美国的多元种族政策与新加坡不同[^0]

USA's Multi-Racialism Policy is Different from Singapore

[…在教学媒介语方面，新加坡是个特殊的例子，我们用的不是大多数种族的语文…]

[...We are an exceptional country where the language of the majority is not the medium of instruction in schools...]

…内阁资政李光耀 / Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew [^1]

读刘学敏先生的文章，《以理性讨论母语教育》（早报.言论.01/07/2002）[^2]，笔者觉得，若从不同的角度解读他所列举的一些实际例子，我们应该能看到问题的其他层面。

刘先生的文章指出来自不同国家的非英语系移民到了美国，一两代以后就学会英语，母语都不学了，因为对这些移民而言，毕竟他们首先是美国人，以英语作为母语才有其必要。

另外，刘先生也指出许多华人在移民泰国、菲律宾之后也认同了当地的种族、文化，进而放弃母语，成为拥有华裔血统的泰国人、菲律宾人。

这两个例子不但是事实，而且笔者相信它们也是国际社会认同的一种融合同化移民的模式。这个模式允许有能力及“容量”接受移民的国家，以原有主体社群（或主要种族）的语文及文化为基础，根据国家的利益及需要（包括人道方面的考虑）制定移民政策，每年吸收一定数量的移民。

这样的移民模式，只要它长期累积的移民人数能稳定的维持在相对低的人口百份比内（以便社会能融合同化他们），而且又不会引起当地人民过度的排斥与歧视，通常就能在一定的挣扎适应后，顺利将移民的笫一或笫二代融合，而移民的后代最终则多数会被社会所同化。

用上述的模式看泰国及菲律宾的例子，一切就会显得很自然。因为根据《海外华人百科全书》的估计资料，泰国华人人口只占泰国总人口的10%，菲律宾华人人口则少于该国总人口的2% [^3]。因此这两个国家的主体社群是泰国人及菲律宾人，占人口百份比相当低的华人移民自然在入乡随俗后，会逐代被融合同化（当然，在现代的民主社会，移民在效忠移居国及为当地社会做出贡献之余，也可以选择保留本身的文化和母语做为第二语文，但在人数占少数的情况下，这种努力要“超过三代”相信并不容易）。

另外，做为著名的“移民之国”，美国的移民例子尽管有它独特的地方，但是就融合同化移民的模式来看，其实它与泰、菲两国以及世界上多数的国家是没有太大差别的。美国也是通过一个原有主体社群（或主要种族）的语文及文化为基础来融合同化各族移民。对于这点，我们可以引述一些美国历史学家的看法来加以说明。

首先，在美国历史学会1990年代出版的《新美国历史》论文集中 [^4]，学者詹姆斯.P.申顿在评介“种族和移民”史研究的论文中就指出：

“……如同米尔顿.M.戈登在《美国生活中的同化：种族、宗教和民族渊源的作用》一书中解释的，正是“英国一致论”这一美国传统思想为同化确定了条件：一种共同的语言、法律和宗教成了一种正在变化的文化的基础。……”

"......The common origins of a majority of the newcomers set the terms of future assimilation. As defined by Milton M. Gordon in Assimilation in American Life: The Role of Race, Religion, and National Origins, it was "the traditional American" ideology of "Anglo-conformity" that defined the terms of assimilation: a common language, law and religion served as the base of a changing culture. It was a process that brought with it intense strains......"

“……菲希尔的《英国后裔：美国的四种英国社会习俗》一书 [^4a] 是了解英国一致论的一部重要著作。菲希尔在该书中论证了“美国的文化起源于英国的重要性。”尽管他注意到“在今日美国人中祖先为英国人者已不足20%”，但他接着作了重要补充，“从文化这个角度而言，大多数美国人是英国人的子孙，而不管他们自己的祖先是不是英国人 [^4b]。”值得注意的是，他强调的是不列颠文化而不仅仅是英格兰文化，他还强调美语的主要方言、美国生活的地区方式、美国政治的复合动力和美国人对自由的独特看法是由于不列颠的多样性造成的。事实上，英格兰的子孙们为同化确立了基调。……具有讽刺意味的是，随着时间的推移，较早被同化的移民坚决主张新来的移民应该像他们一样适应英国文化。……”

"......An important book for understanding the nature of Anglo-conformity is David Hackett Fischer, Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America, which argues "the importance to the United States of having been British in its cultural origins." Though he notes that "today less than 20 percent of the American population have any British ancestors at all," Fischer then adds the significant caveat that "in a cultural sense most Americans are Albion's seed, no matter who their own forebears may have been." Significantly, the emphasis is on British -- not just English -- culture, and out of British diversity came the major dialects of American speech, the regional patterns of American life, the complex dynamics of American politics, and the distinctive American ideas of freedom. In fact, Albion's children set the agenda of assimilation......ironically over time found the assimilated eariler arrivals insisting that later arrivals make the same Anglo-conforming accommodation as they had......"

