Li Shengwu is the grandson of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. He has been ranked the top debater at the world’s biggest debating tournament, beating more than 700 others to be ranked number one. Mr Li, who turns 25 this year, is currently pursuing graduate study in economics at Oxford University. The motion of the debate was “The media should show the horrors of war” while Shengwu was on the proposition team.
Update: The original video has been replaced with one of better resolution and higher audio quality
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The media should show the horrors of PAP – Li Shengwu opposition team?
Li Shengwu – Mee Siam Mai Hum? Cheaper Better Faster? HDB very affordable? I feel very rich?
I used to do debating spars with Shengwu when I was in JC. He’s pretty good all right.
Most of the debating fraternity in Singapore would regard many of the comments on this thread as vile and ignorant of what it takes to be a first rate gabbler on the national, let alone international debating circuit. Debating is a rather academic activity – I can assure you that it is futile to deduce any political sympathies from grand speeches debaters make in debating tournaments. If you train to debate in tournaments, you are trained to argue for causes you may have no truck with, and you set your speeches up in such a way as to capture the maximum number of points in that tournament. In other words, debating tournaments are games with their own rules.
Have a good weekend everyone.
Desmond
///RED-man I have no idea what the crap you are blabbering.///
If you have no idea what I am blabbering about, how do you determine it is crap? Please don’t be a moron.
If you really have problem with this. Well, you can always have a choice of not reading my comment. Are you gulity of ass licking the LEEs?
Referring to XP
///and what i see is a bright, eloquent, civilized young man gifted in the area of speech and the art of debate.///
Remember this, this is what you see and you do not represent the rest of the people. Just like you do not need to agree with what we have said.
If TOC is so bad as most of you (lick the ass of LEEs) had claimed. You can alway boycott this blog don’t you? Why are you so concern with what we think about him, when his grandfather only think Singaporean are stupid lots. If Li Shengwu is so gifted, how debate with his grandfather if Singaporean are stupid?
Let’s give Li shengwu a head start in order to win the debate with his grandfather. Who build Singapore? Him alone?
Referring to XP
///and what i see is a bright, eloquent, civilized young man gifted in the area of speech and the art of debate.///
Remember this, this is what you see and you do not represent the rest of the people. Just like you do not need to agree with what we have said.
If TOC is so bad as most of you (lick the ass of LEEs) had claimed. You can alway boycott this blog don’t you? Why are you so concern with what we think about him, when his grandfather only think Singaporean are stupid lots. If Li Shengwu is so gifted, how about debate with his grandfather if Singaporean are stupid?
Let’s give Li shengwu a head start in order to win the debate with his grandfather. Who build Singapore? Him alone?
Btw, do you know what ShengWu in Chinese mean, win with force! Very much in line with the LEEs blood line indeed.
come on lah guys, give this guy a break lah. whoever his father, his uncle, his auntie, his grandfather is, dis-associate him from them and we can be proud of his achievements.
look at it from the angle that he is a singaporean. and it is singapore that matters.
I almost choked laughing watching the video. So cheesy. So wayang (kulit). No doubt, LSW will have a good career at the Substation, or as a shadow puppeteer.
What is the point of been the top debater when one comes back to Singapore to become brain-dead YES-man ? Just ask Vivian Balakrishnan who is once a top debater (and perhaps still is the top debater when it comes to giving nonsense and excuse).
@146
post #142 on January 9th, 2010 1.18 am
//// Don’t blame him for his relatives misdoings. Thank you.////
1st off, its sad that he’s guilty by association (just like its sad that child from poor families need to put up with more hardship). 2nd, until he (or the rest of the next gen) has done toright the wrong, he will be judged in his parents shadow.
that is the burden of being the offspring of powerful, rich or famous people? there are expectations…
-> Can you blame a murderer’s misdeeds on his son? And how do you want him to right the wrong at his age, may I ask? He is not interested in politics and more interested in academics as mentioned. By your logic, all rich singaporeans’ children are guilty of not doing enough cos the poor singaporean’s children must put up with more hardship. Why must he right his relatives wrong? He has done do wrong and if being borned into a privilged family is a crime, then I must say your sense of justice is perverse. Let everyone who did wrong do right his own action. BTW, I dislike the PAP as much as u do but by no means I extrapolate a person’s crimes/misdoings to his sons/grandsons/nephew unless proven otherwise.
