Netizens have made several critical comments about this video which depicts one of the song and dance performances at Tech Ghee Primary School's National Day Observance Ceremony.
The video shows a group of young girls singing and dancing to a song that some netizens have called a "communist song".
This is a song originally sang by a China communist party member named Tan Jing who is also a famous singer in China, the lyrics is about woman soldiers protecting motherland,the dance moves are of typical communist performance in China and reminds us of the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution.
The dancing in the video is also a marching, military style and many Singaporeans on Facebook and in forums have said that it looks very much like a song and dance from China. Further questioning why it was performed in a Singapore National Day Observance Ceremony.
Here is the video:
However, PM Lee appears to have enjoyed the performance, taking pictures with the performers and uploading it to his facebook page:
He had this to say:
Happy National Day! Celebrated with my residents at Teck Ghee Primary School this morning. Enjoyed the performances by Teck Ghee Primary and Townsville Primary students. Looking forward to the Parade later! – LHL
On the other hand, despite many negative comments about the performance, some others have come forward to say that it isn't really that big of a deal:
But most Sinkies are chinese anyway, if u exclude 5,000 years of culture, there is nothing left.
Others have commented that perhaps the teacher in charge of the performance was a PRC, saying that there are many other Hokkien songs which are closer to most of Singaporeans' heritage than this song.
After some digging a netizen, David Chow, has found an exact version of the song being performed in China's communist party:
TRS reader Jia Yi says other Chinese songs such as 'Dont Worry, Be Happy' theme song would be more relevant to Singapore NDP and she added that the person that made the students perform Chinese red army song must not be a Singaporean.
Half a century ago Lee Kuan Yew threw many of political opponents into prison for 20+ years without trail accusing them of being a communist and being part of the "Marxist Conspiracy" and now we are embracing them even with the approval of our beloved Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
What do you think?