On May 15, 2024, Lawrence Wong led the Cabinet members to take the oath of office at a ceremony held at the Presidential Palace, and Lawrence Wong officially succeeded Lee Hsien Loong as Singapore's fourth Prime Minister.
On May 13, Singapore's third Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, traveled to the Presidential Palace to deliver his official resignation and that of the entire government to President Tharman Tshanmugaratnam.
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On May 8, Lee Hsien Loong attended Parliament for the last time as Prime Minister, and members of the House of Representatives presented him with a "rice and sham" cake after the parliament recess and expressed their gratitude. The cake was topped with not only sincere greetings, but also items that were meaningful to Lee Hsien Loong, such as "books" on mathematics, programming, technology and politics.
Lee Hsien Loong, who has stepped down from the burden of prime minister, will continue to work in the cabinet as Singapore's senior minister of state.
Tan Keng Boon, Associate Professor of Law and Former Member of the Board of Trustees of Singapore Management University:
"There has always been a practice of former prime ministers leaving office in their successor cabinet office, and the ideas, dynamism and experience provided by the previous generation of prime ministers have been very effective for Singapore."
"Lift the horse and give it a ride" is a practice pioneered by Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's founding prime minister and Lee Hsien Loong's father. In 1990, after handing over to the second Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong, Lee Kuan Yew served as Senior Minister of State for 14 years. And when Lee Hsien Loong took over the prime minister's baton, Goh Chok Tong also played an auxiliary role.
Tan Keng Boon, Associate Professor of Law and Former Member of the Board of Trustees of Singapore Management University:
"It can be expected that Lee Hsien Loong will be given more international roles than domestic ones. The same is true for predecessors, who have all taken on a more international role, demonstrating the relevance of a small country like Singapore to the international global system. ”
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On 12 August 2004, Lee Hsien Loong took over as Prime Minister from Goh Chok Tong. At that time, Singapore had just experienced a severe economic setback and the SARS crisis, and the unemployment rate of the people reached a new high. How the new prime minister can help Singapore's comprehensive recovery and development and make changes that are different from the previous two prime ministers is the focus of international attention.
Professor of the Center for Greater Bay Area-ASEAN Studies and Director of the Singapore Research Center at Shenzhen University, Lu Yuanli:
"Lee Hsien Loong's governing style is different from Lee Kuan Yew's, Lee Kuan Yew is categorical and gritted his teeth, and Lee Hsien Loong's words are often bitter and choked."
Lee Hsien Loong's first year in office made the most unexpected decision, reversing Singapore's 40-year-old gambling ban.
Unlike his father, Lee Kuan Yew, who categorically said, "Don't think about opening a casino in Singapore unless you step over my corpse."
In 2005, Lee Hsien Loong announced that he would spend $5 billion to build two world-class integrated resorts with casinos in Sentosa and Marina Bay, in order to improve the country's image and boost tourism and economic recovery.
As an economic strategist who has led the country forward, Lee Hsien Loong has written an excellent political report card and made Singapore one of the most competitive countries in the world.
Professor of the Center for Greater Bay Area-ASEAN Studies and Director of the Singapore Research Center at Shenzhen University, Lu Yuanli:
"Lee Kuan Yew introduced the world to Singapore, Goh Chok Tong led Singapore to the world, and Lee Hsien Loong introduced the world to Singapore."
However, how can things be as good as they should be, and in the process of leading Singapore to the top of the mountain with high spirits, Lee Hsien Loong's physical condition has also lit up a "red light".
He had two cancers, both of which he recovered. In 2016, Lee Hsien Loong suddenly became dizzy at the National Day mass meeting, which made many people nervous and worried, but fortunately, after a medical examination, he was found to be in good health.
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Lawrence Wong, who succeeded Lee Hsien Loong as Singapore's fourth prime minister, is often referred to as the "grassroots elite" by Singaporeans. On March 2, 2024, in order to welcome the start of American pop diva Taylor Swift's singing in Singapore, Lawrence Wong posted a video on social media playing Taylor's famous song "Love Story" on the guitar, which has been viewed more than 10,000 times within hours and received rave reviews in the comment area.
On Wong's social media page, his profile is: "Bookworm, guitarist and dog lover".
Netizens found that the new prime minister also sang the Hokkien song "I Ask the Sky", learned to play the traditional Muslim instrument oudqin, and sang the classic Chinese song "The Moon Represents My Heart" on social media.
Unlike the previous three prime ministers, Lawrence Wong did not come from a political family. Like most ordinary Singaporeans, he has lived in a public housing since he was a child, studied in a community school before high school, and relied on a government scholarship to study in the United States when he was in college, which is a typical "success story" after the founding of Singapore.
After returning to Singapore, Lawrence Wong joined the Singapore civil service and began a 14-year career as a civil servant.
Tan Keng Boon, Associate Professor of Law and Former Member of the Board of Trustees of Singapore Management University:
"His hobbies are so relevant to people in so many ways that people see him as if they were themselves."
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Although he grew up in a different way, Lawrence Wong, like previous prime ministers, is of Chinese descent.