@146
post #142 on January 9th, 2010 1.18 am
//// Don’t blame him for his relatives misdoings. Thank you.////
1st off, its sad that he’s guilty by association (just like its sad that child from poor families need to put up with more hardship). 2nd, until he (or the rest of the next gen) has done toright the wrong, he will be judged in his parents shadow.
that is the burden of being the offspring of powerful, rich or famous people? there are expectations…
-> Can you blame a murderer’s misdeeds on his son? And how do you want him to right the wrong at his age, may I ask? He is not interested in politics and more interested in academics as mentioned. By your logic, all rich singaporeans’ children are guilty of not doing enough cos the poor singaporean’s children must put up with more hardship. Why must he right his relatives wrong? He has done no wrong and if being borned into a privilged family is a crime, then I must say your sense of justice is perverse. Let everyone who did wrong do right his own action. BTW, I dislike the PAP as much as u do but by no means I extrapolate a person’s crimes/misdoings to his sons/grandsons/nephew unless proven otherwise.
It is the reality Li Shengwu has to face, he will always be the grandson of LKY.
While i do not agree with some comments that suggest Li won because of some possible influence, I actually find his style of talking way too fast for me.
LKY in his younger days would beat Li hands down and on a much bigger stage.
I see a lesson for Li Shengwu if he happens to read the ongoing exchanges.
Ask himself why so many netizens see no cause to celebrate his achievement as world’s best debater ? It is important because he has a long future ahead of him and if he is really that good as some claim him to be, then Li ought to know that action speaks louder than words…. always ! And Li only has to look at his grandpa to understand what I am talking about. By the way, it takes honesty to see what grandpa and his system is doing to the country.
Frankly I am also one of those who have no cause to celebrate Li’s achievement,
I rather let him know that his victory does not translate into anything positive for many Sporeans facing much hardship at this moment.
Being witty, clever at talking, knowledgeable in economics means little if one does not apply his talent to help fellow Sporeans.
RED-Man
So I made the choice to read your comments, a couple actually- problem is- I am having trouble understanding what you have been trying very hard to express. Good try though. These smart people here could use some plebeian entertainment.
“Being witty, clever at talking, knowledgeable in economics means little if one does not apply his talent to help fellow Sporeans. ”
You are right boy. this is something a lot of people tend to forget when they get too carried away. clever and knowledgeable for whom ? we already have more of such in our elitist hamlet, do we need to have more ?
cause for celebration ? i would rather do so for a much lesser event like our all-locals lions winning a football against any state in Malaysia.
LOL
post #161 on January 9th, 2010 12.43 pm
wait wait. i am not judging LSW, but am pointing to how are viewed. maybe LSW need not right his relative’s wrong, but being relative blood is thicker than water. he may need that extra effort to distant himself.
btw, if TOC did not publicise this article i wun even know who he is. lol….
i think there is alittle misunderstanding here, hope to clear the air. i am not in any way branding him as an MIW. but his victory brings little cheer to me, at least.
what i am saying is some people judge by who the person is linked (guanxi? chinese term for relation), some others by their past deeds (think LKY’s past). i prefer to see them for who they are. & i hope my posts here thus far is evidence enough i bear no hatred for him.
///Gosh I can’t believe the crap that’s spouting from all your ignorant minds. We were all given a fair chance in school, if you didn’t hack it- that’s coz you didn’t have it. Work harder lah!///
aiyoh, y like that leh. this is the problem about human nature. guilt by association. ain’t your incumbent friends (assuming lah) have their straight-jacket negative view on the opposition ppl right. so fair game right ? nah ?
hey i am not saying this is right. about the ignorant minds you are talking about, maybe they are not be so ignorant at all if you meet all these people in real lives.
could this be karma ? we could argue until the cow comes home and starts laying eggs (like mee siam mai hum) and there will be still ppl who will never give him the honor no matter how good he is cos they are not the judges over there at the debating championship but they can be judges here in their own way.
important lesson for people, if you want respect, you need to give others respect and therefore earn it back for yourself and who knows your loved ones also. else this cycle of unpleasant tick-for-tack will continue for a long time. history has told us that some dirty linen will get washed years, decades or even centuries down the road.
