On February 16, around 4,000 Singaporeans staged a rally in Speakers' Corner of Hong Lim Park, the only venue where political speech and rallies are allowed in Singapore.

This rally was the largest in recent Singaporean history, and it showed the strong popular dissatisfaction with the white paper on population that was launched in late January, which proposes increasing the population by 30 percent to 6.9 million by 2030.

In particular, the Singapore government considers bringing in new immigrants an important strategy to offset the low local fertility rate.

This rare mass rally has drawn a lot of attention, both domestically and internationally.

Singaporeans are worried about rising living costs and higher pressures from the increased population. Anti-immigration sentiments have become more visible recently, particularly aimed at immigrants from the Chinese mainland.

Culture shock is one of the major reasons.

In the past years, there had been several high-profile incidents including a notorious Ferrari accident, Chinese students attacking Singaporeans on social media, and immigrants from the mainland complaining about the local food culture, which have led to rising anti-mainland sentiment in Singapore.

The conflicts between local Singaporeans and immigrants from the Chinese mainland are growing, thanks to daily incidents such as Chinese speaking too loud on the subway or in other public places.

Furthermore, a large number of immigrants or investors from the mainland have purchased a large number of houses in Singapore, which has pushed up local housing prices and living costs. Their arrival has not resolved local labor problems, but added to local woes and the burden of a populated island.

Anti-mainland emotions appears time to time, caused by some particular incidents. It is not surprising to see such feelings in this protest. And the sense of insecurity is also one of the reasons.

As the locals said, they feel insecure and threatened about the future, and this makes them oppose the immigration plan.

As people from the Chinese mainland are the majority of immigrants, the mainland has easily become the target of Singaporean anger.

But meanwhile, although there are some negative comments or stereotypes specifically aimed at mainland immigrants, most locals are still very friendly to immigrants from the mainland, as well as from other regions.

The Singaporean government has to learn how to integrate the new immigrants into local community and give them a sense of belonging.

Conflicts between locals and new immigrants happened occasionally.

Singaporeans have no interest in attacking any specific group, but are only upset with the people who disrupt their normal lives.

As a country of immigrants, the plural society is a symbol of Singapore. Unlike similar countries, natural resources, particularly land, in Singapore are extremely limited, and population is a real problem.

In this context, the government has to figure out how to fulfill anticipated goals.

People's anxiety and displeasure need to be understood, while Singaporeans also need to show more patience as this is a transitional period for the country.

Nevertheless, it is unwise to take more furious actions, as the international community has an eye on Singapore now.

The development of Singapore highly depends on the outside world, and its image of stability and harmony is the backbone.

The Singapore government needs to deeply understand how impatient and frustrated Singaporeans feel, not only about the white paper, but also about their authoritarian governance.

The rally is a reasonable outlet to air people's dissatisfaction and show their opinions about the population plan. Besides, the rally might be a clear signal for the Singapore government to see how desperately change is needed.



The author is a research analyst at the S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies of Nanyang Technological University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn