Transcribed & Translated by Dan Feng/
A police report was lodged against Mr Wang Peng Fei on 24th July 2011 for allegedly uttering racist remarks against Singapore women in a self-made video clip posted on YouTube. After learning about the police report, Mr Wang fled Singapore and returned to China. He was also expelled by the East Asia School of Business for his act.
Appended below is the translated transcript of the video clip.
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They say coming to Singapore is the f**king path to good fortune. Why is it the f**king path to good fortune?
You sign an indenture to sell yourself. Sometimes you sign away six years of your life, sometimes three. You graduate and you can’t leave. Aren’t there cases like that?
Is electricity free here? It’s sweltering outside and one wishes one could be topless but they wear sweaters at the drop of a hat. Here, they wear quilted jackets to the office. They wear a downcoat when it’s 32 degrees Celcius. Come see if this is the case in Singapore.
Singlish is a language on its own. For over 20 years, I have studied English, Chinese, Japanese and French and I can’t use any of those languages here. Mandarin, Cantonese, Teochew, Hakka, Hokkien, Indian, Malay and English have all been combined into a unique language [in Singapore].
Over here, they don’t say someone is plump or someone is tall. Instead, they say that he is “dazhi” (big-sized).
They don’t say “gongzuo” (working) but insist on saying “zuogong” (do work). They ask you every day, where do you “zuogong”? I’m a person of culture for heaven’s sake. I’m not a coolie. I don’t “zuogong”.
They don’t call sea snails “hailuo” but call them “lala”…no they call them “gonggong”. They don’t call clams “xiazi” but call them “lala”. [In China,] father is called “gonggong” and mother is called “lala”. How can I eat them?
They pronounce 3 as “tree”. The say “one, two, tree”. Just like how we say “chuiling”.
Instead of calling 3:10 “sandian shifen”, they call it “sandian lianggezi”.
[short indecipherable sentence]
When you take the MRT, you ask them “Where’s the subway?” and they think you want a sandwich. You must ask “Where’s the MRT?”.
Is this the first time I’m in a foreign country? When I want a taxi I ask for a “dishi” and nobody understands me. They tell me it’s called a “deshi”. F** that.
And when you finally board the “deshi”, the “deshi uncle” asks you: Where are you from? You are from China? China is poor. Do you have houses there? Do you get enough to eat? F*** that. Did your grandfather not come from China? He probably came to Nanyang to be a coolie. No wonder you say “zuogong” instead of “gongzuo”.
Can’t you see that I am so “dazhi”? Love is forever, being plump is just a temporary thing. I want to become the ray of light shining on all the fatties of the world.
Singapore is like a little United Nations. On this small island are people of different skin colours and different faiths. Here’s a fair-skinned girl showing her long slim legs. There goes a dark-skinned girl showing her white teeth. There comes an Indian girl showing her fingers [unclear section]. They have that smell and then they put on perfume. Am I right?
I say to the Malay girl. Why are you so dark? So…what is this…[checks something next to screen] Why are you so dark, with such pale legs, such white teeth, and you smell of birds? Perhaps you’re just good for bearing children. You have one, and then another. Are you unsure of your childbearing ability unless you go out with at least four children in tow? You’re giving the Lee dynasty a headache don’t you know? The Chinese here don’t even have one child, and over there, you’re bearing one child after another.
Although Singapore has many races, you should know how to co-exist peacefully. They cane people here, but it’s not S&M. You may be M but you won’t be able to take it. The first stroke breaks the skin, the second breaks the flesh, the third reveals your bone and by the fourth you’re all helpless.
Cigarettes in Singapore are ten times the price of other places. Let’s not talk about this for now but can you please change the photos printed on the cigarette packs? If it’s not rotting body parts, it’s dead babies. Even non-smokers get turned off looking at this.
As for the good food in Singapore…f’**k that. When I want sliced fish soup, I have to choose from 48 possible combinations. With milk or without? Thick vermicelli or thin? Flat noodles or skinny ones? Extra fish slices or fish head? Have some chicken rice. You can have chicken rice, duck rice, char siew rice or braised pork rice. Breast, drumstick or thigh? With bone or without? I’ll starve to death before I finish ordering. But Singapore is such a pluralistic society.
Wahlau! It’s really hard being a Chinese newcomer in Singapore.
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This article first appeared in New Asia Republic. We thank NAR for allowing us to reproduce it in full here.
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@Jimmy song
Most of what this guy said is true does not mean that he can make a video to say what he said, particularly about our fellow Malay citizens.
I want to hear the pap government’s views on this matter. I am quite sure if this video was made by a Singapore citizen, we will hear from the government within days if not hours.
For now, their silence is deafening.
@cancer spread to aljunied,
Do u dare to say the education system has failed to teach people to speak properly?
Well, to be unbiased, citizens really has it coming.
Come on, lets be blunt and honest.
Do you think FTs do not know the problem with Singaporean mentality that they are scared of this and that, don’t dare to fart a dissent, don’t dare to complain politics and don’t dare to anyhow vote?
We really deserve to be criticised. Some never dare to utter disapproval their whole life by Self Censoring.
1st world,
Well-educated or Regurgitated,
Well-travelled but still
a singaporean.