Refer to Desmond:
///Good try though. These smart people here could use some plebeian entertainment.///
Well, smart people always have the difficulty of understanding common people (No doubt about it) and that is why they call themselve “elities” I suppose.
Then again if the so called “smart” people cannot understand the common people like us. We should ask if they are eally that smart? By your logic, maybe our uncles and aunties should go to university first before our “elities” can understand them better.
I cannot say less that your comment is equally entertaining too.
Did anyone make any donations to Oxford????
to 168),
for significant amount, it is best to check with uncle Ah Loong and auntie Ho,
or is it uncle Ho and auntie Ah Loong ?
RED-man
post #167 on January 9th, 2010 7.31 pm
////Well, smart people always have the difficulty of understanding common people (No doubt about it) and that is why they call themselve “elities” I suppose.////
well, we can have smart but not that well educated people, & well educated people who are not smart?
yeah, i have difficulty understanding why the well educated can’t understand simplier minded people like me also….
165) mice is nice
Peace=)
Dig into this smart people, I hope 2009 is a good year for:
-GIC stands to lose S$800 million-
///Well, it wasn’t hard to see this coming. But take heart, fellow citizens: despite our tiny size, we are at the forefront of one of the most damaging financial tsunamis about to hit the world in 2010.///
it is actually very hard for some smart people to see this coming actually.
If only the debating topics is about free of speech, monopolizing media, true democracy, then it will be a nice to hear what MM’s grandson has to say.
Can someone suggest the topics to the organizers?
LSW’s speech was not a political rally. Please get your focus right.
When one compares him with the young generation in the opposition camp, one would wonder why the latter bother to put in deposits to stand for election. They are simply out-class!
Trained in Oxford; ranked as the world’s top debater; coming from a fine family background. It will be a shame if existing ministers do not have the courage to propose him as member for the PAP and be ear-marked for future ministerial position!
Yo Oxford Dude
If LSW is not about political, probably he is not old fart grandson.
Or you seriously think we care If he got champion or not for the debate? LOL
Stop calling him the “world’s top debater”. It is just a debating competing between some english speaking some schools across some parts of the globe. Try debating me in chukchi, I’ll show you who’s the boss.
oxford dude,
Li Shengwu’s speech is overhyped lah, definitely for certain type of western audience and only they can appreciate how he talks and gesticulate.
Very likely only the english speaking elitist types can relate to his performance.
I concur with 177) , not world’s top debater to lesser mortals, dude.
It’s saddening to see comments made by most ppl in online citizen I dunno y some sgreans are like… Like to criticize ppl when they themselves do not even have the capability…. Does this young man deserve all these lashing just because he is “someone’s grandchild” . Because he is someone’s grandson he does not deserve the credit that he has earned.. Haiz,….if it was someone else it would be a different story….. .Online citizen really show me the ugly side of SGreans..
///Trained in Oxford; ranked as the world’s top debater; coming from a fine family background. It will be a shame if existing ministers do not have the courage to propose him as member for the PAP and be ear-marked for future ministerial position!///
In any one year, the number of people with exceptional personalities & qualities from MIT, Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, etc combined far exceed the available members of parliamentary & ministerial positions.
If we were to apply your suggestion and also open up the opportunities to foreigners, then each and everyone of the present incumbent members would have been outclassed if they do not have the luxury to having being graduated from either one of such esteem institutions.
The incumbent & opposition members, who have roughed it out in the real world more than your candidate & possess much valuable tacit experience, may even laugh at your utter simplistic view from such seemingly hasty & premature enthusiasm to propose a person simply on a basis on some academic achievement even without him going through the usual baptism of fire that many have through on the hard reality of life.
///It’s saddening to see comments made by most ppl in online citizen I dunno y some sgreans are like… Like to criticize ppl when they themselves do not even have the capability…. Does this young man deserve all these lashing just because he is “someone’s grandchild” ///
Do not be sad. Learn to accept and manage it as it comes along. Not all people behave the same once their primordial instinct is being intruded & conflicted.
