Lianhe Zaobao, the newspaper of choice for secondary school Chinese teachers desperately preparing their students for oral exams, recently received rebuke for its 9 June editorial on race relations in the form of an open letter signed by local scholars and academics.
Zaobao published its response on Monday (14 June), defending its editorial decision to publish the article against criticisms that it “ignores the dynamics of structural racism and the longer history of racial stereotyping in Singapore”.
In particular, Zaobao’s response maintains its previous disapprobation of critical race theory as “theories and ideas inspired by foreign circumstances, which may not be appropriate for the Singaporean context”.
It goes on to say that, “rather than promoting understanding and consensus, [such ideas] may instead complicate the issue [of race].”
Critical race theory, an academic movement originating in the United States that seeks to examine racial inequality as a product of structural injustice in society, is the focus of both the original editorial and the open letter.
The academics believe that “the broad framework [the theory] provides is useful for understanding racism in Singapore as structural and historical”, citing examples from “language requirements in hiring, [to] in racial discrimination in the housing rental market.”
The academics also reproved the editorial’s claim that critical race theory, by advancing notions of “Chinese privilege”, stokes tensions between racial groups by “promot[ing] a narrative of Chinese victimisation”, where “people who discuss issues of racism critically, especially people from minority groups, are now cast as aggressors.”
Zaobao, however, maintains that “one should not easily dismiss the critique of CRT (critical race theory) by serious scholars as a ‘far-right American perspective’”, as the open letter’s argument suggests.
It further echoes its previous stance that “recent racist incidents are an anomaly in an otherwise racially harmonious society”, exacerbated by the sensationalism of social media and pandemic uncertainty, rather than evidence of “the dynamics of structural racism and the longer history of racial stereotyping in Singapore” as the open letter suggests.
Zaobao also pronounces that it “has always taken a consistent stance on upholding equality among all races and advocating that there should be mutual understanding among ethnic groups”.
It notes that it has “published a total of seven editorials related to this issue in the past year and a half” in viewof heightened racial tensions amid the pandemic.
The open letter, however, points out that previous editorials, notably the widely criticised piece titled “Do not make groundless criticisms during the pandemic” published on 13 April 2020, may be taken to further harmful racial stereotypes.
Feature Image: Facebook (Dave Park Ash)