@ cancer spread to aljunied;
Since u are so persistent on your rant abt singaporeans needing to improve their Chinese, Based on your posts so far I think what u shld do as a good example first is to improve ur English grammar…
Or to make things easier perhaps u shld change ur nick to: “Ye olde proverbial pot calling thy kettle black”..
@e_nonymus
I’m sorry if I don’t share the same view as you do, but this article struck me as a good opportunity for reasoned debate rather than a sensationalist’s idea of heaven. This piece incites many much-needed questions — are Singaporeans so overcome by xenophobia that they will not stand for even constructive criticism from foreigners? are Malays all what this PRC perceive them to be? Even the discussion on Singlish can be refreshing: is it accepted, is it not? Would we want Singlish as a branded culture or is it a blemish on the face of our nation?
So you see, to disapprove discourse of such nature is akin to burying your head in the sand. I believe that this community is mature enough to give this discussion the reasoned edge it deserve.
Lastly, I think the title is splendid.
Well, actually I am quite amused by this clown parodying our local accents. To be frank, I d’ont speak Queen’s English, like Tancho Tan. This clown is idiotic to make such a video at a time when anti-PRC sentiments are so high. I kind of pity him as the mob have lynched him.
I d’ont understand his speech at all as my Chinese conssits of only 3 or 4 words. But the translation above does not seem to contain any rabidly racist content.
This is a SATIRE and Singaporeans are not getting it because they are only exposed to lousy slapstick and so called comedies all their lives. It is a bloody parody, and why is it not ok for foreigners to laugh at us? This is so PAP mentality: foreign praises are great but anything else, no thank you. Him being kicked out of NTU is merely a result of an uptight culture and narrow education system we have in Singapore, and of course, part of xenophobia as a result of the messed up FT policies. Seriously…
I’m Indian, I don’t see a single thing said by him is anything offending. If you don’t trust me, there is a ‘Travel channel’ in Mio TV, they show some tourist destination about India and an angmoh guy who’s the show host. He did a program couple of weeks back about Agra and the Taj City and about ‘Taj Mahal’. You should take a look at the program he literally condemn everything, from food to culture to people about Agra and he even condemn about the ‘Taj’!! Wah Taj the pride of India!! He went to a local food stall and order the food he asked the waiter did you wash your hand? He was telling your food stinks..everybody was just laughing at him and forced the food in his mouth.
My wife and I were laughing to death seeing his comments..take it easy, when you think you are pluralistic take it in the spirit of pluralism. Even if someone say you are nasty but if you know you aren’t there isn’t any reason to react or even if you react that doesn’t mean you have to put the person through such a trouble that he has to run away from Singapore..that’s definitely not cool.
Can we all be less sensitive and respect free speech? This is not a tenth as bad as the bloggers who were charged with sedition a few years ago,
is there free speech in singapore? tell me more about it. at least we dont say touch on sensitive issue regarding other races culture and behaviour. that is the respect we had for each other here in singapore. i go australia and the first thing ppl greet me is ” good die” , meaning ” good day”, maybe they are right and we might be wrong.
if i go china, the guest treat me dishes that is beyond my imagination such as snakes, rabbit, worms, etc. i would politely reject and not make a big deal by saying ” these are stone age food, are china that poor”? come on, we should have basic respect for your host country. do what the romans do in rome.
i dont like these kind of foreigners. dont like our country, anytime just pack your bags and leave. i am not as tolerant as our MIW.
So what if he insults Singapore or Singaporeans. Singaporeans do that too.
@ zulu:
On a holistic level, what you say is worth considering.
The question of singlish is nonsensical I’ve seen people from Ireland, Scotland & even within England (Newcastle) whose accent’s are horrible and you probably need a translator. Singlish is no better or worse than English spoken in Malaysia, China & India. Even within China the accepnts between Beijing & Shanghai are different & people from both cities grumble at the other.
I do not think Singaporeans as xenophobic (not yet..), but the reaction surprises me. I would still classify this as a case of over reaction In any other country, the incident would have been dismissed as nonsense not worthy of second thought.
Every person has a conceptual idea of a foreign national and when they actually visit the country, the relaity may be different. It’s how you adapt. Belittling a culture with petty distinctions just showcases your own deficiencies.
At the moment when Singaporeans are so angry at the PAP’s FT policy, a video produced by a so-called FT intentionally making fun of Singaporeans is asking for trouble. His jeering way of speaking, coupled with the idiotic make up is also in bad taste. His posting it on Youtube is sheer lunacy, and suicidal. It indicates this chap’s insensitivity and lack of EQ.
However, I personally d’ont find it so offensive that we should take up arms, hang or banish the guy. But the authorities have acted, so I think we can leave it there. It is not necessary to inflame this and provoke an attack on other PRCs or other FTs. Given the current highly charged environment against FTs, my view is probably in the minority, and I risked being flamed myself for not flogging this PRC.
I don’t see what was so horrible that he had to be lynched online, to the extent that he ran back to China.
It just expressed his observations about Singapore in a highly satirical manner (and some parts in my view were quite funny!)
Just too bad that he is a PRC. If he were an angmoh, maybe he could have gotten away with it.