其次，美国两位学者在一篇名为《美国民族百衲图》的文章中[^5]也指出：

“……今日美国的东海岸几乎全是不列颠移民开拓的。从1607年建立詹姆斯敦起，不列颠人在大西洋沿岸先后建立起……十三个英属殖民地。……十三个殖民地的移民，来得最早，人数最多的是英格兰人。……因为他们是殖民地的创建人，英格兰文化也就在那里扎下了根。因此，英语是殖民地的通用语言；英国习惯法、审判制度和代议式的政府，也被各殖民地普遍采用；……同样，移民也沿袭英国的习惯和传统。早期非英籍的移民来自北欧各国，人数不多，他们的文化和英国文化近似，因此，他们很快就适应了英国式的生活。等到属于各种不同文化的大批移民进入美国时，先入的英国文化早已根深蒂固，不可动摇。甚至到现在，尽管受到种种其他文化的影响…英国文化仍保持着绝对优势 [^6]。这是美国综合文化的基础。（人们通称美国原有的文化为盎格鲁～撒克逊文化，而称早期不列颠移民的后裔为白人盎格鲁～撒克逊新教徒。）……”

从以上的引述可以看出，一直以来，美国其实也像其他国家一样是通过一个原有主体社群（或主要种族）的语文及文化为基础来融合同化各族移民的。这个作法与我国不同，所以新加坡人在推崇美国的多元种族文化体制时，应该对此有所共识。美国与其他国家唯一的不同也许是它能比其他国家更好的吸纳及融合同化更多不同种族的移民，这对巩固及扩散它原有主体社群（或主要种族，例如，盎格鲁～撒克逊族）的语文及文化的环球影响力是绝对有利的优势。这是值得其他国家参考的“有容乃大”（但当然不是大到让人喧宾夺主）的实际例子。[^7]

所以，相信在弄清楚美国融合同化移民的模式后，对于只占美国总人口0.7%的华人移民会逐代被美国主体社群融合同化的现像，我们就会觉得很自然了。

然而，这种“自然”，显然并不适合于用来理解我国的情况。因为，基于各种政治和生存因素的考量，我国并没有采用美国、泰国、菲律宾和其他国家以一个原有主体社群（或主要种族）的语文及文化为基础来融合同化移民的模式。

在这方面，我国是特殊的例子[^1a，请重看李资政的看法]。占总人口77.7%的华人与分别占14.1%的马来人和7.1%的印度人[^3a，统计数据]都支持以双语教育的国家政策来建立，双语并重以及多元种族与文化融合的社会。各族不会被另一族所融合同化（[^8] "...the other races would have resisted assimilation by the majority community, and naturally so...".），而且更重要的是，各族也不愿一起被西方语言和文化（即，英美两国的语言和文化）所融合同化[^9]。所以我国一直以来所大力宣扬与推行的双语教育是否能真正成功有效就变得十分重要了。

尤其是在全国的学校都统一成英校的体制，而双语教育也相随演变成英文第一语文，母语笫二语文的单一固定模式后；我们将发现，如果双语并重的社会体制迟迟无法形成以便弥补各源流学校消失后失衡的语文环境，我们就越来越有可能陷入类似于在美国、泰国、或菲律宾的移民处境（指那些关心孩子母语教育的移民而言）。我们必须像他们一样，费尽苦思告诉孩子们学习母语的好处与重要性，但结果却可能吃力不讨好。

我们会告诉孩子们学好母语有助于保存我们的语言、文化及传统价值观，这大概像极了在美国、泰国、或菲律宾的（一些，第一代？）移民父母会向他们的孩子们所说的话吧？

但新加坡人可千万不能因此被迷惑混淆而失去方向与共识呀！我们采用的双语模式（各族母语和英语共生共存的模式）与外国采用的以主体社群（或主要种族）的语文及文化为基础的（同化）模式是不同的。母语教育对我国的重要性与对外国移民社群的重要性因此也是不同的。因为如果他们（即移民们）失败，他们将按国际社会认同的模式被主体社群（或主要种族）融合同化（所以，既然是被一个主体社群或主要种族所同化，外国人的证件上当然是严禁列明原有的种族身份的。）。而如果我们失败，我们整个国家将被西方语言和文化（即，英美两国的语言和文化）所融合同化。但，我们要建立的是（多元种族、语言、文化共存的）新加坡人的新加坡，不是西方人的新加坡呀！这就是为什么母语教育对我国十分重要的原因了。

新加坡的多元种族和双语共存的政策是更难但更宽容与公平的政策（就我国特殊的国情而言）。这些政策或体制至今都能成功运作，并非是偶然的事。那是因为，在新加坡，我们强调，各族（华族、马来族、印度族、其他少数种族、及英语化或讲英语的新加坡人）必须真正懂得及遵守“互相妥协与退让（Give.And.Take）”的精神和原则。因为这是适合我们国情的公平做法。没有任何族群或群体享有特权（即使是在人数上占大多数者，或自称中立者）可以叫其他各族放弃种族的身份、母语、文化和宗教；并让自己精通的语言和文化逐渐同化各族。这是全体新加坡人应该始终坚持的立国基础和共识。

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以下为本文的注解(Ref):

• [^0]
  
  上网日期Posted: 29/Jul/2002(7月29号) --- 更新日期Updated: 22/Apr/2006(4月22号), 11/Feb/2023(2月11号) --- 草稿Draft: (原稿02-18/07/2002) (发稿18/07/2002, [x]) (修稿29/07/2002, 22/04/2006, 08-11/02/2023) (ChangedTo改成HTML5版本，添加几个注解，[^0][^1a][^3a][^4a][^4b]。为注解[^4]添加英文的原文资料。文章内容没改，只在两处添加了句子：（一些，第一代？）和（多元种族、语言、文化共存的），以及将[^8]引用的英文文章的一小段落抄进本文。08-11/02/2023)
  
  
• [^1] [^1a]

  2001年3月2日，内阁资政李光耀在多位内阁部长陪同下在国会大厦礼堂同大约150名马来族及回教徒社群代表举行了约两个小时的闭门对话会，针对马来人对国家的效忠以及他们在军中的地位等敏感课题交流意见。

  这里所用的引述就是李资政在对话会上的演讲全文的部份内容。

  参考：早报.新加坡新闻.04/Mar/2001.“李资政同马来社群代表对话”

  [……社会的融合是个双向的过程。政府希望我们的马来人能融入我们的社会，却不能强迫他们。我们的马来人将决定他们要和非马来人建立什么样的关系。如果新加坡的马来人表示他们选择同其他社群隔离，那其他的社群就会根据马来人发出的讯息做出相对的反应。作为一个占大多数的种族，华人必须显示它愿意扩大不同族群的共同领域，以让其他种族共同参与。我国的教育政策就采取这项原则。华族新加坡人都把孩子送入以英语为教学媒介的国民型学校，而不再把他们送进以华文作教学媒介的华校。在教学媒介语方面，新加坡是个特殊的例子，我们用的不是大多数种族的语文。……]

  In 02/Mar/2001, at the auditorium in Parliament House, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, accompanied by a number of Cabinet ministers, had a frank dialogue with Malay-Muslim Singaporeans on Malay loyalty and the role of Malays in the Singapore Armed Forces.

  The quote use in this article is extracted from the speech given by SM Lee during the dialogue.

  Reference: The Sunday Times (The Straits Times), Home News, March 4 2001, "SM's Dialogue With The Malay Community".

  [...Integration is a two-way process. The Government would like our Malays to be an integral part of our society, but cannot force them. Our Malays will decide the kind of relationship they want with the non-Malays. If Malays in Singapore show that they prefer to be separate, the other communities will pick up these signals and react accordingly. As the majority race, the Chinese have to show a willingness to expand the common ground by including other races. This has happened in education. Chinese Singaporeans send their children to national schools that teach in English, no longer to Chinese-medium schools. We are an exceptional country where the language of the majority is not the medium of instruction in schools...]

• [^2]
  
  

  刘学敏：以理性讨论母语教育（全文）（早报.言论.01/July/2002） 在最近的国会的辩论里，华文以至整个母语教育，也被提上了日程。无可避免的，这场争论的立场，也随着教育源流的不同，及其中所掺杂的感情因素而大相径庭，似乎永远也找不到交集的地方。此外，华校生及英校生的裂痕，又被重新提起。 在这种种的论点里，不外围绕着英文在经济上的重要性，及华文在保存传统价值观的必须这个大前提上，似乎这两种语文的角色一开始就被定位好了。其实这个假设一点也不新，不外是100年前提出的“中学为体，西学为用”的翻版。我们大可不必抱着这个观念不放。 太多的事实告诉我们，学习母语不一定就保持了传统价值。首先，所谓的传统价值并不是一成不变的。孝道是美德，但像二十四孝中所描述的一些愚孝行为，就大可不必。而对于不合理的，不合用于现代社会的传统价值加以批判、否定，不正是一种进步吗？五四运动以来的中国知识分子，更是用华文写下了数不清的批判传统价值观的文章。为什么在我们这里，华文就必须被定位于传统价值观的捍卫者这个角色之上？ 不必活得像老祖宗 日本人、中国大陆人、香港人、台湾人，向来接受的都是母语教育，难道他们就都保持了传统价值，活得和他们的老祖宗一样？ 学习母语的功用，是为了让我们对于自己所属于的种族有一个定位，一个归属。而一旦这个功用消失，学习母语也就没有必要了。像移民到美国的非英语系移民，不管是德国人、意大利人或荷兰人，一两代以后就都学会了英语，母语都不学了。今天不少美国人可以如数家珍的告诉别人自己祖先的来历，却不觉得有学习祖先的母语的必要了，毕竟他首先是美国人，以英语作为母语才有其必要。 就连华人，许多在移民到泰国，菲律宾以后，不也认同了当地的种族、文化，进而放弃了母语，成了当地人了吗？像泰国、菲律宾的前领袖，都可以自称拥有华裔血统，但他们首先是泰国人，是菲律宾人。 归根结底，学习语言只有两个目的：为了认同或为了生存。 在一般的民族国家，为这两个目的只需要学习一种语言就足够了。但在新加坡，为了保有各民族的特性及认同，我们必须学习各自的母语。但为了生存，我们也必须学习英语。如果个人的能力不足以应付两种语文的学习，矛盾就无可避免的产生了。 内阁资政李光耀曾经提过，全人口中只有极小部分可以流利掌握两种语文。在必须掌握英文以生存的前提下，我们实在不可能，也没有必要，要求每个学生在掌握英语的同时，也都能对各自的母语有一样流利的程度。 为普及英语付出代价 有媒体常比较新加坡和香港，特别指出香港的精英分子都能流利地在读和写方面，掌握英语和粤语。但我们别忘了，绝大部分的香港人只懂自己的母语。英语的流通，只限于人口的少数。许多香港人，穷其一生，并不需要掌握英语。英语的普及，以人口比例来说，肯定比新加坡人低。 至于其他的亚洲国家，像日本、台湾，在学校里也安排了英语的学习，但由于必须首先掌握母语，同样不能像新加坡一样，培养出普及化的英语环境。 母语程度的低落，是我们强调英语、普及英语的代价。这是无可避免的。 唯一能够为学习华语，提高华文程度提供动力的，是华语的经济价值。在新加坡经济不景，中国经济一枝独秀的今天，不少专业人士不禁怨叹自己华文程度不够，不能到中国发展。但他们却因此督促自己的孩子学习华语，以免将来失去机会。与此同时，不少特选源流的毕业生，因为掌握华英两种语文的能力，此刻可以在中国大展拳脚。许多欧美跨国公司在中国的高级主管，正是前几届的特选中学毕业生。 所以，对于没有能力掌握两种语文的学生，我们不须苛求。但对有能力的学生，我们必须确保他们有足够的机会并流利地掌握华英两种语文，才不至于在中国经济发展的今天及未来，失去竞争的能力。 对于语文教育的辩论，我们应该多一些理性的认识，了解到不是每个人都能熟练地掌握两种语文。为了普及英语，我们必须接受母语程度低落的代价。但我们也应该正确的认识华语的经济价值，对有能力的学生，提供学习的机会。华文的学习，对于我们的生存，将会起着越来越重要的作用。 （作者是一所特选中学第一届毕业生，目前在上海从事管理咨询工作） 以理性讨论母语教育 ↗

