‘Insane’: Xi’s call for ethnic Chinese to tell Beijing’s story stirs anger

Millions of people of Chinese origin are nationals of countries other than China and they don’t back Beijing.

In late February, 59-year-old Phillip Chan Man Ping became the first person in Singapore to be officially designated a “politically significant person”.

The city-state’s authorities had already announced that Chan had “shown susceptibility to being influenced by foreign actors, and willingness to advance their interests” and that Chan’s activities “were directed towards a political end in Singapore” making it in the public interest for “countermeasures” to be taken.

For Chan, the designation means he is required to disclose any received political donations above a certain amount as well as inform the authorities of any foreign affiliations. He can appeal to the home minister against the designation.

Until he was designated, Chan was in many ways the embodiment of a Singaporean success story.

Originally from Hong Kong, he had spent more than 30 years in the Southeast Asian city-state becoming a wealthy businessman, taking Singaporean citizenship and emerging as a leading voice for the strengthening of ties not only between his native Hong Kong and Singapore, but also between Singapore and China.