I am not blind to the fact rampant hypocrisy that is the Olympics. It is complete and utter irony that the Olympics, an event that aims to celebrate the unity of mankind, were held in China this year. China is a country famous for its human rights violations. It is a country that celebrates conformity and punishes social liberty.
Chinese Christians face enormous amounts of persecution from the Chinese government. The Christian Post reports that up to 788 Chinese Christians were persecuted in China in the lead up to the Olympics.
But the Chinese are more concerned with saving face than social reform. Their disgusting penchant for ‘face’ is clearly demonstrated by their utilization of a cute little girl to mime an Olympic song, simply because the original singer wasn’t photogenic enough. Apparently, meritocracy will soon become bedfellows to religious freedom as it lies in its grave.
But Olympic hypocrisy does not solely belong to China. Singapore is no stranger to Olympic hypocrisy. Our Olympic hero is more Chinese that Singaporean. Li Jiawei won a silver medal for Singapore at the Olympics table tennis doubles this year. But it should be mentioned that this ‘Singaporean’ athlete is more has spent more time as a Chinese National (18 years) than she has as a Singapore Citizen (9 years).
She may possess a Singaporean passport, but she’s no Singaporean to me.
But frankly, I don’t blame her for coming to Singapore. After all, we offer rich rewards for anyone who can bring pride to the country. This year, Singapore offered up to SGD$2million for a gold medal at the Olympics. How does this compare to other countries?
Singapore offers more cash incentives than any other country in the world. China offered USD$51,000 for a gold medal this year, whereas the US offered USD$25,000. Singapore’s closest neighbor offered USD$307,000 for a gold medal.
But could that money be better spent elsewhere? I certainly think so.
Last year there was a minor outrage among Singaporean netizens who learnt that a full-time National Serviceman (NSF) was receiving measly compensation after he was paralyzed in the course of his service.
Blogger Edmund Ng posted an article in which he revealed that Lawrence Leow was only given a Civil Service Card (CSC) and a $500 monthly allowance after he was paralyzed during his national service. mrbiao went one step further and extrapolated that the compensation would only amount to SGD$240,000 should Lawrence live another 40 years.
We are willing to pay a Chinese National SGD$750,000 to play table tennis, but we’re only willing to compensate a Singaporean solider SGD $240,000 over 40 years after he gets paralyzed during the course of his service?
Clearly, it is better to be Daughters of China than it is to be Sons of Singapore. Shame on you Singapore.
