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✨17 April 2016
Sun Yat-sen Nanyang Memorial Hall is one of the few surviving examples of villas that were once common sights in British Singapore. As its name clearly suggests, the building is strongly linked to the Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen (孙中山). Moreover, it serves as a reminder of the contributions of Chinese pioneers and their historic connection to the 1911 Chinese Revolution (辛亥革命). Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese revolutionary who was instrumental in overthrowing the Qing dynasty to establish a Chinese republic in 1912. Fondly remembered as the first Chinese president, Sun founded the Republic of China upon his Three Principles of the People (三民主义): nationalism (民族主义), democracy (民权主义), and welfare (民生主义). Boey Chuan Poh (梅春辅 or 梅泉宝), a wealthy Chinese merchant, built the spacious villa circa 1880 on a land parcel that had been part of a sugar plantation owned by Joseph Balestier, the first American Consul appointed to Singapore, and called it Bin Chan House (明珍庐). In 1905, Teo Eng Hock (张永福), a Teochew businessman and uncle of the rubber magnate Lim Nee Soon (林义顺), bought the villa as a retirement home for his mother. He renamed it Wan Qing Yuan (晩晴园), which remains a popular moniker for the estate today. Sun became acquainted with Teo Eng Hock, Lim Nee Soon, and Hokkien merchant Tan Chor Lam (陈楚南) in Singapore when he was en route to Europe from Japan. In April the following year, he came to Singapore. After consulting with his mother, Teo invited Sun to stay at Wan Qing Yuan. In the subsequent years, Sun frequented Nanyang (南洋, or Southeast Asia) to garner support from the locals for his planned revolution against the Qing imperial government. Sun made Wan Qing Yuan his residence and operational base whenever he visited Singapore. It was in the villa that he established the Singapore branch of Tongmenghui (同盟会, or Chinese Revolutionary Alliance) in 1906. Wan Qing Yuan became Sun’s headquarters in Nanyang for the propagation of his revolutionary ideas and the coordination of various activities in the region. Three uprisings in Qing China to overthrow the Manchu government – Huanggang Uprising (黄冈起义, May 1907), Zhennanguan Uprising (镇南关起义, December 1907), and Hekou Uprising (河口起义, April 1908) – were devised and launched at the villa. The building had also welcomed fellow revolutionaries and prominent leaders of modern China from the region, such as Wang Jingwei (汪精卫), Hu Hanmin (胡汉民), and Huang Xing (黄兴). When the Japanese invaded Singapore, the Japanese military took over the estate and used it as a communication base. After the war, Kuomintang (国民党, Nationalist Government of China) contributed to the restoration of the villa and founded an overseas political branch at Wan Qing Yuan. The branch was subsequently prohibited by the British Administration in 1949. Wan Qing Yuan was returned to the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and refurbished once again, before it was reopened in 1966 as Sun Yat-sen Villa. This shows that the Sun Yat-Sen Nanyang Memorial hall has many history and till now, it is still a place where many students goes for learning journey. For me, I have gone there twice as during the E&C week last year, the school also brought us there. Over there, it made me more interested in history and in how Sun Yat-Sen carried out the revolution and cause the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
Sun Yat-sen Nanyang Memorial Hall is one of the few surviving examples of villas that were once common sights in British Singapore. As its name clearly suggests, the building is strongly linked to the Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen (孙中山). Moreover, it serves as a reminder of the contributions of Chinese pioneers and their historic connection to the 1911 Chinese Revolution (辛亥革命). Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese revolutionary who was instrumental in overthrowing the Qing dynasty to establish a Chinese republic in 1912. Fondly remembered as the first Chinese president, Sun founded the Republic of China upon his Three Principles of the People (三民主义): nationalism (民族主义), democracy (民权主义), and welfare (民生主义). Boey Chuan Poh (梅春辅 or 梅泉宝), a wealthy Chinese merchant, built the spacious villa circa 1880 on a land parcel that had been part of a sugar plantation owned by Joseph Balestier, the first American Consul appointed to Singapore, and called it Bin Chan House (明珍庐). In 1905, Teo Eng Hock (张永福), a Teochew businessman and uncle of the rubber magnate Lim Nee Soon (林义顺), bought the villa as a retirement home for his mother. He renamed it Wan Qing Yuan (晩晴园), which remains a popular moniker for the estate today. Sun became acquainted