Ensuring a smooth change in political leadership a challenge
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Ensuring a smooth change in political leadership a challenge: SM Goh
By Channel NewsAsia's Glenda Chong | Posted: 09 April 2010 2315 hrsSINGAPORE: Ensuring a smooth change in political leadership is a challenge both Singapore and China faces said Singapore Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.
This is one of many topics which Mr Goh discussed with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on Friday.
Both leaders were meeting on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference.
Fresh from his induction as a board member of the prestigious Boao Forum, Singapore Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong met Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping.
Both acknowledged the strong ties between their countries which celebrate 20 years of diplomatic bilateral ties this year.
Singapore and China also face similar challenges, a key one being leadership renewal.
Mr Goh said: "I had discussed with him leadership identification and development, something which is very close to the heart of Singapore leaders which he is in-charge of.
“So he is very keen on further co-operation and how we can identify leaders and nurture them. And this is a strength of both China and Singapore. We go out of our way to identify potential leaders and get them in young, train them, groom them and development them into national leaders."
Mr Goh noted that China and Singapore have different ways of identifying future leaders and this was where they could learn from each other.
Mr Goh said: "Theirs in a sense is more systematic. They have the cadre system for many years and people join the communist party and they are spotted and groomed. Their system in a sense is closed. You have to be a member first. But in their case, they have millions of members so they have a choice.
“In our case, we can't identify leaders from the party. No matter how many we have is still in terms of thousands. In our case it's national. We go out of way to look for people in Singapore, whatever and wherever they are.”
The Boao Forum is being held in Hainan Province and the southern island has recently attracted much attention especially after the Chinese Central Government announced it will be transformed into an international tourism destination by 2020.
Mr Goh said understanding what the strategy is for the development of Hainan island is beneficial to Singapore."
SM Goh added: "I was interested in understanding what the strategy and the masterplan is. They do have a master-plan for the whole Hainan island not just tourism masterplan but the masterplan involving industries, services, agricultural and so on.
“And we are interested because Hainan could be a potential source of tropical produce for us. So if we can have another source of food for us, it is better for our security."
The Boao Forum that Mr Goh is attending brings together leaders, businessmen and experts in Asia, to share visions on the most pressing issues in the world today. - CNA/vm
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Ensuring a smooth change in political leadership is a challenge both Singapore and China faces said Singapore Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.
So does this mean we no longer need to have elections?
