ABSTRACT
Because of Singapore’s geographical location, historical development, and social structure, the development and understanding of the knowledge on China in the intellectual community in Singapore is unique. Singapore is a nation located on a small island in Southeast Asia, which had been under British rule for a long time before independence in 1965. Since the mid-nineteenth century, a large number of Chinese immigrants have moved in making Chinese the largest ethnic group in Singapore. Singapore also has a Malay community, Indian community, and Eurasian community, so it is therefore a multiethnic and multicultural country and society. Even within the Chinese community, due to the differences in period of migration, generation, family and educational background, social class and occupation, knowledge and understanding of China vary. Since academia1
and mass media2 have relatively large awareness and influence over knowledge on China, this article therefore relies mainly on the intellectuals in these two fields. This article, based on oral histories of some Singaporean scholars and media professionals and memoirs of related figures, analyzes the choice and acquisition of their knowledge on China. Also, through the analysis and comparison of Singapore’s academia and media’s construction of knowledge on China, this article discusses the accuracy of their understanding of China.
