Influence that laws have in different countries

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By CGTN's Dialogue with Wang Gungwu

During the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore this summer, CGTN’s Dialogue met Professor Wang Gungwu of the National University of Singapore to review the issues in Southeast Asia and how China gets involved.

“Big powers are not so respectful of the rules sometimes that they think they made themselves and they could change [them],” said Professor Wang.

During the discussion of how countries treat the rules differently, Professor Wang commented on the influence the international laws have in different nations with diverse levels of power.

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“For big countries, rules are sometimes inconvenient and they have the power to change it. This is where problems arise.”

Professor Wang pointed out that Singapore went through a unique path which China could hardly understand.

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“The key to Singapore’s success is that Singapore has avoided trying to copy anybody. Singapore’s uniqueness comes from something that’s probably rather difficult for countries like China to understand.”

And the professor also believes talk and negotiation could solve the problems that China is facing, but could take a long time to conclude.

“[China’s] long history is a burden. You have to accept that tradition; it has deep roots,” said Professor Wang. However, Singapore as a multicultural country is not bounded by such “roots” when growing in this ever-changing world.

Dialogue with Yang Rui is a 30-minute current affairs talk show on CGTN. It airs daily at 7:30 p.m. BJT (1130GMT), with rebroadcasts at 3:30 a.m. (1930GMT) and 11:30 a.m. (0330GMT).

Top picture: Professor Wang Gungwu of the National University of Singapore.