On 25 October 2015, renowned Taiwanese writer Professor Lung Yingtai presented at the 2015 UniSIM Cultural China Public Lecture jointly organised by Business China, UniSIM and Lianhe Zaobao. Her keynote lecture revolved around the theme of “From Village to Metropolis: My Cultural Experience”, and attracted a grand turnout of 1600 readers and fans in attendance.
In her 2-hour sharing, she drew on her personal experiences of growing up in a rural village in Tainan, and how Taiwan’s socio-economic transition inspired the awakening of the grassroots communities in embracing their own vernacular culture. Illustrating her points using some of her most personal photographs, Professor Lung shared her own observations of the differing cultural values between the east and the west.
One key insight of the lecture was Professor Lung’s definition of “happiness”. In her opinion, happiness of the rural area indicates happiness of the nation, it is when a country’s infrastructure, human rights, justice and social welfare has successfully percolated to the bottom of the society that the nation and its people can be considered truly happy.
During the Q&A session, the floor was abuzzed with questions on culture, education and entertainment. In one of her responses, Professor Lung mentioned that even though the use of English as the lingua franca is central to Singapore’s success, mastering the Chinese language and the strengthening of cultural roots should be an important project for Singapore for the next 50 years.
The UniSIM Cultural China Public Lecture series is jointly organised by Business China, Lianhe Zaobao and UniSIM. The series aim to invite international speakers, experts and professionals to present different facets of Contemporary China, thereby promoting understanding of China’s opportunities, challenges and hopes.
Photo Credit: UniSIM