Recently, a friend invited me to have lunch with an American professor who has been teaching in China for a long time.The professor visited Singapore for two days and wanted to communicate with several Singaporean youths who were interested in Southeast Asia, China and the world situation.I agreed without hesitation.
He shared his life in the city under the zero policy of the Chinese crown disease and the experience of working in China, and we all heard it.He said a word that impressed me: "Although I am proud of myself as Americans, I am ashamed of Americans' ignorance of foreign countries and the world."
For example, he said that there was a U.S. expert on the world map and marked China on red, but leaked Hainan Island.He went on to say, "I admit that many people in the United States really don't know enough about the world." This sentence suddenly made me think that in fact, Singaporean youths also have similar phenomena.
A few months ago, I went to Jakarta, Indonesia for three months. After returning to China, I found that friends generally have no specific understanding of Indonesia.The distance from Bali is closer than Jakarta.(Press: Singapore to Jakarta for about an hour and a half; flying to Bali is about two and a half hours).My Indonesian friend said, "It's okay, let's see your friends come to Indonesia next time!"
In the context of turbulent world turbulence, if people are indifferent to foreign situations, holding a backward attitude or maintaining inherent prejudice will be worrying.At the beginning of October, the haze covered Lion City. Many people may directly think that "it is Indonesia to burn the Baya again", and some people restart the irony website of "thanks to Indonesia for providing clean air".
However, if you look at the haze topic from another angle, you will find that in addition to the drought weather caused by the burn, the drought weather caused by the warmth of the climate, and the dilemma of Indonesia's law enforcement, it is the root cause of the haze that cannot be resolved as soon as possible.Fortunately, the countries of Asians are not lacking in mutual trust and are trying to curb cross -border haze pollution through diplomatic mechanisms.
Taking the recent conflict of Harbin as an example, two camps have been formed on the Internet. People may fall to the ground because of their personal perception.The cause of the outbreak is not black and white.With no mutual trust foundation, the outbreak of the war once again pushed the grievances of the two sides to the abyss.The conflict of Harbin is warning us that if we lack mutual trust with each other and do not try to communicate, they will only deepen misunderstandings and lead to conflict.In the face of sensitive political and religious issues, it is necessary to be courageous and wisdom to solve it.
Singapore's foreign policy has always been based on international law to build a good relationship with countries around the world.The peaceful dividends after World War II have gradually dissipated politics and gradually became tension. Singapore was even more important to establish and maintain mutual trust with other countries in troubled times.However, the establishment of mutual trust cannot rely on the government and diplomats alone. The people are also spokespersons for the country. They should do their best to establish mutual trust with foreign friends, enhance understanding, and reduce unnecessary misunderstandings and conflicts.
Rather than mocking, it is better to try to understand the dilemma of other countries; instead of thinking that foreign conflicts are not related to their own, try to understand the lessons of conflict to bring us; instead of considering that other countries are boring, it is better to open up the implicit significance behind it.This must work together to work together for world peace and stability.
The author is a second -year student of the National University of Humanities and Sciences of the National University of Singapore
