Singapore has expelled a well-known academic, several months after an ugly family rift among the descendants of its founding father burst into the open.
The city-state is yanking permanent residency for Huang Jing for subversion and meddling in foreign policy, the home office said in a statement on Friday. His wife, Shirley Yang Xiuping, is also banned.
The move comes against the backdrop of a family feud among the descendants of Lee Kuan Yew, the founder of the finance paradise, which has ensnared Lee's son, current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Huang's ouster is stunning, both for the infrequency which Singapore expels foreigners as much as it is who, of all people, the government has chosen to ban.
Meddle in Foreign Policy
Huang is a tenured professor at Singapore's prestigious Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, the university where Asia grooms its future policy-makers, but on Saturday, the university had already scrubbed Huang's name from its website.
Singapore accuses the 60-year-old Chinese-American professor, who has spent most of his career as a linchpin between east and west, of attempting to influence Singapore's foreign policy and sway public opinion towards a foreign government.
«Nonsense» Charges
«This amounts to subversion and foreign interference in Singapore’s domestic politics. Huang’s continued presence in Singapore, and that of his wife, are therefore undesirable,» Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs said.
He and his wife will be permanently banned from returning to Singapore.
In fact, Huang hasn't yet left: the professor told the «South China Morning Post» the charge that he is acting as a foreign agent is «nonsense.»
Respected China Watcher
Huang said that he would first seek legal advice as well as consult with U.S. consular officials.
«My family and my home are all here. I have property in Singapore, too. How can they treat me like this? If they have evidence, they should take me to court,» said Huang, who has not been given a deadline to leave.
He has researched and spoken widely, including to finews.asia, about understanding China in the west, and is a long-time resident of Singapore.
Family Feud
His ouster comes several months after two adult children of city-state founder Lee Kuan Yew publicly accused their older brother, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, of nepotism.
The three siblings had ostensibly buried the feud several weeks ago, though the government's threat to sue a grandson of Lee over comments on social media critical of the government indicates that the dispute has continued out of public view.
Stability Threat
Singapore's stability, one of its most important characteristics and the bedrock of its finance industry and economic prosperity, could be under threat.
The feud has played out as the finance center is also roiled by the billion-dollar graft scandal surrounding Malaysia's 1MDB, which has ensnared domestic and Swiss banks.
