Speaking
during a dialogue on the future of China, he claimed that
standards of Chinese who tried to hone their English in China
remained “woefully” low without substantiating them.
“If you learn (English) in China, just like the Koreans,
you speak to each other in incorrect English, and you won’t make
much progress,” he added.
It is not known if there are any Koreans in the audience and
they are offended by Lee’s remarks.
Though Korea may have a lower standard of English than
Singapore, it is among the twenty most advanced economies in the
world with a GDP several times that of Singapore.
Furthermore, the standards of English in Singapore has slipped
lately with the relentless influx of foreigners from non-English
speaking countries such as China.
Only one in three foreigners pass a Service Literacy Test
conducted recently, an indication of the appalling standards of
staff working in the service industry.
A former Prime Minister, Lee continues to wield considerable
influence in the Singapore cabinet at 86 years of age.
By Lee’s own admission, he is not doing much work lately except
doing “forecasting” which cost Singapore taxpayers some $3 million
dollars annually.
Unfortunately, his “forecasts” are almost always wrong.
