Talking Points

1. Eleanor Wong has given me 10 minutes.
2. David Staples called me yesterday to make a provocative statement.
3. I will try to provoke you in the next 10 minutes. I want to make 3 points.
4. First, we live in the post-Cold War, and post-9-11 world. When the Cold War ended, an American scholar, Francis Fukuyama, propounded a provocative theory. His theory was that, with the end of the Cold War, Western democracy and Western capitalism have prevailed. With the death of communism there is no longer a contest of ideas. In that sense, he argued that history has ended. Another American scholar, Samuel Huntington, subsequently put forward a counter-theory. Hungtington argues that with the Cold War behind us, future wars will be fought along civilizational lines. He painted a scenario of clashes of civilization. My response to Fukuyama and Huntington is that history has not ended but, 9-11 notwithstanding, we are not marching towards a future war between the Christian West and an alliance between militant Islam and an Confucian East.
5. My view is, however, that although we live in a globalized world, globalization of our economies and of technology has not abolished differences between countries and peoples based on their histories and their cultures. My message today to the economists and technologists is that the world is not driven only by economics and technology. It is also driven by history and by culture.
6. Second, I want to make a point which, in the past, had always upset some of my American and European friends. I believe in Asian values. Let me be clear. I do not reject the fact that there are values which are universal. I agree that there are good values and bad values which transcend time and space.
   However, I also believe that just as there are values which unite the European family, derived from the Enlightenment and the Renaissance, there are values which are deeply rooted in many Asian histories and cultures. What are some of these Asian values? They include the importance of the family, the reverance for education, the virtues of frugality, saving and hard work, the importance of team work and the concern for others. One of my American friends has written that the movement for Asian values is an Asian cultural declaration of independence from the alleged domination of American political morality. I want to reassure my American and European friends that when an Asian like me takes pride in my cultural heritage, I am not, explicitly or implicitly, saying that Asian values are superior to Western values or Asian values are good and Western values are bad. My simple thesis is that there are good Asian values and good Western values just as there are bad Asian values and bad Western values. My message to the West is : "Vivre la difference".
7. My third and final point is that Asia is rising. Asia is today the fastest growing region in the world. The region is driven by a sense of optimism, vigour and hope which are the hallmarks of a rising civilization. In 20 years from now, East Asia will have a combined GDP which will exceed those of Europe and America. Culturally, East Asia will enjoy a renaissance. The Esplanade is a symbol of the East Asia renaissance. It is only one pearl in a necklace connecting Japan, China, Korea, Southeast Asia as well as Australia and New Zealand. We will see the flowering of culture of the arts. Asian writers, film makers, musicians, dancers, painters, sculptors, architects, designers are already beginning to make an impact in the West. Asia will, however, remain open to the West. My question to the West is: Is the West ready to learn from the East?