Speech By Mr Lawrence Wong, Deputy Prime Minister And Minister For Finance, At Official Opening Of Huang Shi Zong Hui’s Building (黄氏总会新大厦揭幕仪式) on Saturday, 24 September 2022
24 Sep 2022Dear Chairman and Committee members of the Huang Clan,
Distinguished Guests,
1. I’ll say a few words in English and then I’ll speak in Mandarin later on.
2. First, very good to be here with all of you, our fellow Huang Clan members. Very good to see my fellow Parliamentarians. We have got Dawn, Ling Ling, Louis and Shawn here – we have a very good representation today.
3. In Singapore, you can be a ‘Wee’, you can be a ‘Ng’, you can be a ‘Huang’, you can be a ‘Wong’, but at the end, the Mandarin word is the same. 都是黄,都是五百年前一家人。
4. So we can all trace our ancestral roots back to the same clan, the Huang Clan in China. Of course, now we are in Singapore, and after so many years, we have evolved our own distinctive Singaporean Chinese identity. It is an identity that is part of Singapore; part of a multiracial, multicultural society. It is an identity that we can be very proud of, for the Huang Clan, especially having almost 100 years of history.
5. You saw from the video, how it has evolved, and how our pioneers, very wisely, chose to buy a piece of land here in the early 50s. How much was the land, did you see? $30,500. In those days, this was a lot of money, but look at how much of a return they have reaped from that investment. And I am very glad today we are at another important milestone where we have completed the redevelopment of the clan building. I think we should give a big round of applause to everyone for this important milestone.
6. I hope we can continue to innovate, adapt, keep up with the times; that the clan will continue to build itself, bring in young people and renew itself, and transform itself to be relevant to society, and to continue to help build our community in Singapore, and help take our nation forward. So thank you very much and once again, congratulations to everyone in the Huang Clan on this important milestone.
7. 黄氏总会会长 黄国鸿先, 黄氏同仁、各位嘉宾、女士们先生们,大家晚上好!
8. 今晚我很荣幸受邀主持新加坡黄氏总会新大厦的揭幕仪式。我们已经有两年多没有机会举办那么大型的一个活动,因为这两年来我们受到这个疫情的影响,所以没有机会举办活动。而在这两年的时候,我知道大家都辛苦了,很感谢大家的付出,积极地配合政府的安全管理措施。而我们共同对抗疫情,才能够争取到今天的成就,所以谢谢你们的贡献。
9. 今晚我也非常高兴,可以和这么多黄氏同仁齐聚一堂,一起见证新大厦的落成。我们多年来,无论在公共服务领域或私人企业,都能看到黄氏同仁的付出和贡献。这是我们作为黄氏宗人可以引以为傲的。
10. 我知道,这座大厦的建成并不是那么容易。黄氏总会克服了重重挑战,才把一座战前的危楼,变成今天宏伟的大厦。
11. 而这座大厦的前身是“江夏堂”,从1952年开始成为黄氏总会的会所。大画家徐悲鸿来新加坡时,曾经三次在这里落脚。
12. 虽然有着浓厚的历史,但“江夏堂”在善用土地方面有些欠缺。这在寸土如金的新加坡,并不是那么理想。土地这么大,建的这座祖屋这么小,真的是不理想。因此,在2014年,黄氏总会做出了大胆的决定 –决定重新发展大厦。而经过了多研究和讨论,最后决定与私人发展商合作,建成了这座融合会馆和私人公寓的八层楼大厦,当中除了住宅单位,还包括会所、礼堂、会议室等设施。
13. 所以今天很高兴,在黄氏同仁的团结和努力下,这个重建项目终于圆满完成!恭喜你们。
14. 黃氏总会成立于1924年,已有近一百年的历史,是本地历史最悠久的老会馆之一。
15. 一直以来,宗乡会馆和社团在新加坡的发展过程中,扮演着重要的角色。
19. 新大厦的落成,标志着黄氏总会到达了另一个里程碑。我希望总会继续发挥华族优良传统,在团结黄氏宗亲之外,也为国家、为社区尽一份力,让我国成为一个具有凝聚力的多元种族社会,让新加坡的未来更美好。
20. 在此,祝贺黄氏总会大展宏图,继续发光发热。谢谢大家!
Distinguished Guests,
1. I’ll say a few words in English and then I’ll speak in Mandarin later on.
2. First, very good to be here with all of you, our fellow Huang Clan members. Very good to see my fellow Parliamentarians. We have got Dawn, Ling Ling, Louis and Shawn here – we have a very good representation today.
3. In Singapore, you can be a ‘Wee’, you can be a ‘Ng’, you can be a ‘Huang’, you can be a ‘Wong’, but at the end, the Mandarin word is the same. 都是黄,都是五百年前一家人。
4. So we can all trace our ancestral roots back to the same clan, the Huang Clan in China. Of course, now we are in Singapore, and after so many years, we have evolved our own distinctive Singaporean Chinese identity. It is an identity that is part of Singapore; part of a multiracial, multicultural society. It is an identity that we can be very proud of, for the Huang Clan, especially having almost 100 years of history.
