一 | Editor's Note:
In an era of profound global shifts and increasingly complex regional dynamics, a proper understanding of the world must be rooted in "grounded experience" and localized insights. Global Times English edition, in collaboration with the Academy of International and Regional Communication Studies, Communication University of China, is proud to launch "Local Insights," an English-language column dedicated to original, field-based observations.
We invite Chinese scholars and professionals who are studying, conducting exchanges, or working outside China, as well as international students and friends living and studying in China who are familiar with the social contexts of their home countries or third countries, to begin from first-hand field experience and engage with social, cultural, and contemporary issues beyond China. The fourth article in this column, through the author's on-site experience, unpacks Singapore's distinctive national identity via its deliberate independence, structured multicultural integration policies and forward-looking urban and digital development plans.
For many years, Singapore has been a favored destination for tourists and a highly sought-after place for education and employment. But when we talk about Singapore, what exactly do we mean? Is it the cityscape dominated by the Merlion and Marina Bay Sands? Is it a global standard for effective governance and economic success? Or is it a nation with a Chinese majority that is nonetheless founded on the principles of multiracial, multireligious, and multicultural nation-building?
In late May, as part of a media delegation from China invited by Singapore's Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI), I had the opportunity to explore the country in depth. Following a narrative journey through the past, the present, and the future, I discovered a Singapore far more complex than its well-known global image suggests.

    The view of Singapore Photo: VCG
The birth of a nation: A deliberate choice
To truly understand Singapore, one must first understand its origins. For a long time, the prevailing story portrayed Singapore's independence on August 9, 1965 as a sudden break - Lee Kuan Yew's emotional announcement of separation from Malaysia, often seen as a forced expulsion. However, materials displayed at the National Library Board and MDDI's The Albatross File exhibition provide a more intricate picture.
The exhibition, which makes confidential documents from founding leaders like Goh Keng Swee and oral histories from Lee Kuan Yew and Kwa Geok Choo available, reveals a strategic, negotiated process behind the separation. These documents suggest that both parties - Singapore and Malaysia - increasingly recognized that given the circumstances, long-term stability was unattainable. Independence then emerged as a deliberate political choice, the result of calculated negotiations and a growing belief that a new nation based on equality beyond ethnicity was the only viable path forward.
The significance of The Albatross File lies not only in the historical details it unveils but in the shift in narrative from "forced survival" to "chosen destiny." The exhibition itself is equally revealing. Historical documents, immersive installations, AI-enabled experiences, and digital interfaces allow visitors not just to observe history, but to question and participate in its interpretation.
Leaving the exhibition, I gained more than just a deeper understanding of Singapore's founding; I became aware of how Singapore actively constructs its own historical narrative. In this young nation, history is about both the past and the shaping of future generations' understanding of what "Singapore" means.
         China media delegation and officials from Singapore's Ministry of Digital Development and Information pose for a photo in Singapore. Photo: Courtesy of Wang XiaofangCreating 'Singaporeans' in a multicultural society

