HK's pro-democracy champion blasts Singapore patriarch

SINGAPORE'S elder statesman, Lee Kuan Yew, was given a verbal blasting Friday (Jun 20) by Martin Lee, chairman of Hong Kong's Democratic Party, who accused him of having the local media under his thumb.

"Mr. Lee Kuan Yew actually loves press freedom. Use the word 'press' as a verb, to press," Lee told a lunch meeting of a local chamber of commerce. "The unfortunate thing is our chief executive designate does not admire Lee Kuan Yew -- he adores him."

Tung Chee Hwa, who will succeed Governor Chris Patten as leader of Hong Kong after its reversion to Chinese rule, on June 2 named Lee Kuan Yew, former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and ex-British premier Margaret Thatcher as his role models.

Lee also fired a broadside at Singapore's efforts to teach its children to be more creative.

"If they ask for my advice, I'd say, 'keep your money and let them be free, '" he said. "If you're not free, how can you be creative?"

As for civil liberties, Lee said Hong Kong at the moment had a "full glass" of freedom.

"In Singapore, they have half a glass all the time under this wonderful government," he said. "So people are used to half a glass. If you pour them any more ... they can't finish it.

"But if you are used to the whole glass, as we Hong Kong people are, and you only pour half a glass, they say 'wait a minute, where is the other half? '"

Citing Singapore's ban on chewing gum sales and fines for failing to flush toilets, Lee added: "I think Singapore has got a lot to learn from Hong Kong and we have very little to learn from Singapore."

Lee's attack came nine days after the Singaporean senior minister said the people of Hong Kong would not seek more democracy under Chinese rule and its new leader will not create political "martyrs."

"Let's not waste time talking about democracy," the outspoken former prime minister was quoted by the Straits Times as saying on June 11 after meeting British Prime Minister Tony Blair during a private visit to London.

"There never was any democracy in Hong Kong in the first place," Lee said. - AFP