  
  
  
• [^3] [^3a]

  本文所列举的统计数据全部参考由潘翎主编，崔贵强编译的中文版《海外华人百科全书》。由华裔馆授权三联书店（香港）有限公司出版，1998年，笫一版。

  国家图书馆编号：SING 304.80951 ENC

  国家	华人	马来人	印度人	页数
  印尼	略少于3%	---	---	Pg151
  马来西亚 (1991资料)	29.4%	58.3%	9.5%	Pg172
  菲律宾	少于2%	---	---	Pg187
  新加坡 (1990资料)	77.7%	14.1%	7.1%	Pg200
  泰国	10%	---	---	Pg218
  美国	0.7%	---	---	Pg269

  
  
  
• [^4]

  参考《新美国历史》（Pg82～84），埃里克.方纳(Eric.Foner)等著；齐文颖，林江等译。北京师范大学出版社，1998年，笫一版。

  本书由美国新闻署协助提供中文版权。

  Temple University Press, Philadelphia 19122.

  Copyright 1990 by Temple University.

  国家图书馆编号：973 FON

  这本书共收录了十三篇论文。笔者引述的是詹姆斯.P.申顿所写，专门简要评介不同历史学家研究美国‘种族与移民’史成果的论文。

  ---

  关于英文版本：

  NB1: 笔者在17/07/2002从互联网页查到在我国，只有位于南洋理工大学的教育学院图书馆才有1990年的英文版本！在国家图书馆可以找到的英文版本是1997年的修改版本。其中我要印的《种族与移民》一章已经几乎完全重写了！

  NB2: 隔年在28/March/2003去教育学院图书馆找到1990年的版本，由于这本书非会员不能借出(red spot book)复印，因此只能用手抄下我想要的部分。

  NB3: 以下是抄自1990年的英文版本：

  The New American History

  Edited for the
  American Historical Association
  by ERIC FONER

  Temple University Press, Philadelphia 19122
  Copyright @ 1990 by Temple University.
  Published 1990.

  教育学图书馆编号：E175 New -- (Red Spot Book)

  ===========================================
  12 Ethnicity and Immigration (James P. Shenton) Pg 251
  ===========================================

  Pg 254:
  [......The common origins of a majority of the newcomers set the terms of future assimilation. As defined by Milton M. Gordon in Assimilation in American Life: The Role of Race, Religion, and National Origins, it was "the traditional American" ideology of "Anglo-conformity" that defined the terms of assimilation: a common language, law and religion served as the base of a changing culture. It was a process that brought with it intense strains......]

  Pg 254-255
  [......An important book for understanding the nature of Anglo-conformity is David Hackett Fischer, Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America, which argues "the importance to the United States of having been British in its cultural origins." Though he notes that "today less than 20 percent of the American population have any British ancestors at all," Fischer then adds the significant caveat that "in a cultural sense most Americans are Albion's seed, no matter who their own forebears may have been." Significantly, the emphasis is on British -- not just English -- culture, and out of British diversity came the major dialects of American speech, the regional patterns of American life, the complex dynamics of American politics, and the distinctive American ideas of freedom. In fact, Albion's children set the agenda of assimilation......]

  Pg 255
  [... The subsequent diversity of newcomers' origins gave rise to regular bouts of fear among the self-defined natives. The process of assimilation involved the question of how flexible and absorbent existing institutions were. Nativist doubts resulted in the recurring phenomenon of political efforts to control and restrict immigration.]

  Pg 256
  [......Further redefinition of the problem of an immigrant labor force was explored provocatively by Gutman in Work Culture, and Society in Industrializing America. The process of transforming rural laborers into a disciplined industrial work force, as defined by Gutman, created a counterpoint of cultural pluralism to the prevelent Anglo-conformity, which ironically over time found the assimilated eariler arrivals insisting that later arrivals make the same Anglo-conforming accommodation as they had......]