Lawrence Wong's father was born in Hainan, China, and later immigrated to Singapore. Although he grew up in English, Wong can now communicate with representatives of political and business circles in multiple languages.
When Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with then-Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in Singapore in August 2023, Lawrence Wong responded fluently in Chinese.
In December 2023, Lawrence Wong personally selected 11 senior officials from key departments such as education, health, and communications to lead a delegation to visit China to negotiate visa waivers with the Chinese side, hoping to strengthen ties with China in various fields such as economy, trade, and investment, and expressed his strong desire to deepen bilateral cooperation. In an interview with the media, he also bluntly said that he is optimistic about China's future development.
Then-Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong:
"Don't underestimate the natural entrepreneurial spirit of the Chinese, they are very resourceful and they are determined to fight for a better life for themselves. We must not underestimate the tremendous motivation and vitality of the Chinese people. ”
Before entering politics in 2011, Lawrence Wong served in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health, and was also Lee Hsien Loong's chief private secretary and head of the Energy Market Authority. After being elected to Parliament, he served as Minister of State for the Ministry of Defence and Education; Minister of Culture, Community and Youth; Minister of National Development; Minister of Education and other positions, with rich and diverse experience.
Chief Consultant, Malaysian Centre for Pacific Studies, Hu Yat Shan:
"After Huang Xuncai came to power, he may have been slowly carrying out some so-called 'guitar diplomacy' before coming to power."
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His humble and people-friendly personality and respectful attitude towards different cultures have made him highly regarded among the people. In fact, Lawrence Wong is not the first choice for Lee Hsien Loong's successor. The transition to Singapore's fourth-generation leadership team has been a "twist and turn".
At the beginning of 2020, the sudden outbreak of the new crown epidemic put the world order on hold. At this time, Huang Xuncai was appointed as one of the co-leaders of the inter-ministerial anti-epidemic working group.
With his extensive experience in rotating through seven government departments, he not only explained Singapore's epidemic prevention policy very clearly, but also was widely praised for his measures such as restricting movement and immigration management.
After the raging epidemic, the Singapore cabinet has caused a political storm again. Heng Swee Keat, who was originally scheduled to succeed the next prime minister, sent a letter to Lee Hsien Loong, asking for his resignation as fourth-generation leader and finance minister, citing his age and health.
The discussion of who will replace Heng Swee Keat as the "4G leader" is ongoing.
At this time, Lawrence Wong, who had already made a name for himself in front of the public and was highly praised for his steady leadership style and accurate grasp of details, was in a good position in the succession competition.
On April 15, 2024, the Prime Minister's Office of Singapore officially announced that Lawrence Wong will become the new Prime Minister of Singapore from the 15th of next month.
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From "behind the scenes" to "in front of the stage", one of the challenges of Lawrence Wong, a "grassroots elite", after taking office, is the Singapore general election next year.
Lawrence Wong's People's Action Party (PAP) has been in power for 65 years since it became the ruling party in 1959. However, DAP's share of the 2020 general election plummeted, and the opposition achieved its best result ever.
It remains to be seen what the outcome of the 2025 election will be.
At the moment, the People's Action Party (PAP) and Lawrence Wong are facing the Singapore political scandal that erupted last year. In 2023, both DAP Transport Minister Iwaran and Parliament Speaker Tan Chuan-jen were exposed to corruption and peach scandals, which caused an uproar in Singapore, which is known for its integrity. How to deal with political scandals is a matter of the PAP's trust among the people.
Professor of the Center for Greater Bay Area-ASEAN Studies and Director of the Singapore Research Center at Shenzhen University, Lu Yuanli:
"When dealing with the turmoil over politicians, Singapore uses the so-called 'quick cut' method to make things public. If the person concerned has an official position, he or she will generally resign. ”
As the "heart" of ASEAN, the choice of Singapore's new prime minister also affects the diplomatic stance of Southeast Asian countries. Against the backdrop of growing international tensions, how Singapore manages its own rivalry between China and the United States may become another major challenge for Lawrence Wong's tenure.
At the "Asia Foresight Summit 2023" held in October 2023, Lee Hsien Loong mentioned that Southeast Asia will not be divided into two camps due to Sino-US competition, and also talked about the current situation in the Taiwan Strait affected by Sino-US relations, he pointed out that the "one-China principle" is the basis for maintaining the status quo, and if the "one-China" issue is regarded as a matter of good and evil, it will lead to dangerous consequences.
Then-Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong:
"Ultimately, our decisions are based on our own interests, but that doesn't mean we're pro-China or pro-American, it just means we're pro-Singapore."
Since its founding, Singapore has played an important role in cross-strait relations. From the Wang-Koo talks in 1993 to the Xi-Ma meeting in 2015, they were all held in Singapore.
In an interview with the media on May 6, Lawrence Wong said that Singapore is not an ally of the United States, and that the "small courtyard and high wall" of the United States will lead to technological bifurcation in the economic field, and eventually the world. And the situation in the Taiwan region is also fundamentally different from that of Ukraine. Singapore has long adhered to the "one China" policy and opposes "Taiwan independence."
Producer: Zhong Jinmei
Choreographer: Du Siyu, Zhang Yibo, Su Weijia
Editor: Su Weijia