Real people react in this manner and it is normal when there is tension. You do not know why because most of the time we are given pictures whose surface is painted beautifully.
Li Shengwu is arguing for freedom and democracy… “A regime which can be undone by Twitter is one which does not deserve that power in the first place!”
http://vimeo.com/8578976
looks like lsw CANNOT afford to have a tainted image before a possible unveiling of a future leader.
hehehe
lsw is lucky to have very good friends around him and a very supportive online backing.
kekeke
Seriously all of you have to look at this boy as an entity himself and not as LKY’s grandson or LHL’s nephew. I feel he has to deal with so many people who are biased about his relations and take it out on him.
Firstly, I’d like to say that Li Sheng Wu’s performance was excellent. Many of you ask what’s up with that accent and all. But seriously, if it helps him increase style points, by all means use it. Just because he has an accent does not equate to him not being a Singaporean. For all we know, he might speak singlish like any of us. At the same time, his ability to think so quickly is rare. If you noticed, he doesn’t have pauses in between his speech which was not at all slow. I don’t think he deserves for people to judge him about this two more noticeable aspects when he has good content that most people just missed out. If anyone has noticed, he is the BEST SPEAKER, and this is affirmed by renowned judges. For a country with a population of 4.5 million people to produce a winner at a prestigious championship, this is a milestone. Please do not make a mockery of yourself and the debating circuit.
Now i’d like to question what your problem is about LKY. From what I’ve witnessed as a citizen of Singapore. LKY has done many great things. Yes, Singaporeans might have less freedom of expression/speech and many laws to abide by. Perhaps, before all of you continue spamming this blog with ridiculous comments. Ask yourself, how has LKY’s independence affected you. The facts are right in our face whether we want to deny it or not. Without the leadership of LKY, Singapore might not have become what we are. This is a fact. There might have been many great leaders but LKY was the one who united all these great leaders. I cannot deny the contributions of LKY, its as simple as that. He has allowed Singapore to prosper for generations and no one knows Singapore better than him. Perhaps, before we push for change, let’s ask ourselves this. Do we really need it? Is there anyone who will be able to better lead Singapore?
The most important thing Singaporeans should consider is whether our future leaders will be able to lead the country well, even after LKY passes on. Why would we want Change, when we could possibly not benefit from it. We should choose a leader with our minds, and not with our heart. Because sometimes, the heart does not see the most important evidences, as it fervently does not want to. Give credit when it is due, and not when it is not.
Congratulations, Li Shengwu, you have made Singapore proud.
Let’s keep him for Singapore. This is a brilliant chap beating the WORLD. The impressed judges are an international panel.
Unfortunately, he’s on his dad’s scholarship. Right?
1st world city-state. A developed country (Impossible tiny island). Competing globally amongst the 1st league countries.
We have to have such human resource to compensate us for the lack of mineral resources.
May have already been pointed out but LSW’s economic genius comes from his OTHER grandfather, Professor Lim Chong Yah, Singapore’s finest economist.
to 184) Singaporean on 11Jan,
The Royal famiLee says thank you and keep up the effort of speaking up on their behalf. However no worries because they are used to all the grumblers.
Most important of all, the Great Leader is happy to know that you mentioned Spore will not be where it is without his leadership and it is good of you to put it to the grumbling peasants why they need to seek changes when the Great Leader himself has ensured Spore will be led by another “great leader”.
Of course it has to come from the famiLee ! Who else can lead better than PM Lee or take better care of our Billions than Ho Ching ? Afterall the Great Leader himself personally groomed them
and surely we can trust the Great Leader for his incredible foresight , right ?
ps: dear Singaporean, keep up the good work, a Royal Gift awaits you.
183) owayz
In wat way is his image tainted? For winning a debating championship? I do not know him personally but you judge a person by his actions, not by his heritage.
Wow.
Glancing through the comments, opinion on this issue seems split into 2 sides.
One side i think is best epitomised by “175) My Views on January 10th, 2010 3.39 am” who seems to think Mr Li ShengWu is the 2nd coming. As an astute observer of ball-carrying in my NS days, i have to say to My Views that your technique is very impressive. I am awed by your skill.