  ---

  NB4: 以下是在国家图书馆可以找到的英文版本，是1997年的修改版本。其中的《种族与移民》一章已经几乎完全重写了，所以这里只记录书本的基本资料。

  The New American History

  Revised and
  Expanded Edition

  Edited for the
  American Historical Association by
  ERIC FONER

  Temple University Press, Philadelphia 19122
  Copyright @ 1997 by Temple University.
  Published 1997

  国家图书馆编号：R 973.072 NEW -- (Woodlands Regional Library Reference Section)

  =========================================================
  15 Ethnicity and Immigration (James P. Shenton and Kevin Kenny) Pg 353 ------ 1997年的修改版本添加多一位作者。
  =========================================================

  
  
• [^4a]

  《英国后裔：美国的四种英国社会习俗》 Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America

  Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albion%27s_Seed ↗

  Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America is a 1989 book by David Hackett Fischer that details the folkways of four groups of people who moved from distinct regions of Great Britain (Albion) to the United States. The argument is that the culture of each of the groups persisted, to provide the basis for the political culture of the modern United States. Fischer explains "the origins and stability of a social system which for two centuries has remained stubbornly democratic in its politics, capitalist in its economy, libertarian in its laws and individualist in its society and pluralistic in its culture."

  
  
• [^4b]

  Albion's Seed 与 炎黄子孙

  Albion 是英国的古名称，Albion 是比较“有历史感”的称谓。所以 Albion's Seed 可以说有点类似于华人常用的“炎黄子孙”，Albion's Seed 是指英国人的子孙，或英国后裔，不过应该较多是文化意义上的，而不是包含血缘关系上的？

  
  
• [^5]

  参考《美国档案：影响一个国家命运的文字，American_Archives》（Pg885～886），常冬为编。北京中国城市出版社，1998年，笫一版。

  国家图书馆编号：973 AME

  这本书共分上下两册，全部是选篇翻译美国名人的演说等方面的文章。而本文所引述的文章《美国民族百衲图》，则收存在附录内。作者安娜.哈里斯.莱夫是宾夕法尼亚大学语言学博士；苏珊娜.哈里斯.桑考斯基是宾夕法尼亚大学历史学硕士。

  
  
• [^6]

  在[^4]所引述的詹姆斯.P.申顿的论文中也提到：

  [……大量新移民的涌入正在微妙地改变着美国人口的构成。一些人口学家预言，到2030年，欧洲血统的美国人将不再占人口的多数。甚至英语的支配地位也被视为难预料之事。……]（《新美国历史》.Pg96）

  对这方面的问题，西方人当然会未雨绸缪，美国学者，塞缪尔.亨廷顿（Samuel P.Huntington）还为此在2004年出版了一本书，《我们是谁：对美国国家身份认同的挑战》（Who Are We: The Challenges to America’s National Identity），来讨论。亨廷顿希望，全体美国人不分种族和族裔共同复兴美国的核心文化，“重新认同美国是一个基督教国家，认同盎格鲁清教徒价值观，说英语，维持欧洲文化遗产，以及认同美国信念的原则”。（参考网页：http://www.cass.cn/meiguosuo/show/show_project_ls.asp?id=805）

  以下另外引述亨廷顿在2001年发表的关于移民与同化问题的看法供读者参考思索。

  The Straits Times (03/Feb/2001 Saturday) (Analysis) Universal challenge of migration CAMBRIDGE (Massachusetts) - So far, the West has done reasonably well containing terrorist threats. A year ago, Osama Laden had elaborate plans to cause trouble in places across the planet, but mainly he was stopped. The high level of vigilance in the West against this threat seems to have paid off. For now, the main threat still seems to come from political Islamists. But terrorism is the weapon of the weak, so undoubtedly other groups will emerge in the future. Communications and travel links, strengthened by the globalisation process, make it easier for transnational networks - from terrorist to mafia - to operate. Globalisation spreads disorder through the same kinds of links that enable the expansion of legitimate commerce. And a good part of the world today is covered by zones of disorder. Migration is the central issue of our time. In the developed world, there is an ageing, and soon to be shrinking, population. In much of the rest of the world, populations are expanding, generating a mainly youthful population that is the source of migration, instability and terrorism. Europe and Japan will face the greatest challenges in coming to grips with this reality. The fertility rate in much of Europe is down to 1.2, while in Japan it is about 1.3. Unless they open themselves up to larger numbers of immigrants - something they are not accustomed to - these areas will not be able to sustain themselves economically. This is particularly true of Japan. For it to open its doors will require a social revolution. European countries have had a bit more experience, but the pressures have already set off xenophobic reactions. The dilemma there is that if they want to maintain their cultural integrity, these countries must limit immigration or stop it altogether. But they cannot do either, because of the economic necessity. If they admit migrants without assimilating them into the local culture, then they will be faced with huge pockets of disconnected and disaffected foreigners. These countries have little experience assimilating people from very different cultures. Moreover, many immigrants now do not want to be assimilated. America is facing the same challenge as the rest. The factors that made assimilation work during past waves of immigration - in the mid-19th century and just before World War I - are no longer present. Then, both waves of immigration ended, aiding assimilation as no more of the same kinds of people arrived. Immigrants also came from diverse sources, and upon arrival in the US, they dispersed across the country. The current wave of immigration to the US is an endless stream, much of it illegal. It is overwhelmingly Hispanic, and within that, overwhelmingly Mexican. And it is concentrated in the south-west, in Texas and California. In the first waves of immigration, there were two categories of people: the 'converts', who wanted to assimilate, and who moved over completely to the American way of life, leaving their language and native habits behind, and the 'sojourners', who worked in the US for, say, 15 years before returning home to Sicily. Now, immigrants are neither converts nor sojourners. They go back and forth between California and Mexico, maintaining dual identities and encouraging family members to join them. So, the US has to face a number of issues here, just like Europe and Japan. It cannot assume that because it was successful at assimilation in the past, it will be so in the future. (The writer is chairman of the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, and author of The Clash Of Civilizations And The Remaking Of World Order. This comment was distributed by the Los Angeles Times)

