小红点 Little Red Dot

印尼前总统哈比比（1936年出生，任期1998-1999）于1998年八月的一篇报道的言论使‘小红点’成为流行语。他说，他对新加坡作为一个朋友没有感情，并指着一幅地图说：‘我没什么，可是印尼有2亿一千一百万人口。所有绿色的范围都是印尼。而那小红点就是新加坡。’

这个话语被当作是对新加坡的一种打发，引起一片噪声。2003年五月3日，当时的新加坡副总理李显龙（现任总理）反映哈比比的话语时说：‘这个话语很生动及可贵地提醒了我们的确实是很小和很脆弱。小红点已经进入了新加坡人的心理中，成为我们常用词汇的一部分。我们为此而感激。’

2006年9月19日，哈比比向记者解释，他在1998年完全没有打发新加坡之意，他所要说的是虽然新加坡很小，可是成就却很大。他是当着印尼的一个青年团体前面，顺口来给他们精神鼓励。他说他告诉他们，‘如果你看一看东南亚的地图，印尼那么大，而新加坡只是个小点。可是，来到新加坡，你看到的却是有远见的人民。’他断言，‘我已经多次纠正，可是他们就是不听入耳。我没有记录证明因为我当时畅所欲言。’

其实，新加坡政治家与一般市民都以‘小红点’为荣，被看成是国家在国土限制下成功的象征。

对‘小红点’这个词语的积极态度并不令人惊奇，因为新加坡基本上是个华人社会，而华人对‘点’，尤其是红色的小点其实还算蛮有好感。中文的许多常用词语都反映出了这种情怀。这里有两个例子：

画龙点晴。这句成语有最后润色的意思。这一点可以把艺术品带来生命，或表示最后的一两字句赢得论点。

万绿丛中一点红。特出耀眼的意思。

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The term "little red dot" gained currency after the former Indonesian President Habibie (born 1936; held office 1998–1999) was reported as having remarked in August 1998 that he did not have the feeling that Singapore was a friend, and had pointed to a map, saying: ‘It's O.K. with me, but there are 211 million people in Indonesia. All the green area is Indonesia. And that red dot is Singapore.’

The remark caused an outcry as it was seen as a dismissal of Singapore. Reflecting on Habibie's remarks at a conference on 3 May 2003, the then Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister (and present Prime Minister), Lee Hsien Loong, said: ‘This (Habibie's remark) was a vivid and valuable reminder that we are indeed very small and very vulnerable. The little red dot has entered the psyche of every Singaporean, and become a permanent part of our vocabulary, for which we are grateful.’

On 19 September 2006, Habibie explained to reporters that far from dismissing Singapore in 1998, he had meant to highlight Singapore's achievements despite its small size. He said that he had made the remark while speaking off-the-cuff with members of an Indonesian youth group and trying to "give them spirit". He said that he had told them: "If you look at the map of South-east Asia, you (Indonesia) are so big, and Singapore is just a dot. But if you come to Singapore, you see people with vision." He also claimed that "I have corrected (myself) many times, but they have never put it (sic). And I could not prove it in writing because I was talking freely."

However, the term ‘little red dot’ has since come to be used by both Singaporean politicians and ordinary citizens with pride and with a sense of the nation's success despite its physical limitations.

The positive attitude towards the term ‘red spot’ is not surprising, as Singapore is basically a Chinese society and for the Chinese, a little dot, especially a red one can actually be viewed as something precious. There are in fact many popular Chinese sayings reflect this sentiment. Here are two examples:

Hualong Dianjing, which means ‘finshing touch’, or literally means ‘bringing the pained dragon to life by putting on dots (pupils) of its eyes’. The dot is to add the finishing touch that brings a work of art to life, or add a word or two to clinch the point.

Wanlu congzhong yidianhong, which means very outstanding or eye-catching, or literally a single red in the midst of thick foliage.