At the other end of the spectrum are people who think his win is not that impressive upon viewing his performance.
IMHO, i think that as a Singaporean who sees another Singaporean win an international competition should be a source of pride to the nation.
I think that in the small circle of people involved in debating championships that Mr Li ShengWu’s performance can be considered masterly.
So let us find some middle ground here amid all the disagreements and just agree that he is a master debater.
To #180 SINGAPOREAN
So what if he is ranked as the world’s top debater and coming from a ‘fine’ family background ? If he is like his grandpa and just as ruthless and with “you die your business” mentality, Singaporeans will continue to suffer if he takes over the throne.
We need leaders with heart and who care for the citizens, not $$$ suckers who pay themselves millions of dollars and go for cooking lessons in Paris.
We also need capable leaders who can truely manage the country reserves, and not MIT engineers in the ‘fine’ family who have no cow sense in finance and lost billions of the tax payers’ hard earned money !!
Clairvoyance. This crowd hazzit!
///Seriously all of you have to look at this boy as an entity himself and not as LKY’s grandson ///
: by Singaporean
that is obviously for you to say. There is a reason why we common people are call names like “stupid”, “lesser mortal” etc” it is their way to justify themselves as “elities”.
So, are we seeing double standard here? Singaporean? And at this instance he suddenily become a entity? Base on justice and equality you meant? But his grandfather say this is just a aspiration!
Like I said, alot of people would be more excited and proud of if he is a normal Singaporean from a humble family.
In his case and with his background, if he don’t get the champion. He should find a highest building in Singapore and jump down from there!
Beside, how many student from humble background has a living and instance mentor at home to guide him?
So, what’s there to shout about?!
He sounds gay (literally).
He spoke too fast.
His accent is half western half eastern.
He could be articulate but I do not feel his speech as influential.
He may be the champion but … it just a debate.
Nothing to wow at. In fact it’d surprise me if any LEE does not posses a briliant brain & lawyer-like tone.
Singapore future PM? Dun LOL me. LEE will not survive past LHL
Leave the poor chap alone.
I dobut given his world-class capacity & capabilty he needs anyone’s help to succeed.
Moreover, he’s not on government scholarship. Meaning for his talent he can be poached more easily by others.
I always thought he did the Law.
He is not singaporean.
He may be one by birth,
but his life is not one shared by locals.
I doubt he appreciates or understands the life of plebians.
He will probabily be a successful lawyer and future politician who speaketh with a forketh tongueth.
Never trust one who speak too fast.
It’s wrong to say that Shengwu’s speech is one that can only appeal to the elite, and one that cannot be celebrated by Singaporeans because it is high-brow and idealistic.
I guess netizens fail to understand that Shengwu is separate from his grandfather, MM Lee. As a debater and from a perfectly rational standpoint, Shengwu’s speech is almost flawless in terms of logic and style.
It’s saddening to see that his achievements have been decried because due recognition is not given for his talents. In the same vein, we don’t give much credit or recognition to winners of any International Math and Science Olympiad, or World Schools Debating Championships. (WSDC)
Yet we can scream our hearts out for soccer players on the pitch. Yet we can celebrate the achievements of people like Li Jiawei and Feng Tianwei who are not even Singaporean in the first place,and even then belittle this achievement?
Elite or non-elite, rich or poor, politically linked or not, this kind of behaviour is exactly the kind that causes anarchy in society and splits us apart. You might all harbour your own opinions about this piece of news, but derogatory remarks and snide comments are highly uncalled for.
It is highly ironic that one of the fields in which Singapore excels in using local talent is stripped of its glory, and instead treated with derision. For people that say Shengwu doesn’t represent the common man, fine. But neither does Wayne Rooney, and he earns exorbitant wages every week. And why do we Singaporeans still celebrate his achievement, his lifestyle?
I have no idea.
Thumbs up Chinton.
The rest juz whines about his accent, aristocratic association, mannerisms etc. Lame sour grapes people.
I say put down the cynicism and skepticism and cheer us on, whatever bits worth cheering and continually drive ourselves forward.