with Teo Eng Hock, Lim Nee Soon, and Hokkien merchant Tan Chor Lam (陈楚南) in Singapore when he was en route to Europe from Japan. In April the following year, he came to Singapore. After consulting with his mother, Teo invited Sun to stay at Wan Qing Yuan. In the subsequent years, Sun frequented Nanyang (南洋, or Southeast Asia) to garner support from the locals for his planned revolution against the Qing imperial government. Sun made Wan Qing Yuan his residence and operational base whenever he visited Singapore. It was in the villa that he established the Singapore branch of Tongmenghui (同盟会, or Chinese Revolutionary Alliance) in 1906. Wan Qing Yuan became Sun’s headquarters in Nanyang for the propagation of his revolutionary ideas and the coordination of various activities in the region. Three uprisings in Qing China to overthrow the Manchu government – Huanggang Uprising (黄冈起义, May 1907), Zhennanguan Uprising (镇南关起义, December 1907), and Hekou Uprising (河口起义, April 1908) – were devised and launched at the villa. The building had also welcomed fellow revolutionaries and prominent leaders of modern China from the region, such as Wang Jingwei (汪精卫), Hu Hanmin (胡汉民), and Huang Xing (黄兴). When the Japanese invaded Singapore, the Japanese military took over the estate and used it as a communication base. After the war, Kuomintang (国民党, Nationalist Government of China) contributed to the restoration of the villa and founded an overseas political branch at Wan Qing Yuan. The branch was subsequently prohibited by the British Administration in 1949. Wan Qing Yuan was returned to the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and refurbished once again, before it was reopened in 1966 as Sun Yat-sen Villa. This shows that the Sun Yat-Sen Nanyang Memorial hall has many history and till now, it is still a place where many students goes for learning journey. For me, I have gone there twice as during the E&C week last year, the school also brought us there. Over there, it made me more interested in history and in how Sun Yat-Sen carried out the revolution and cause the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
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✨10 April 2016
China is no longer the same tenuous and hesitant country that it was on the world stage 25 years ago. Singapore now has to learn and is learning as much from China as China does from Singapore. Singapore must work hard to stay relevant to the Asian giant, China. If Singapore is complacent of her achievements, we will never improve and become a better nation. We will never be able to achieve better results in the future and continue to work together with China. For example, Singapore is currently enhancing collaborations such as upgrading the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (CSFTA) and exploring a third government-to government project in China. However, if in the future, Singapore is complacent and thinks that there is no need for improvement in our current status, China might reconsider to collaborate with us and this might result in Singapore's economy to plunge. Even though we have a special and close relationship with China, we still have to continue to work at it to upgrade it and recognize the new changes in Singapore and China. Today, China is the second largest country with dynamic enterprises that is much bigger than Singapore's. China have caught up with Singapore and in fact, they are going to surpass us in many ways because of their huge country and population. Thus they already have a pool of talents and resources. Singapore has to constantly evolve and adapt to deal with the changing needs of both countries and we could become irrelevant if we do nothing. Thus, Singapore should never be satisfied with her achievements, we should always think of how to improve ourselves and make Singapore a relevant country to China.
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✨16 February 2016
Chingay
The theme of Chingay 2016 is "Lights of Legacy,Brighter Singapore". It is to celebrate the legacy and wisdom of our founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and other founding fathers based on the core values advocated by them and pledging our support to leave by it and move forward together towards a brighter future Singapore. I think that it also means for Singapore to shine like the lights in the parade in the next 50 years and even further. The first Chingay was held on the 4th February 1973. The People's Association (PA) teamed up with the Singapore National Pugilistic Federation for a grand show in the year of Ox,depicting aspects of Chinese culture – dragon and lion dances, martial arts and street opera. It was so well received that the People's Association had made it an annual festival.
