新加坡：成功使它成为代罪羔羊....... Singapore: Success Makes It a Scapegoat

7月21日海峡时报刊登的一篇题为‘成功使它成为代罪羔羊’的评论，很好的解释了为什么西方的非政府组织和媒体喜欢对新加坡指指点点，认为新加坡虽然富有，可是没有吸引力。

为什么新加坡会被批评？因为新加坡小，因为世界上有很多国家认真的看待新加坡的治国模式，更因为新加坡很成功。

这样，新加坡的成功便成了他的最大问题。他不是亚洲唯一在经济和政治上有令人瞩目的大改革的国家，可是在亚洲各国中，唯有他的知识分子和政治家能够融入西方的知识圈子。这就使到他在国际上的可见度比他的国土大得多了。

令西方非政府组织烦恼不安的是，新加坡模式对其他发展中国家所其带来的启示。过去十年，苏联，中国和中东国家，都明确的表示希望学习新加坡的模式。这就令西方的非政府组织不满了。他们认为新加坡输出的模式正在挑战他们所珍惜的发展设想：所谓的‘华盛顿共识’- 这个共识规定‘好治理’，包括那些粉饰的民主，是经济繁荣的先决条件。

评论指出，新加坡人其实可以从这种情况中获得满足感。首先，他们成为国际好奇的目标，正好说明他们的制度行得通。他们被详尽的研究，正表示新加坡模式有更大的应用空间。

所以说，这是一个‘批评就是最诚恳的赞美’的情况，虽然会被叮入骨髓。

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On 21 Jul, the Straits Times published Jonathan Eyal's article entiled 'Success makes it a scapegoat' and I quote:

"..... Reports from a variety of non-governmental organisations (NGO) and international media sources periodically portray Singapore as a wealthy yet less than attractive state......

To a large extent, success is Singapore's biggest problem. It is hardly the only Asian country to undergo a remarkable ecomonic and political transformation. But it is the only Asian nation whose academics and politicians are completely plugged into the current Western intellectual circuit. So, Singapore's international visibility far outstrips the country's actual size......

...some international NGOs fret about what Singapore means for the development of other nations. Over the decade, countries as far apart as China, Russia and the Gulf states have explicitly praised the Singapore model as the one they wish to follow.....

Western NGOs resent Singapore because they see it as an exporter of a model which challenges their cherished assumptions of development, the so-called 'Washington consensus' which decrees that 'good governance' - by which they mean all the technical trappings of democracy - are a prerequisite for economy prosperity.....

Yet Singaporeans can also derive satisfaction from the current climate. First, they are the subject of international curiosity because theirs is a system which works.

And they are being scrutinised precisely because people suspect that the Singapore model does have wider applications.

So, this is one instance when criticism may be the surest mode of flattery. Regardless of how much it stings."