  
  
  
• [^7]

  在吸引人才方面，世界各非英语系的国家即使能像美国一样积极，他们还是会吃亏，因为现代各国的人才所学的外语多数是英语，再加上美国拥有其他得天独厚的条件，所以人才自然会倾向选择移民或留学美国。即使像澳洲也因为英语而受惠。以下关于澳洲、欧洲及日本的三则新闻应该有助于读者进一步理解这方面的问题。

  
  

  The Straits Times (News.06/May/2002) Asian migrants integrate fast, says Howard A 'mellowed' Australian Prime Minister admits time has proved his views on the pace of integration to have been wrong MELBOURNE - Asian migrants are being integrated into Australia even faster than their southern-European predecessors, says Prime Minister John Howard. Australians no longer questioned the pace of Asian immigration, he told the Weekend Australian. He also said his own views had changed and mellowed since 1988 when he provoked controversy as opposition leader by questioning the pace of Asian immigration. He told the newspaper he regretted that opinion and believed time had proved it wrong. In what the newspaper described as his most expansive comments on multiculturalism in almost 30 years in politics, Mr Howard said Asian integration had been helped along by a common language. "Many Asians, of course, come from an English-speaking background. Their mother tongue is not English but their almost-mother tongue is English," he said. The political demise of Ms Pauline Hanson, who championed Australia's anti-Asian immigration movement, showed the country had moved on. "In a way we have seen off our Le Pen," he said, comparing the Hanson-led backlash against Asian immigration to that of the far-right French presidential candidate, Mr Jean-Marie Le Pen. "My instinct is that Asian-Australians are very much part of the community now. "I think their integration has been quicker. I just don't hear people talking about it now, even as much as they did five years ago, and I have an electorate which is very Asian." Chinese-Australians and Vietnamese-Australians could be considered the country's new Greeks and Italians, who made up the bulk of migrants of non Anglo-Saxon descent after World War II. Asked if Australia could one day have a Chinese-Australian or Vietnamese-Australian Prime Minister, Mr Howard said: "Very possibly, yes. I don't think there is any reason why we won't." He was also confident that Muslim Australians would be integrated quickly despite facing greater cultural differences than earlier migrant groups. But the Weekend Australian said Mr Howard's inclusive comments did not signal a shift of policy on asylum-seekers. "People do draw a very strong distinction between people coming here legally and illegally - I can't say that too strongly." Mr Howard gave the rare newspaper interview to explain his philosophy on immigration. It took place after a Federal Cabinet meeting was held last week to consider Australia's migration intake for 2002-03.

  
  

  The Straits Times (News.22/07/2002) Erasmus World - Europe's Fulbright It aims to attract foreign postgraduate students and academics to the EU and to reverse the brain drain to the US By Grace Sung EUROPE CORRESPONDENT BRUSSELS - As part of efforts to boost Europe's visibility and competitiveness, a European equivalent of the Fulbright programme has been launched to attract foreign postgraduate students and academics to the region. While officials said the aim of the 200-million-euro (S$355 million) Erasmus World project was not to compete with the United States, it is hoped it will enhance Europe's attractiveness to third countries and stem the brain drain to the US. European Commission (EC) President Romano Prodi said the programme would help foster mutual understanding and dialogue between cultures. 'By opening our universities to the world, we open them up to Europe too,' he said. European Education and Culture Commissioner Viviane Reding pointed out that many international students chose to further their studies at American universities. Europe, she noted, received too few foreign students and visiting scholars. 'This deficit is a problem not only because of its implications for the European Union's cultural, political and economic influence in the world but also because our universities could take advantage of this greater openness to enhance the quality of what they provide,' she said. Erasmus World, which will operate for five years from 2004, would be a 'sort of Fulbright programme' which would offer an alternative to international postgraduate students. It had added economic and social implications, she said. 'It means we will take our place in the world. People often go to the US seeking excellence. We have excellence here, but we need to show it. We need to strengthen our competitiveness and visibility on the world stage,' she said. Erasmus World will complement existing bilateral and regional educational exchange programmes with different parts of the world. For instance, Asia-Link, which started this year, helps enhance cooperation between higher educational institutions in EU and Asian countries by intensifying academic, research and student exchanges. Under Erasmus World, the EC will grant scholarships worth 1,600 euros per month to 4,200 international postgraduates so they can attend universities in at least two of the current 15 and other new EU member states, over a two-year period. An average grant of 13,000 euros will be given to 1,000 visiting scholars for three-month teaching and research assignments within the EU. In addition, 4,750 European postgraduates and academics will get financial support to participate in exchange programmes with universities in third countries. A new European Masters degree will be created and will receive funding from the EC. At least three universities from three EU member states have to be involved and studies should be carried out in at least two of them. International students pursuing such a masters degree would get 'cultural added value', said Ms Reding. The details still have to be defined and Erasmus World has to be approved by the European Parliament and EU member states. The programme came in response to concerns about loss of talent to the US. The Commission recently put 1.6 billion euros into halting a brain drain of European scientists, lured particularly to the US by higher salaries and better facilities. 'This loss of human and intellectual wealth robs European science of valuable resources,' the EC said.