This year is the first time that I've ever gone to watch a chingay performance. I have always think that it's a waste of my time but now I think that it is very meaningful especially to Singaporeans. I think that the organizers have successfully fulfilled this purpose. Most of the costumes of the participants were very bright. The participants wore light emitting costumes. There were floats that were decorated with bright LED lights. When we went to watch the parade, we were given goodie bags which included a small LED light bulb too. We were asked to switch on the lights at night. I could see the lights blinking everywhere. It was a very beautiful
sight. There were floats with the core values of Singapore. The bright and colorful costumes that the performers put on would show how brightly Singapore would shine in the next 50 years. The colorful floats and words on the floats would show the purpose of Chingay 2016 which is to celebrate the legacy and wisdom of our founding Prime Minister Mr Lee and other founding fathers based on the core values advocated by them and pledging our support to leave by it and move forward together towards a brighter future Singapore. Hence,I think that the organizers have successfully fulfilled the purpose of Chingay 2016.
Chingay was first implemented on 4 February 1973, the first Singapore Chingay parade was held partly as a result of the ban on firecrackers a year earlier in 1972 as a result of fire hazards. This ban was viewed unfavourably despite the safety issues involved. Some people felt that the
ban would result in a much dampened festival mood for the Chinese New Year period. To address this issue, the People's Association and the Singapore National Pugilistic Association jointly organised a street parade from Jalan Besar to Outram Park featuring the signature floats, acrobatic acts, lion and dragon dances, stilt walkers, and the like, to bring back some cheer to the general public. Chingay 2016 however, is different in this aspect because of one quite logical point. There was the usage of firecrackers during the parade as we witnessed people on sticks walking by while holding exploding firecrackers. Also,I think that the customary New Year practice to drive away evil spirits of firecrackers has already been lost over the many generations of people. Ever since firecrackers has been banned, people don't set firecrackers anymore. This practice would not be able to pass down to the younger generations. Chingay, will thus replace the fire crackers and become the customary New Year practice of Singapore.
Another major difference would be the integration of other communities in Singapore into the event. The first Chingay parade was to celebrate the lunar new year, thus only the Chinese community were involved in the festivities. However, Chingay 2016 sees the Chinese, Malay, Indian as well as international communities celebrating together. Thus, Chingay 2016 is an event which involves the entirety of Singapore as compared to the first Chingay which only included the Chinese. I think that this change happened because Singapore is a multi-cultural society. Chingay being such a big event, would develop a multi-cultural flavour and then an international flavour – moving from being a street parade not just for the man on the street but also for visitors to the island. This is because it is a parade throughout the country, hence it would make sense if people of other races take part in this celebration.
Another change would be the scale of the event. The parade in 1973 was a relatively simple one which had been put together by the People’s Association and the Singapore National Pugilistic Federation, and it saw a procession of lion dancers, giant flag bearers, dragon dancers, stilt walkers, clowns and juggling acts down a 3 kilometre route from Jalan Besar to Outram Park. In contrast, Chingay 2016 sees intricately designed floats and an abundance of performers in colourful costumes. Acrobats suspended in the air. Chingay this year has brought in friends from Russia, South Korea, Japan and Indonesia to perform as compared to Chingay 1973 where it was only Chinese - centric. Furthermore, Chingay 2016 has the magnificent display of fireworks unlike Chingay 1973. Thus, I feel like the one difference between Chingay 1973 and Chingay 2016 is the scale of the performance and the visual appeal.
I think that this change have been made because of the increased amount of people participating in the performances. Thus, the scale of the performance would be much larger. And because there is an increased influx of performers from different races and countries, there is a larger variety of performances being put out. Furthermore, I feel that because of the difference in technology and age. That's why it is possible to have performers to have performers dressed in lights and have people suspended in the air.
In conclusion, I feel that Chingay 2016 is very meaningful and educational. It displayed how us Singaporeans can come together to make an amazing performance. It also shows how far we have come as a nation and the display of values are a tribute to the late Mr Lee and the pionner generation. The performance were also heartwarming and the many light show displays left us awestruck. It is truly "Lights of Legacy, Brighter Singapore".
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✨16 February 2016
3-2-1 reflection
3 things that I found out
1) The one child policy is actually not a bad thing as it ensures that parents gives the children the attention and education they need.
2) Singapore used to have a two child policy but now not anymore as Singapore is slowing becoming an aging country and the birth rate of Singapore is getting lower and lower.
