In the past two days, it has been reported that Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will resign on May 15 and become Senior Minister of State. As soon as the news came out, public opinion was filled with various voices, and there were praisers, saying that this was not a love for power, taking the initiative to let the virtuous, and doing "to do things and go away, and hide merit and fame". But some people say that "Li Jiapo" is just a matter of listening to politics.
People are really forgetful. A little reading of history reveals that the change of power in Singapore today is nothing more than a complete reproduction of the scene that has been taking place for more than 30 years.
In 1990, Lee Kuan Yew, who was 67 years old at the time, resigned after 31 years as prime minister, compared to Lee Hsien Loong, although he was 72 years old at the time, he served as prime minister for 20 years, not more than his father, the picture is a bit familiar, reminiscent of Qianlong's reign will not exceed the allusion of grandfather Kangxi.
At the age of 72, Lee Kuan Yew became the Prime Minister of the Autonomous State of Singapore at the age of 36, and he was only 42 years old when he became the Prime Minister of Singapore, while Lee Hsien Loong was 52 years old when he took up this position, and Lee Hsien Loong himself said that he planned to resign before the age of 70, because the epidemic has dragged on to this day.
Another similarity is the succession, although Singapore is called "Lee Kapo", but the two transitions of power were not directly passed on to the Lee family. The difference is that Goh Chok Tong, who succeeded Lee Kuan Yew back then, is said to be not the first choice for his successor, and Lee Kuan Yew even once said: "If Lee Hsien Loong is not his son, he will let Lee Hsien Loong replace Goh Chok Tong immediately."
And Lawrence Wong, who took over from Lee Hsien Loong today, began to serve as his chief private secretary as early as the second year of Lee Hsien Loong's premiership, and belongs to the ranks of his cronies. The most plus point is that Huang has performed well in dealing with the epidemic, not only rational and pragmatic, but also timely and emotional, choking up and crying when the parliament thanked the anti-epidemic personnel, this detail is very favorable, and is known as: "The person who will shed tears for Singapore is the person who can be trusted."
In addition, Lee Hsien Loong's announcement that he will become Senior Minister of State after his resignation this time is also a replica of Lee Kuan Yew's path back then. Some people say that the senior minister called for a ride on the horse. Lee Kuan Yew had been Senior Minister for 21 years, and at the time of his resignation, Lee Hsien Loong had been prime minister for seven years, which was a long journey. This time, Lee Hsien Loong's own road to give a ride, I don't know how long it will take?
Of course, the biggest attraction here is whether the long-term trend of Singapore's politics will still be the Li family's world?
Some people say that Goh Chok Tong was only a transitional figure back then, and the power was still passed on to Lee Hsien Loong, so will today's Wong Xuncai also be a transitional character?
Wong is only 51 years old this year, and in fact, Goh Chok Tong was even younger when he took over as prime minister, only 49 years old. But while Lee Hsien Loong has so far adhered to Lee Kuan Yew's political trajectory in the transition of power, the next direction is uncertain. Back then, Lee Hsien Loong was known to be the political successor, but today, looking through the third generation of the Lee family, it is difficult to find such a candidate.
Back in 2018, Lee Hsien Loong was asked, "Is anyone in the next generation of the Lee family considering politics?"
At the time, he replied: "None of my children have expressed interest in politics. They can go into politics, but I don't think they'll see it as an obligation as I did when I was in politics...... It would be too harsh for me to put more burden on them, and it's not easy for them to be my children."
But in fact, things are not so simple, and with the demolition of Lee Kuan Yew's former residence, the contradictions of the Lee family have also been exposed. Lee Hsien Loong's sister accused her brother of deliberately paving the way for her son Lee Hung Yi to enter politics, and the third-generation Lee Shen Wu also shouted: "Singapore does not need a leader of the Lee family." It is said that there are no more than three generations of wealth, what about power?