  
  

  The Straits Times (Analysis.22/07/2002) Japanese up against English brick wall By Hau Boon Lai STRAITS TIMES JAPAN BUREAU TOKYO - For computer-chip designer Satoru Miyagi, the determination to reach a higher level of English was born out of necessity two years ago. 'It was a time when work-wise, I had hit a brick wall,' said the 38-year-old, whose high-school English had been all but forgotten. Proficiency in the English language was needed to advance in the international company and for him to improve his technical knowledge and skills. He would wake up three hours before work, spend 20 minutes of lunch time and another hour after work to polish up his writing, listening and conversational skills. In a year and a half, his score for Toeic, the Test of English for International Communication, went from 550 to 745, which well met the company requirements for promotion. Workers like Mr Miyagi are on the rise in Japan as companies dealing with international trade realise that English is an essential business tool not only for employees sent overseas but also for the majority at the headquarters. Formerly traditional Japanese companies like Nissan and Hitachi have pegged Toeic scores to promotions for all workers, underscoring the need to be proficient in English to help do business and communicate with staff, clients and customers from all over the world. At Matsushita, a few bilingual employees used to go through all English communication. Senior executive Noriaki Tsuchiya told a recent symposium that the system was passe. 'Today, we have branch offices in 45 countries and more than half of our workforce of 300,000 live abroad. English became extremely important for our employees and we now have a vast number of English-language training programmes at all levels,' he said. At places like Nissan and Japan Telecom, the emphasis on English proficiency has been hastened by foreign chief executives who chair meetings and require reports to be done in English. To date, about 13 per cent of corporations said in a survey that good Toeic scores were a requirement for promotion, a recent development. But these workers and companies are the exception rather than the rule. In Japan, the proportion of gross domestic product reliant on international trade is only about 15 to 16 per cent. 'It means that some 80 per cent of the population would not have to deal with the use of English,' noted Dr C.H. Kwan of the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry. 'Even with the trend towards more international trade, the proportion is unlikely to rise further than 20 per cent,' he said, adding that besides English, other foreign languages like Chinese will be needed within the 20 per cent. It is little wonder that a bold attempt by a government panel to discuss putting English as an official language on the political agenda went nowhere. A bigger problem is that Japan has failed to meet even such a relatively small demand for proficiency in English. The Education Ministry recently released its latest proposals aimed at increasing the English proficiency of high school graduates by focusing on their speaking skills and considering teaching it from elementary school instead of from secondary school. It has once again failed to address what is generally agreed to be the real problem - English teachers who don't know the very language they are teaching. The much-touted Assistant Language Teachers programme, which brings in native speakers of English, has only about 5,000 to 6,000 teachers in Japan at any one time when hundreds of thousands of them are needed. The economic impact of a failure to meet the demand for proficient English is likely to be considerable. Without a good supply of such speakers, almost all of the economic sectors identified as new growth areas by the government will be unable to take off. Information Technology, biosciences, nanotechnology and tourism, to name a few examples, all need practitioners to attain a fluency that is all but impossible under the current system of English education. To make matters worse, capable Japanese fluent in English are gravitating towards foreign firms, attracted by the better pay and working conditions. Japan is also finding it difficult to attract foreign talents with superior skills in high-tech industries without an English-speaking environment to ease their integration into society. The effects are not limited to the economic sphere. In the Shenyang incident in May, deputy consul Hideharu Umaki at the Japanese consulate in the Chinese city put Japan to shame when it was revealed that he had handed back a letter from would-be asylum seekers because he did not understand English. When Japan sent a United Nations peacekeeping team to East Timor, its first press conference was held in Japanese despite great interest from the international media. 'Japan missed an important chance to build confidence among its Asian neighbours whose war memories make them suspicious of any activity which smacks of the military,' said a Japanese journalist who covered the event. Former UN diplomat Yasushi Akashi had pointed out that modern-day diplomacy should not rely on interpretation - negotiations could take place anywhere, anytime. But most Japanese politicians, lacking proficiency in English, the language of diplomacy, fail in this aspect. Despite the ability of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to read his speeches in English, Japan's 'faceless' diplomacy persists, and will continue doing so until a large number of politicians attain fluency in English and make a stronger mark on the world stage. The lack of English proficiency is also an obstacle to Japan's efforts towards becoming more cosmopolitan. Most restaurants, for instance, are unable to provide even a menu in English, let alone staff who can take orders in the language. And while independent travellers are on the rise, most of the 16 million or so Japanese who make their way overseas annually are still doing so in tour groups, and paying a premium to tour and store operators attempting to recoup their investments in training people to cater to their 'special' needs. With increasingly stronger incentives to learn English, the Japanese are doing so in greater numbers but are being let down by the poor quality of English education available.

  
  
  
• [^8]

  海峡时报资深记者Asad.Latif就曾在他的专栏文章《宽大是多元种族的一个要素》（海峡时报.12/Feb/2001）中指出：

  “……新加坡的种族关系模式是值得称道的。华、巫、印及其他族群都获得允许保持自我。一个原有可能替代这个模式的做法是种族同化…其他种族将会抗拒，而且是自然的抗拒，被最大的族群同化……”

  The senior journalist of The Straits Times, Mr Asad Latif had said in his column ("Generosity is a multi-racial thing", ST 12/Feb/2001) that:

  "...Singapore's model of race relations is commendable. Chinese, Malays, Indians and others are allowed to be themselves. One alternative to this approach would have been racial assimilation. ...the other races would have resisted assimilation by the majority community, and naturally so...".