5. You saw from the video, how it has evolved, and how our pioneers, very wisely, chose to buy a piece of land here in the early 50s. How much was the land, did you see? $30,500. In those days, this was a lot of money, but look at how much of a return they have reaped from that investment. And I am very glad today we are at another important milestone where we have completed the redevelopment of the clan building. I think we should give a big round of applause to everyone for this important milestone.
6. I hope we can continue to innovate, adapt, keep up with the times; that the clan will continue to build itself, bring in young people and renew itself, and transform itself to be relevant to society, and to continue to help build our community in Singapore, and help take our nation forward. So thank you very much and once again, congratulations to everyone in the Huang Clan on this important milestone.
7. 黄氏总会会长 黄国鸿先, 黄氏同仁、各位嘉宾、女士们先生们,大家晚上好!
8. 今晚我很荣幸受邀主持新加坡黄氏总会新大厦的揭幕仪式。我们已经有两年多没有机会举办那么大型的一个活动,因为这两年来我们受到这个疫情的影响,所以没有机会举办活动。而在这两年的时候,我知道大家都辛苦了,很感谢大家的付出,积极地配合政府的安全管理措施。而我们共同对抗疫情,才能够争取到今天的成就,所以谢谢你们的贡献。
9. 今晚我也非常高兴,可以和这么多黄氏同仁齐聚一堂,一起见证新大厦的落成。我们多年来,无论在公共服务领域或私人企业,都能看到黄氏同仁的付出和贡献。这是我们作为黄氏宗人可以引以为傲的。
10. 我知道,这座大厦的建成并不是那么容易。黄氏总会克服了重重挑战,才把一座战前的危楼,变成今天宏伟的大厦。
11. 而这座大厦的前身是“江夏堂”,从1952年开始成为黄氏总会的会所。大画家徐悲鸿来新加坡时,曾经三次在这里落脚。
12. 虽然有着浓厚的历史,但“江夏堂”在善用土地方面有些欠缺。这在寸土如金的新加坡,并不是那么理想。土地这么大,建的这座祖屋这么小,真的是不理想。因此,在2014年,黄氏总会做出了大胆的决定 –决定重新发展大厦。而经过了多研究和讨论,最后决定与私人发展商合作,建成了这座融合会馆和私人公寓的八层楼大厦,当中除了住宅单位,还包括会所、礼堂、会议室等设施。
13. 所以今天很高兴,在黄氏同仁的团结和努力下,这个重建项目终于圆满完成!恭喜你们。
14. 黃氏总会成立于1924年,已有近一百年的历史,是本地历史最悠久的老会馆之一。
15. 一直以来,宗乡会馆和社团在新加坡的发展过程中,扮演着重要的角色。
a. 早期,像黄氏总会这样的社团主要为南来的移民提供帮助,协助他们落地生根。
b. 多年来,随着我国社会的发展,今天的新加坡华社已经在这个多元种族和多元文化的社会里,建立起属于自己的独特身份认同感。
c. 所以虽然我们的祖先来自中国,但我们现在以“新加坡华人”这个身份感到自豪。
a. 第一,很多会馆都成立于新加坡独立之前,拥有比新加坡更长远的历史。它们所保存的文献和文物都可以反映出新加坡华社的历史,这对保留新加坡华人的文化遗产以及了解华社对国家建设所付出的努力是非常珍贵的。
b. 第二,会馆能尽一份力,维护好新加坡华人这个独特的身份认同,我们才能应对这个动荡的世界所带来的各种挑战。最近世界局势的发展令人感到担忧,当大国之间的博弈越来越激烈的时候,新加坡一定会受到影响。但我们还须要记住,无论是做出什么决定,我们不是在选边站,而我们主要的考虑是要维护新加坡和新加坡人的利益。在这方面,会馆也是扮演着非常重要的角色,尤其是在协助新移民融入社会,帮助他们了解多元种族、多元文化的新加坡。
a. 比如说,总会在几年前,在庆祝农历新年的时候,邀请了在新加坡过年的客工一起参加新春活动,向他们表示感谢。
b. 这凸显了我国社会的包容性,有利于我们建立更和谐和更团结的社会。
c. 会馆也热心公益,帮助社会里有需要的弱势群体,关怀社会,也凝聚社群。
19. 新大厦的落成,标志着黄氏总会到达了另一个里程碑。我希望总会继续发挥华族优良传统,在团结黄氏宗亲之外,也为国家、为社区尽一份力,让我国成为一个具有凝聚力的多元种族社会,让新加坡的未来更美好。
20. 在此,祝贺黄氏总会大展宏图,继续发光发热。谢谢大家!