文章标题：五四是新加坡丰富遗产的一部分
文章作者：杨荣文
发表日期：2009年5月4日
发表媒体：《联合早报•言论》
五四运动在中国的现代化中扮演了重要角色。为抗议欧洲列强在世界第一次大战后拒绝归还德国在山东的租界和主权，中国学生走向街头示威。从北京开始，示威扩大到全国，并召唤了一大部分的知识分子加入。
在某个层次上，他们的愤慨指向帝国主义列强。中国在1917年加入协约国向德国宣战，派遣10万劳工服役于战场，条件是凯旋之时，所有德国在华租界都将归还中国。结果，1919年4月的凡尔赛和约却把德国在山东的租界，包括青岛在内，割让给日本，完全无视早前对中国的承诺。
愤慨指向自己文化的缺陷
从更深层次而言，中国知识分子的愤慨，是指向自己文化的缺陷，为中国人无法摆脱过去，像日本那样进行现代化而产生挫折感。虽然经历了1911年走向共和的革命，中国仍然处在一片混乱之中。列强的轻蔑是中国自身已然腐化的必然结果。五四运动铸就了中国人集体的决心，要创造新的中国文化，推翻封建思想、提倡性别平等、反对黄色文化、强调普及教育以及推崇科学与技术。这种精神灌注到了国民党和五四几年后成立的中国共产党。商界领袖和报刊的主人也加入给予支持。很多报纸开始引进副刊，谈论在动乱中的新文化。这个传统时至今日，仍在《联合早报》继续存在。
五四运动对新加坡的深远影响
五四运动对新加坡的发展，也有着意义深远的影响。实际上，如果不提五四，是无法理解新加坡本身的国家主义的缘起和演变的。在初期，五四影响着所有的华社团体，包括商团和宗乡会馆、报刊、学校和学生团体以及文化团体。在当时，左倾是很自然的，因为没有一些革命热情，文化复兴是无从实现的。
发生在中国的每一场重大事件，在新加坡都会引起反响，国民党和中国共产党在新加坡都有他们的支持者。当他们在中国斗争的时候，在新加坡也发生了斗争；当他们在中国团结抗日的时候，他们在这里也团结起来，给予支援。就是因为这个原因，日本军国主义者才把新加坡视为中国战场的延伸，因而导致了灾难性的“肃清”（即大检证）悲剧。
在二次大战以后，新加坡本身的国家主义兴起，力图使本身和中国大陆的政治分离。因为只要本地的共产主义运动主要是靠马来亚和新加坡的华人群众支持，是不可能成功的。新加坡的国家主义必须建立在我们社会的多元种族基础上，并且考虑我们的殖民地历史和区域现实。
经过迂回曲折的发展，人民行动党终于在同最初结盟的左倾共产党人的斗争中得胜，引领新加坡在1959年取得自治，然后在1965年全面独立。
经过90年，五四对新加坡的影响，在占了我国人口四分之三的华族的文化复兴中依然可见。它在殖民地时期为华人社会注入的生命力和活力，令英国人感到害怕，也对新加坡的自治和独立，作出巨大贡献。这样的精神至今依然存在于新加坡的华人商团和宗乡会馆、南大、特选学校、华文报和本地众多的文化团体之中。五四是新加坡丰富遗产的一部分。
作者是新加坡外交部长
2 comments:
（今天《联合早报•百草园》刊登了一篇《杨荣文谈“五四” 引中国网民热议》的文章，报道了中国网民对《五四是新加坡丰富遗产的一部分》这篇文章的热烈反应）
外交部长杨荣文在五四运动90周年纪念前夕，特地投稿本报，评述五四对新加坡发展的深远影响。这篇文章受到中国网站广泛转载，也引起一些网民议论。令许多人好奇的是，杨荣文为何选择评论这个对多数新加坡人来说是相对陌生的课题，甚至将之与新加坡的发展史联系在一起。
这篇题为“五四是新加坡丰富遗产的一部分”的来稿，原文是英文，本报于3日深夜一收到，就立即翻译成华文于隔日刊登。杨荣文隔天读到之后，还在自己的社交网站Facebook上，对早报能在这么短的时间内，把一千多字赶译出来感到惊奇，也很感动。
他在文章中说，五四运动不仅在殖民地时期为新加坡的华人社会注入生命力和活力，更为促成新加坡的自治和独立作出巨大贡献。“这样的精神至今依然存在于新加坡的华人商团和宗乡会馆、南大、特选学校、华文报和本地众多的文化团体之中。”
有网民于是在他的Facebook上问他，这是否新加坡部长第一次给予五四运动这么高的评价？他回应说这纯粹是他个人的观点，不代表官方立场。另有其他网友也纷纷留言，称五四对世界各地的华人来说，都是重大的历史事件，也是个值得纪念的日子。
一名台湾网友则在自己的博客上说，当他在Facebook上读到杨荣文的文章时，感到很惊讶，因为“感觉上新加坡政治人物提及五四这个历史事件的次数，真是少之又少，而大部分新加坡人对于五四这个字眼应该很模糊，甚至是感到陌生”。他还指出新加坡应该把这个历史片段重新注入教科书里，让新加坡华人对五四运动以及其他在中国大陆曾经影响我们南来祖先的一些重要事件，有更多的了解，而“这篇文章与新加坡历史所做的连接，更可作为重要参考”。（蓉）
（在杨荣文的Facebook上，找到《五四是新加坡丰富遗产的一部分》这篇文章的英文原稿）
90th Anniversary of the May 4th Movement
Sunday, May 3, 2009 at 11:17pm
The May 4th Movement played a major role in the modernization of China. Reacting against the refusal of the European powers to return German territories and rights in Shangdong back to China after the First World War, the students of China took to the streets in protest. Starting in Beijing, the protests spread all over the country drawing in much of its intelligentsia.
At one level, the outrage was directed against the imperial powers. China had joined the Allied powers in 1917, contributed over 100,000 Chinese labourers in the fight against Germany, on condition that all German concessions in China would be restored to China upon victory. Instead, the Treaty of Versailles in April 1919 gave the German concessions in Shandong to Japan, including Qingdao, completely ignoring the earlier promise to China.
