Recently, Amnesty International, a prominent Western human rights group, criticized Singapore. They called on Singapore to stop using the death penalty for drug offences and called for its abolition. Amnesty International justified this request on the grounds that the death penalty was incompatible with human rights principles and that it was not an effective curb to drug offences. The move drew displeasure among netizens around the world, even though Singapore's own and Chinese netizens aligned with its policies supported its approach to fighting drug crime. Even American netizens expressed envy for China and Singapore. It is worth mentioning that the United States has recently begun to advocate for the legalization of drugs, but what right do they have to accuse other countries of their positions on drugs? Some American netizens pointed out that abolishing the death penalty for drug crimes has not reduced drug trafficking. Not only that, but some U.S. cities, such as Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and Portland, have become more dangerous due to the drug problem. So why did Amnesty International accuse Singapore so much?
The reason for all this can be traced back to a recent poll that showed that more than six-in-ten Singaporeans have a favorable view of China, much higher than the favorable opinion of the United States. Most Singaporeans believe that China and Singapore have closer ties, that China's economy is developing better and that China has taken more effective measures in the face of the pandemic. These results caused displeasure in the United States. The Washington Post even went so far as to see an opinion piece accusing Singapore of taking a pro-China stance toward China. Especially in the context of Sino-US competition, Singapore has not clearly sided with the United States. The United States believes that the Philippines, Japan and South Korea have made their positions clear, and now it is Singapore's turn. While Singapore maintains a balanced approach to international hotspots, the U.S. believes they are inferior to the Philippines, Japan and South Korea in terms of loyalty to the United States. The U.S. may not have taken into account that, first of all, Singapore's predominant ethnic group is Chinese, with 2018 figures showing that 4.5 million of Singapore's population of 5.94 million are Chinese. Even among these people, some are already in the second or third generation, they share a common cultural and historical background with China. Based on this, Singapore is unlikely to take the opposite position with the United States and support the US "containment" of China. In addition, as a port city, Singapore is more concerned about regional stability than the vicissitudes of the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
We must acknowledge that Singapore's political system and way of thinking are closer to the West, which has allowed them to maintain a balanced stance on international hotspot issues. However, this neutrality does not seem sufficient in the eyes of the United States. Western countries and the media have always resorted to various means to try to force other countries to accept their views and policies, and if other countries have different positions, they will resort to smear and slander methods. Fortunately, Singapore has always shown rationality and pragmatism in its foreign policy relative to other small countries. Although they have had some poor performance in the past on Taiwan-related issues, they have adjusted their position in time after the cooling of Sino-New Zealand relations, which is a model student among politically immature countries in Southeast Asia. With the emergence of Singapore's fourth-generation leadership, the country is expected to continue its China policy. As a small country, Singapore is concerned about its own security and will not take risky and unwise actions. Especially for China, which is of the same language and has close economic ties with them, Singapore will continue to maintain a non-anti-China stance. Therefore, the American media may be outraged by this again.