While the archive tells the story of Singapore's birth, the city itself shows how a society of diverse ethnicities, languages, religions, and immigrant backgrounds has been transformed into a shared national identity.
Walking through Telok Ayer, Little India, and Kampong Glam, one experiences the reality of a society molded by Chinese, Malay, Indian, and global migrant communities. Temples, mosques, and churches stand close to each other. Thian Hock Keng, Al-Abrar Mosque, Nagore Dargah, and Christian churches coexist as part of a long-standing arrangement of pluralism.
This is not passive coexistence but a carefully cultivated social order shaped by decades of governance and policy design.
In 1991, Singapore's Parliament issued the Shared Values White Paper, outlining five core principles: Nation before community and society above self; Family as the basic unit of society; Regard and community support for the individual; Consensus instead of contention; Racial and religious harmony. In a young nation without a single dominant ethnicity, religion, or shared historical tradition, this value system serves as an ideological anchor that transcends differences.
At the Harmony in Diversity Gallery, key concepts like "mutual respect," "mutual understanding," and "finding common ground" are consistently highlighted. From "Many Faiths, One People" to "We, the Citizens of Singapore," the narrative repeatedly circles back to a central idea: Differences may persist, but a shared community must be maintained.
This idea of collective identity takes on another dimension at the SingapoREN exhibition at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre. Rather than focusing solely on preserving Chinese cultural heritage, the exhibition follows the transformation of migrants from temporary residents to citizens - from those who once saw themselves as transient to those who now fully identify as Singaporeans. It's not just a story of cultural preservation but one of identity transformation.
Perhaps the most tangible mechanism sustaining this multicultural cohesion is Singapore's public housing system, planned and developed by the Housing & Development Board (HDB). The apartments built by HDB are home to close to 80 percent of Singapore's resident population, of whom about 90 percent own their home. To promote racial integration and harmony, HDB introduced the Ethnic Integration Policy in 1989, which sets limits on the proportion of households from each ethnic group in housing blocks and neighborhoods to ensure a balanced mix of various ethnic communities in HDB towns.
Across HDB towns, public housing projects continue to evolve in response to demographic shifts and the rising aspirations of residents.
For example, Harmony Village @ Bukit Batok is an assisted living resident community jointly developed by HDB, Singapore's Ministry of National Development and Ministry of Health to expand the continuum of public housing options for seniors. Known as community care apartments, Harmony Village @ Bukit Batok is Singapore's first public housing development that integrates senior-friendly housing with care services that can be scaled according to care needs, as well as social activities to support seniors to live independently within the community.
Meanwhile, Punggol Point Cove is a public housing project situated along the shoreline of Singapore's north-eastern coastline. This waterfront development features wave-like architecture inspired by its location and the town of Punggol's heritage as a fishing village. Residents enjoy panoramic sea views and easy access to Punggol Promenade. It is also located near the Punggol Digital District, Singapore's first smart business district, where residents can benefit from job opportunities and new amenities near their home. Hawker centers further embody multiculturalism in everyday life. Dietary restrictions shaped by religion are managed through regulated food environments, allowing people of different ethnicities and income levels to share the same dining spaces. Whether it's Hainanese chicken rice, Indian roti prata, Malay nasi lemak, or Teochew fish ball noodles, cultural diversity is transformed from an abstract concept into daily practice.
Through shared space, shared consumption, and shared routines, Singaporeans, despite their varied ancestries, languages, and beliefs, become woven into a single social fabric. It is within this daily negotiation of differences that a true sense of national community emerges.
         Nagore Dargah, a historic Indian Muslim shrine, on Telok Ayer Street, Singapore Photo: Courtesy of Wang Xiaofang
The future is already here: from planning to execution
At Gardens by the Bay, many visitors see a picturesque landmark. For Singapore, however, it is a model for future urbanism. Built on reclaimed land, the Gardens showcase how ecological design and engineering innovation can create a functioning ecosystem within an urban environment to support diverse flora and fauna. It reflects a belief that even within environmental constraints, human design can create new ecological possibilities.
If Gardens by the Bay represents the future of human-nature relationships, the Punggol Digital District embodies Singapore's vision for the future economy and society. As the country's first integrated smart district, it brings together industries of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and robotics within a unified urban space. The Singapore Institute of Technology is directly embedded within the district, ensuring that research outcomes translate into real-world urban solutions rather than remaining confined to academic publication.
The district's Open Digital Platform (ODP) aggregates data from more than 20,000 sensors in the district and connects various systems in real time, enabling deep integration among data systems, algorithms, and physical urban space.
This forward-thinking approach extends to national digital governance. In 2026, Singapore set out 10 refreshed priorities for the next round of AI development, including boosting AI transformation across strategic sectors, and nurturing 100,000 AI bilingual talents with domain expertise and AI capabilities who can apply AI meaningfully in their domains.
At the same time, the country actively tackles emerging risks such as deepfakes and cyberbullying, through a mix of legislation, platform accountability, digital literacy education, and community coordination.
From the existential survival concerns of its early years of independence to contemporary challenges like AI disruption and climate change, Singapore consistently demonstrates a strong focus on the future. It anticipates risks early, designs policies preemptively, and seeks solutions before crises fully emerge.
Looking back on this journey, the question I began with now has a different answer.
Singapore is more than an economic success story or a model of efficient governance. It is a nation born of political choice, held together by institutions that cultivate inclusion across diversity, and sustained by a continual capacity to adapt and reinvent itself.
Perhaps this is what we mean when we talk about Singapore.
The author is a PhD candidate in International Communication, and research fellow at the Academy of International and Regional Communication Studies, Communication University of China