3) China is still having the one child policy till now and it has caused people in China to only want baby boys as they think that only boys can carry on the family line.
2 perception gained
1) We have to think of what might happen in the future when we want to have a policy. Just like how the two child policy in Singapore have caused the low birth rate in Singapore nowadays.
2) We cannot look at things from only our perspective, we have to look from others perspective too. For example, the one child policy in China and the two child policy in Singapore helped the children to get better education.
1 question I have
1) Are Singapore and China, the only two country who have the policy?
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✨31 January 2016
Reflection on Happiness and Poverty
Happiness is everywhere with us and it is the easiest thing to achieve. Anything or anyone can make a person truly happy and everyone can be happy!
It is easier to feel ground down by life's problems when you have less income. Common sense dictates that lack of money means fewer options for dealing with daily life. If a rich person's heating goes out or gets a toothache, it can just be an annoyance, while for a poor person it can be a crisis. A poor person might report himself to be happy emotionally at a specific time, while also reporting a much lower sense of happiness with life as a whole. Thus, poor people would have lesser life satisfaction. Additionally, instead of feeling jealous, the poor would have a feeling of inadequacy. This makes them feel inferior and thus, are less happy than richer people in this aspect. However, they get really satisfied with everything they have. They will put in more effort to achieve what the others can achieve too and they normal get more accomplished and happier.
However, this is also true on the opposite side of the spectrum. People want to make enough to make rent, pay for utilities, and be comfortable knowing that if the water heater breaks, they're not hosed. However, once we get more than they need, material possessions become a burden and can reduce quality of life. Once we acquire and become saturated with wealth, we start to lose a sense of meaning and purpose. Being rich would also lead to stress and anxiety as much as being poor. You will be so worried on earning more money that you fail to see the things that are already around you.
The term 'money cannot buy happiness' is true in literal sense. Being happy, to me, does not actually means being rich. Of course being rich means that you can have everything you want and you do not need to worry about the basic necessities of life. However, that is only the material happiness, you do not actually feel truly happy. You just feel good that you are able to get whatever you want. Happiness never comes with rich. Being truly happy means that you feel the happiness even if you are poor. Being poor does not means that I will be unhappy. Yes I might have a lot to worry about but I can truly happy even if I am able to eat a full meal in a day. I feel the simple happiness and is satisfied with the slightest thing on earth. Happiness need not be expensive, it can also simply means a smile as encouragement from your friend and you can feel happy about it! I think being truly happy is the hardest but easiest thing on earth. Some people misunderstand the definition of happiness and thinks that happiness is hard to achieve while some people thinks that happiness is with them all day round and they feel happy eatery moment. For me, happiness can simply means that I am able to get together with my cousins and aunts and play together or me having to put up a really good fight during my competition.
It is easier to feel ground down by life's problems when you have less income. Common sense dictates that lack of money means fewer options for dealing with daily life. If a rich person's heating goes out or gets a toothache, it can just be an annoyance, while for a poor person it can be a crisis. A poor person might report himself to be happy emotionally at a specific time, while also reporting a much lower sense of happiness with life as a whole. Thus, poor people would have lesser life satisfaction. Additionally, instead of feeling jealous, the poor would have a feeling of inadequacy. This makes them feel inferior and thus, are less happy than richer people in this aspect. However, they get really satisfied with everything they have. They will put in more effort to achieve what the others can achieve too and they normal get more accomplished and happier.
However, this is also true on the opposite side of the spectrum. People want to make enough to make rent, pay for utilities, and be comfortable knowing that if the water heater breaks, they're not hosed. However, once we get more than they need, material possessions become a burden and can reduce quality of life. Once we acquire and become saturated with wealth, we start to lose a sense of meaning and purpose. Being rich would also lead to stress and anxiety as much as being poor. You will be so worried on earning more money that you fail to see the things that are already around you.
