I find out that the red shirts had broken through the gates and were moving in to occupy the conference centre nearby.
Halfway during lunch with the other ministers, we were informed that the Summit meetings had been cancelled. Within a few minutes, our security officers instructed us to leave the table immediately and go back to our hotel rooms. We could hear loud commotions. Along the way, India's Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, an old friend, called me. We greeted each other but delayed no further because the security people were getting anxious. We hurried to the next building and were bundled off into the hotel lifts as the shouts got nearer.
Up on the 12th floor, I could see the red shirts milling around the conference centre, moving hither thither. Soldiers and policemen stood in groups not really engaging them. Not long afterwards, I could hear helicopters whirring overhead picking up people from the rooftop. Out at sea, naval ships on patrol moved closer to shore and small boats also picked up passengers.
PM was told by the Thai Government that he and the Singapore delegation should evacuate by sea, to be ferried by small boats to a nearby LST which would take us to Sattahip naval base. From there we could drive to U-Tapao. It all seemed quite unseemly to me that leaders and ministers had to leave in this way. But anyway we packed our belongings and waited for instructions since the Thais were responsible for our security. Happily we were informed around 3.30pm that the demonstrators had dispersed and we could travel by road to U-Tapao with full dignity.
The situation appeared unreal or surreal to me. While all the hubbub was taking place, Caucasian tourists continued sunbathing behaving as if nothing was happening. On the beach, I could see swimmers, sailing boats and windsurfers. In my mind, I did not really believe that there was imminent danger. The immediate objective of the leaders of the red shirts was to disrupt the Summit which they had already achieved. I didn't think they would turn on us in an indiscriminate way as foreign leaders and ministers were not their targets. In any case, every delegation had armed protection. But one could never be sure. Incidents could always happen and agents provocateur might be working to foment violence. The last thing we wanted was to be caught in a crossfire.
When we arrived at U-Tapao, PM Abhisit was there to send off PM Lee and other leaders. China's PM Wen Jiabao was about to take his leave. President Arroyo and PM Thein Sein had arrived there earlier by helicopter.
As we boarded the RSAF Fokker transport aircraft, it all seemed like a bad dream. But for the Thais, the nightmare continues.
George Yeo
Having Lunch
Soldiers streaming into the hotel at the back of the swimming pool
Red shirts at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort
Chatting with officials at Hotel Lobby before moving to Utapao
Alighting from airport bus with Prime Minister Lee
Boarding the plane
The Fokker 50 plane
The recent G-20 meeting in London turned out better than expected. PM Gordon Brown did a great job reconciling the different national positions. President Obama's debut at an international meeting was well-received. But perhaps the most important development is the growing role China is playing in the global system.
This is a major step forward for the reform of global governance. However the road ahead is still long. Although the combined stimulus packages appear huge, we can't really get out of the recession by spending money. We must not forget that it was the profligacy of the past that created the bubble in the first place. Increasing global demand can ameliorate the pain only to an extent. There is also in this crisis a process of Schumpeterian creative destruction purging the world of excesses.
The reform of the IMF and the World Bank cannot be avoided. For the heads of these two organisations to be reserved for Europeans and Americans respectively is out of sync with the times. China's proposal for a global reserve currency was not directly addressed; instead the IMF's Special Drawing Rights was increased. This is a delicate subject for the future.
One helpful outcome of the Summit is the establishment of a monitoring mechanism against trade protectionism. Pressures to protect domestic producers and markets are hard to fend off particularly when elections are around the corner. If any country is offside, it is the duty of the WTO to blow the whistle.
It is good that ASEAN was represented at the London Summit by the ASEAN Chair presently held by Thailand.
George Yeo
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