At a deeper level, the outrage of China's intelligentsia was directed at the weakness of its own culture, in frustration at the inability of the Chinese people to shake itself off the past and modernize the way Japan was able to. Despite the Republican Revolution of 1911, China remained in complete disarray. The contempt showed by the imperial powers was the inevitable result of China's own decay. The May 4th Movement forged a collective determination to create a new Chinese culture ridding itself of feudal mindsets, promoting gender equality, opposing yellow culture, emphasizing mass education and extolling science and technology. This spirit infused both the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which was founded a few years after May 4th. Business leaders and newspaper owners weighed in with their support. Many newspapers began introducing regular supplements on a new culture in ferment, a tradition which continues in Lien He Zao Bao today.
The May 4th Movement had a profound impact on Singapore's own development. Indeed, without reference to May 4th, it is impossible to understand the origin and evolution of Singapore's own nationalism. In the early stages, the influence of May 4th swept all Chinese organisations in Singapore along - business and clan associations, newspapers, schools and student groups, cultural organisations. It was natural to be of the left then because without a certain revolutionary fervour, this cultural renewal could not have been accomplished. Every major event in China had its resonance in Singapore. Both the KMT and the CCP had their supporters in Singapore. When they fought in China, they fought in Singapore. When they united to fight the Japanese in China, they united in support here. It was for this reason that the Japanese militarists saw Singapore as an extension of the war in China which led tragically to 'sook ching'.
After the Second World War, Singapore's own nationalism struggled to separate itself from the political drama on the Chinese mainland. For as long as the local Communist movement was largely based on the Chinese population of Malaya and Singapore, it could not succeed. Nationalism in Singapore had to be founded on the multiracial character of our society and take into account our colonial history and the regional reality. After twists and turns, the PAP eventually prevailed over the Communist left that it was initially in alliance with, leading Singapore to self-government in 1959 and full independence in 1965.
After 90 years, the legacy of May 4th in Singapore can be seen in the cultural renewal of the ethnic Chinese who make up three quarters of Singapore's population. The vitality and dynamism it gave to the 'Chinese ground' in colonial times frightened the British and contributed immensely to Singapore's self-government and independence. That spirit lives on in Singapore's Chinese business and clan associations, in Nantah and the SAP schools, in the Chinese newspapers, and in many of our cultural organisations. May 4th is part of Singapore's rich inheritance.
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