The term 'money cannot buy happiness' is true in literal sense. Being happy, to me, does not actually means being rich. Of course being rich means that you can have everything you want and you do not need to worry about the basic necessities of life. However, that is only the material happiness, you do not actually feel truly happy. You just feel good that you are able to get whatever you want. Happiness never comes with rich. Being truly happy means that you feel the happiness even if you are poor. Being poor does not means that I will be unhappy. Yes I might have a lot to worry about but I can truly happy even if I am able to eat a full meal in a day. I feel the simple happiness and is satisfied with the slightest thing on earth. Happiness need not be expensive, it can also simply means a smile as encouragement from your friend and you can feel happy about it! I think being truly happy is the hardest but easiest thing on earth. Some people misunderstand the definition of happiness and thinks that happiness is hard to achieve while some people thinks that happiness is with them all day round and they feel happy eatery moment. For me, happiness can simply means that I am able to get together with my cousins and aunts and play together or me having to put up a really good fight during my competition.
For RV60, I was the usher.
For ushers, we have to know more about how our school was in the past. For our
trainings, teachers will have slides to show us our school in the past. In my case, since both my parents and my uncle
are alumnus, I've heard a lot about RV since young. From what I heard from my
parents, although RV60 didn't seemed like a really big event to us at first,
after hearing from my parents I find that it actually meant a lot to the
alumnus. This celebration allow them to have a chance to actually meet up with
some of their classmate whom they did not contact for the past decades. However
for us, RVians , I think that RV60 allows us to work together as one RV. Although
at first we did not like that fact that we have to stay back after school
everyday and even coming back to school for sessions, after coming back for
more sessions, I feel otherwise. This is actually a good time to build
relationships with not just our CCA mates and classmates but also a good time
to have fun together with our seniors. RV60 actually brought me and my seniors
closer as we really spent these months together, getting to know each other
better. Seeing all of us working very hard together as one actually made me feel
touched. I never knew that we, as one RV, had the ability to do so much! After
seeing the celebration, I was really proud of myself as well as the whole RV. I
felt the urge to tell everyone that they've really worked hard for the past few
months. Not only did we have fun during these times, we also learnt teamwork.
Whenever there's anyone absent for the session, we always try our best to
listen to the teachers’ instructions so that we can tell our friends exactly
what the teacher told us. I think all of us showed our leadership through RV60
and one thing for sure is that we all had fun!
✨23 January 2016
This picture shows a RV60 balloon which actually will reminds me of the just past RV 60th anniversary celebration. The whole school have actually started preparing from more than 2 months ago. Almost all students and teachers were involved in this really big preparation. When I first found out that my duty was to ushers the alumni, I was very scared. All along I've been a very introvert person and I'm not those kind of people who can talk well to people. I would always prefer to keep quiet and listen to other people and thus my friends all think that I'm a good listener but I'm too boring for them. Thus when I knew that I have to open up and try to speak up more, I was very worried that I would not be able to be perform well. I still remember the first day I for the training, the most important thing the teacher-in-charge told us was, "Your job is very important because the alumnus will not be able to speak to the performers, you have the responsibility of showing how hard all of your friends have worked!". Hearing this, I knew that all my friends, as performers, have worked very hard out in the scorching hot sun just to prepare a grand performance for the day, I told myself that I shouldn't let them down. Thus for the following trainings, we really listen to the instruction of the teachers and go according to how they need us to. I, as ushers, I really think that on that day all of us really performed very well. On the day of preview, I got a chance to watch the full performance and I think that it's really amazing how everyone wasn't doing what we have done before but in the short period of time, all of us performed really well and I sincerely think that the performers have surely worked so much harder than me. However I knew that I was going to play a big part on the day of the celebration because I will show the guests how much hard work and effort all of us have put in for this day! I think I had fun while preparing for this RV60 celebration although it was hard to juggle between studies, CCA and the trainings for RV60, I still feel that as a RVian, I have to play my part in this very special day.
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✨Self-Introduction
My name is Queenie and my CCA is badminton. I'm a very sporty person as I love sports since I'm young probably because both my parents are sportsperson. I used to be in the netball and track and field school team when I was in primary school. I changed my CCA to badminton in secondary school as both my parents are badminton players and they can help me more in that aspect.
In my free time, I often go for private training with my parents as they can coach me more on my mistakes. During holidays or certain weekends, I would meet up with my primary school friends at the Jurong West Stadium which is quite near our houses to spar our skills. Especially when it's near the seasons, my teammates and I would privately book badminton courts outside school to have more trainings as in school there are always insufficient court for all players to train at the same time.
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