Constance GohFrom being part of the majority race to the minority, 3 young Singaporean Chinese share how they cope with the transition.
When Singaporean Chinese Celine Low first moved to Sheffield, England to further her studies, one of her biggest concerns was whether she could fit in to the majority white society.
Soon enough, the 22-year-old Journalism student said she has to put up with the occasional racial slurs. For instance, she’s been called “ching chong ling long”, a derogatory term for ethnic Chinese. Strangers have also called out to her with their English-accented “ni hao” [hello in Mandarin] when she walks down the street.
“My first instinct was to roll my eyes because it was rather ridiculous,” said Miss Low. “I guess they don’t know that our first language is English.”
It’s her stay in Sheffield that makes her feel more “Chinese” than ever before. Back home in Singapore, where 70 per cent of the population are ethnic Chinese, she would not have invited any comments for being Chinese. In fact, life has been a breeze precisely because she’s Chinese.
The topic of “Chinese privilege” was explored in a recent survey on race relations in Singapore, commissioned by Channel NewsAsia and the Institute of Policy Studies.
According to the survey findings, while only half of the Chinese respondents (49%) recognize the prevalence of “Chinese privilege” in Singapore, more ethnic minorities (63% of Malay respondents, 62% of Indian respondents, 72% of respondents of other races) agree that their majority counterparts have an advantage in society.
This suggests that the ethnic minorities, who’re more likely to have been subjected to racial profiling, are more likely to feel disadvantaged as a result of their race. And it would be hard for the majority to empathize with them if they had not had a chance to live as minority before, Ms Low said.
Joshua Tay, another young Singaporean who’s studying abroad, agrees. The 24-year-old said: “I’ve seen it in Army, where Malays generally can’t perform certain roles because there is a perception that they can’t be trusted.”
He’s since grown to feel more for the minority after living in Melbourne, Australia as an international student.
Although the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology student hasn’t encountered major incidents of racial prejudice, he said he still felt rather insulted when the locals presumed that he couldn’t understand English. He also felt uneasy when it’s presumed that he could understand Australian slang.
“I think the locals in Melbourne are more ignorant than discriminatory so I understand where they were coming from,” Mr Tay said.
Venetia Lim, 20, had a smoother transition when she enrolled in the London Contemporary Dance School 2 years ago.
Being a minority has never been an issue for this Singaporean. “I felt very welcomed and included,” said Miss Lim. “Maybe it’s the subject that I’m studying. People are open-minded.”
For Miss Low, she’s made herself more comfortable by socializing with Singaporeans in Sheffield, which gives her more opportunities to speak Singlish [Singaporean English slang] freely.
She said: “Living with Singaporeans does give me a strong sense of familiarity. We have the same taste in food and bond over sports and activities.”
Celine hopes to return to Singapore. She also hopes Singapore can be even more racially inclusive when she’s back.
“People of minority races might subconsciously grow into the negative stereotypes they’re cast into,” she said, adding that she does not wish the same for the minority groups in Singapore.