I attended a closed-door dialogue with Minister Chan Chun Sing today, and it was truly a beneficial 3 full solid hours of discussion on a broad range of issues. The 3 hours made me think alot on the issues and had me taking stands in my heart.
The variety of questions was exciting: social media & censorship; defamation suits; MOE cash incentives for character values; defence spendings; minority rights and issues; xenophobia and immigration policies; building an inclusive society; social entrepreneurship; lowering of voting age; $1.1b subsidy for privatised transport companies; political education for students; capital punishment, etc. A total of 13 controversial and sensitive issues were raised.
It was really engaging and I admired how he took in all the arrows at one shot, and then targetted the issues one by one. I was convinced by some arguments, but not for others. But it really made me think. The session did send a strong message: to be practical and not live in an ideological world. And one inspiration that I gained from the session, is that I need to get to know my own community better, if I were really going to contribute back to the society in future.
Though the 3 hours were way longer than was intended, it was nevertheless insufficient if a fully expanded in-depth discussion was to develop on each topic. But I admit I gained alot from it, and will continue to pay attention to issues that relate to our nation-building.
He posed some rhetorical questions that I couldn't give an answer immediately. Probably one day I will.
人生是黑白的.
12:07 AM <3
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