  The Straits Times (12/Feb/2001) Generosity is a multi-racial thing With generous actions, Singaporeans are making a statement - showing that we are a single people while cementing our relations as a people By Asad Latif HEART TO HEART MY COLLEAGUE M.R. Narayan Swamy paid a moving tribute to Singaporean generosity last week when he wrote of his experience of being a volunteer collecting relief material for earthquake victims in Gujarat. 'In just two hours, the main entrance to the Ang Mo Kio MRT station resembled the perennially chaotic New Delhi railway station,' he said, describing the scene on Saturday, Feb 3, when he was among volunteers at Ang Mo Kio. 'Piled up near the stairs was a mountain of plastic bags and sacks. There was a constant swarm of people, and a general air of disorder and excitement.' 'Although the drive had not been very well-publicised, the outpouring of sympathy was astounding,' he remarked, adding that 150 tonnes of material had been collected in about 12 hours at the four designated MRT stations, including Ang Mo Kio, instead of the expected 30 tonnes. The benefactors ranged from a woman who donated 1,000 kg of rice; to a poorly-dressed elderly man, who gave 10 kg of rice; to a teenaged girl who offered the contents of her piggy bank but had to be informed that the volunteers were not collecting money, but only goods. That is not the whole story, however. Mr Narayan Swamy, an Indian national, wrote: 'True, Indian nationals also came. But the overwhelming majority of the donors were Singaporeans of all races - generous and always willing to share, even for a place they may not have heard of before it was hit by the worst earthquake in the Indian subcontinent in 50 years.' 'There were hundreds of them - men, women and children,' he said, referring to people who had come to make donations, as well as those who had come to volunteer their time at the collection point. As a Singaporean, I am proud of the fellow citizens whom my Indian colleague praises, but I am also humbled by his observant reminder of the multi-racial underpinnings of generosity in Singapore. Why am I humbled? It is because his re- port on the outpouring of support, cutting across racial and religious lines, affirms the multi-racial nature of Singapore, a reality that is sometimes in danger of being obscured by the role of ethnicity in the collective life of Singaporeans. From the identity embodied in identity cards which mention race, to the presence of self-help groups to serve racial communities, ethnicity plays a crucial role in the self- definition of Singapore. I admit that it is futile to ignore the reality of race. The self-help groups, for example, have genuinely improved the lives of their communities, contributing thereby to improving the lives of Singaporeans in general. Some of their success comes, no doubt, from their closeness to the concerns and the aspirations of the races they serve. The larger point is that Singapore's model of race relations is commendable. Chinese, Malays, Indians and others are allowed to be themselves. One alternative to this approach would have been racial assimilation. The question, then, would have been: Which race should assimilate the others? Given the logic of numbers, the answer would have pointed to the Chinese, but the other races would have resisted assi- milation by the majority community, and naturally so. By contrast, multi- racial integration gives the races space to be themselves while encouraging them to develop overlapping areas that allow the races to live, work and play together. The merits of this approach are apparent in the racial tolerance that prevails today. Every Singaporean can take pride in this achievement. That said, what is necessary is to move from tolerance to greater understanding, friendship and trust. That goal calls for greater momentum in defining the fundamentals of Singapore's collective life in terms that acknowledge the reality of ethnicity but try to transcend it. What lends urgency to the goal is that, globally, peace, tolerance and understanding are by no means guaranteed among the international races and relig- ions represented in Singapore. All that Singaporeans can do, within the frontiers of this country, is to try and ensure that any clash of racial and religious civilisations does not destroy our space on earth, our home called Singapore. Mr Narayan Swamy's article was a reassuring commentary on what makes us Singaporeans. The fact that citizens of all races participated in the relief effort for an overseas community, one related to a minority within a minority here - as Gujaratis are among ethnic Indians in Singapore - reiterated that what makes us Singaporeans is not that we come from China, India, Malayan South-east Asia or elsewhere, but that we are here. And shall always be. The cynic may argue that occasional shows of generosity - when disasters have struck Turkey, Taiwan and now India - do not add up to a truly multi-racial spirit of caring. By their very nature, the disasters are exceptions, and so the response to them is exceptional as well, they may say. This is a dim view to take. How would Singaporeans have felt had the response to the plea for help for Gujarat come largely from Indian Singaporeans and Indian nationals? By contrast, when Singaporeans of all races showed their humanitarian side, they made a statement about the nature of Singapore. Let this spirit persevere, not only when Singaporeans respond to calamities abroad, but also when we are in a position to help those within our borders who need our help, whatever race or religion they may be. Generosity will cement our relations as a people, as it shows others that we are a single people.

  
  
  
• [^9]

  我国华人并没有像从英国移民去，美国、纽西兰、澳洲及加拿大的白人移民（或盎格鲁.撒克逊人）那样，强制用本身的族群语文（还有文化和宗教？）做为国家的语文（和主导的文化和宗教？）。这是所有英语化或讲英语的新加坡人，该弄清楚的事实。所以新加坡人所念的国家信约，其中的“......誓愿不分种族、语言、宗教(regardless of race, language or religion)......”，它的意境是和外国人所理解的方式不同的！