。    九月，抚顺广袤的田野上，瓜果飘香、稻浪翻滚，满满的收获、美丽的景致、忙碌的身影，共同勾勒出一幅多彩的丰收画卷。         　　9月20日，记者在辽宁三友农业生物科技有限公司新品种培育大棚里看到，一朵朵银白色的木耳、一颗颗鲜嫩肥美的松茸长势良好。辽宁三友农业生物科技有限公司珍稀菌菇事业部负责人邹世龙说，这都是公司培育的新品种，大面积推广后会给农民带来可观的收入。

二 | 　　自2009年开始，抚顺县就将食用菌产业确定为农业产业“一县一业”主导产业，从2015年到2020年，连续5年制定《抚顺县城郊型特色农业扶持政策》，支持抚顺单片黑木耳产业生产、深加工、销售和品牌建设，促进抚顺单片黑木耳产业发展。　　抚顺县农业依托自然资源优势，合理规划特色农产品的种植区域，形成了以辽宁三友农业生物科技集团有限公司为核心的食用菌特色农业产业链，食用菌产业不断壮大，带动广大农民增收致富。　　目前，食用菌产业已经成为抚顺县农业的支柱产业，食用菌生产总量从2014年的3500万袋提升到现在的5000万袋，增长42.9%；产值从1.7亿元提升到2.6亿元；带动农户从2000户增加到3300户，增长65%，户均增收2万元。　　抚顺单片黑木耳产品以其独特的品质和口感，驰名全国，获国家农产品地理标志保护认证，被全国食用菌协会评为“全国食用菌产业化发展示范县”。现阶段，抚顺单片黑木耳产量排名全省第一，产品驰名全国。

三 | 　　九月正是榛子成熟季。

四 | 新宾满族自治县下夹河乡双河村的蓝天家庭农场有野生山榛子50亩，榛子园内工人们忙着采收榛子，脸上洋溢着丰收的喜悦。野生山榛子对涵养水源、保护自然生态环境有着重要作用，其果实营养丰富，口味独特，深受消费者青睐。蓝天家庭农场农场主黄丽娟说：“我们农场有野生山榛子50亩，因为野生山榛子皮薄，个头小，产量较低，能产出近8000公斤。摘下来炒熟了按照等级售卖，分别为30元/公斤、40元/公斤、50元/公斤。”蓝天家庭农场通过种植榛子，进一步增加了收入，在农闲时期延长了农业生产时间，实现了致富增收。

五 | 　　连日来，新宾满族自治县红升乡张家村的葡萄采摘园一片生机盎然。满园的葡萄已经成熟，沉甸甸地挂在枝头，色泽诱人，散发着自然的果香，吸引了许多游客前来采摘。　　走进葡萄园，一眼望去，颗颗饱满的葡萄在阳光下晶莹剔透，宛如一串串璀璨的宝石。园内种植的康贝尔葡萄采用科学的灌溉和施肥方法，加之适宜的气候条件，葡萄的甜度和口感都达到了最佳状态，吸引了不少游客前来体验采摘的乐趣，也赢得了省内外多家葡萄销售商的青睐，成为市场上的抢手货。红升乡张家村党支部书记谷峰说，张家村采摘园有20亩的康贝尔葡萄，现在正值采摘期，通过微信、抖音等电商平台销售，预计能销售到10月份左右。　　张家村葡萄采摘园成立于2017年，采用村集体+农户入股的方式，经过多年发展，目前占地面积20亩，园内葡萄每公斤售价10元，拥有固定经销商，每年收益十分可观。村内除了每年年底给农户分红，还会定期为大家分享葡萄种植经验，极大改善了当地农户的生活水平。特色产业的发展不仅促进了当地经济的增长，更为乡村振兴注入了新的活力。