Park Pays Respects
President Park Geun-hye attended the funeral of Singapore's founding Minister Lee Kuan Yew on Sunday.
Lee, who died last Monday at 91 after spending weeks in intensive care for pneumonia, governed Singapore from 1959 until 1990, and served in the Cabinet until 2011. The director of the process of independence in 1965, after a failed attempt to merge with Malaysia, was credited with transforming a tiny British colonial trading outpost with a lack of natural resources into a thriving global financial powerhouse and trade hub during his 31-year rule, tightly controlling a state that emphasized incorruptibility and stability.
His elder son and current leader, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, commemorated Lee’s achievement, saying, “One of Mr. Lee’s greatest legacies was preparing Singapore to continue beyond him. To those who seek Mr. Lee Kuan Yew’s monument, Singaporeans can reply proudly: 'Look around you.'”
Despite his successful “Singapore model,” which created one of the wealthiest and least corrupt nations in Asia, he was sometimes criticized for the authoritarianism of centralized power along with the suppression of political opposition and strict limits on free speech. Sidek Bin Saniff, a member of Parliament, however, praised Mr. Lee’s courage in making tough political decisions, saying: “If you want to be popular all the time, you will misgovern.”
Singapore’s guiding architect received a rare 21-gun salute before a state funeral attended by world dignitaries. A long list of World Leaders across the globe gathered for a final farewell to an elder Asian statesman. Former United States President Bill Clinton headed the U.S. delegation, which included former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has called Mr. Lee “a close personal friend.” Also attending the three-hour ceremony amid a torrential downpour were Prime Minister Tony Abbott of Australia; the British First Secretary of State William Hague; Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia; Vice President Li Yuanchao of China; Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India; and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan.
Marking the first attendance of an overseas political leaders’ funeral since taking office in 2013, President Park Geun-hye joined the former and current heads of state in mourning. Her special relationship with Lee dates back to her father's presidency in 1979, when then-President Park Chung-hee held talks with him in Seoul. To fill the vacuum of her mother who was killed in a failed assassination attempt on her father, she served as a stand-in first lady during the summit, and as an interpreter at the post-summit banquet.
After Lee passed, she issued a statement to express her condolences, announcing her decision to attend his funeral. At the same time, foreign affairs experts welcomed the opportunity for funeral diplomacy. Experts pointed out that funeral diplomacy offers some occasions for global leaders to be engaged in conversation.
In Singapore, Park briefly met with Abe on the sidelines of the funeral ceremony. The Japanese leader thanked President Park for the successful launch of the recent trilateral foreign ministers' meeting in Seoul. Park responded with her hopes for a follow up to the measures agreed upon at the ministerial summit. The foreign ministers of the three countries have agreed to keep their efforts to hold a trilateral summit of their leaders at their earliest convenience. Due to tensions caused by Japan's attempts to whitewash its wartime atrocities and colonial occupation, a trilateral summit has not been possible for the three neighbors since May 2012.
Park also met with Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao. Both called for closer consultations for the success of the China-led regional development bank, following Seoul's agreement to join as one of its founding members last Friday.
Park briefly spoke with former U.S. President Bill Clinton, former National Security Advisor Thomas Donilon, and statesman Henry Kissinger. They all vowed to make use of their expertise to build a stronger Korea-U.S. alliance.