ABSTRACT
If there are scholars in Singaporean academia who are concerned with the horizontal understanding of ‘cultural China’ and ‘contemporary China,’ there are Singaporean media professionals who are concerned with a vertical understanding. These people who have a vertical understanding pay more attention to the changes over generations and the developments of political environment. For example, Toh Lam Huat, a senior editor of a local news group, thinks that the recognition of China among the Singaporean Chinese has evolved from the ‘motherland recognition’ to the ‘China recognition.’23 Therefore, Singapore’s Chinese history can be divided into three stages starting from the mid-nineteenth century up to present. These stages reflect the development of the knowledge on China within three generations of Singaporean Chinese, which move from the ‘motherland recognition’ to ‘China recognition.’ At different stages of development, the Chinese education and newspaper and publications are considered the important factors for acquiring knowledge on China.
