Introduction to Singapore

Country name: Republic of Singapore.

Origin of country name: Singapore is a city country, which originally meant lion city. According to Malay historical records, around 1 150, the Sri Lankan prince who died in Sumatra arrived at the island by boat and saw a black beast, which was called a lion by the locals, hence the name "Lion City". Singapore is the homonym of the Sanskrit "Lion City". Because local residents are deeply influenced by Indian culture, they like to use Sanskrit as their place names. The lion is brave and vigorous, so it is natural to use it as a place name. In the past, many overseas Chinese called it "Silla", which means "Strait" in Malay, and some people called it "Sin Chau" and "Sing Tao" because of its small area.

Independence Day: August 9th (1965)

National flag: It consists of two equal horizontal rectangles, with red on the top and white on the bottom, and the length-width ratio is 3: 2. There is a white crescent moon and five white five-pointed stars in the upper left corner. Red represents human equality, and white symbolizes purity and virtue; The new moon symbolizes the country, and the five stars represent the idea of building democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality in the country. The combination of the new moon and the five stars is close and orderly, symbolizing the spirit of unity and mutual assistance of the Singaporean people.

National emblem: It is composed of shield emblem, lion, tiger and other patterns. The red shield is inlaid with a white crescent moon and a five-pointed star, which has the same meaning as the national flag. On the left of the Red Shield is a lion, which is a symbol of Singapore, and Malay means "Lion City". On the right is a tiger, which symbolizes the historical ties between Singapore and Malaysia. Below the red shield are golden palm branches and leaves, and the blue ribbon at the bottom says "Go ahead, Singapore!" " In Malay.

National anthem: "Go ahead, Singapore"

National Flower: Hu Jihua's national flower is Jin Zhuo Vandylan. Southeast Asia generally calls orchids Hu Jihua. Jin Zhuo Bandailan is cultivated by Ms. Jin Zhuo, with beautiful and dignified flowers and strong vitality, which symbolizes the temperament of Singaporeans and the spirit of hard work and brave struggle.

State dignitaries: President s.r. nathan, 1 September 19991took office for a term of six years; Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong was appointed as Prime Minister in June199011; 1965 Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who served as Prime Minister for a long time after Singapore's independence, resigned as Prime Minister in 1990+0 1 and was appointed Senior Minister of the Cabinet.

Important festivals: Lunar New Year: Lunar 65438+ every year 10 or February; Mid-Autumn Festival: August of the lunar calendar15; Eid al-Fitr: 10 When the new moon of Ramadan appears; Tamil New Year: April and May; Grand Paulsen Festival: 1 and February of Tamil calendar; Fire sacrifice: 10, 1 1. Vesak Day: the full moon in May; Christmas: 65438+February 25th; Easter: the Sunday after the full moon on March 26th, February1year.

Physical geography: Located in Southeast Asia, it is the southernmost tropical island city of Malay Peninsula. Covering an area of 647.5 square kilometers, it is adjacent to Malaysia across the Johor Strait in the north, connected to Johor Bahru in Malaysia across a long embankment, and facing Indonesia across the Singapore Strait in the south. Located at the entrance and exit of Malacca Strait, the shipping artery in the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, it consists of more than 50 islands, and Singapore Island accounts for 9 1.6% of the national area. It has a tropical maritime climate with high temperature and rainy all the year round, with an average annual temperature of 24-27℃.

Population: 3217500 (1June 999), of which 77.2% are Chinese; Malays account for14.1%; Indians account for 7.4%, and the rest are Pakistanis and Sri Lankans. Malay, English, Chinese and Tamil are the official languages. The national language is Malay. English is the administrative language. There is no state religion. Most people in China and Sri Lanka believe in Buddhism, Malays and Pakistanis believe in Islam, and Indians believe in Hinduism. There are also Christians.

A brief history: Temasek in ancient times. Founded in the 8th century, it belongs to the late Sri Lankan dynasty in Indonesia. From18th century to19th century, it was a part of the kingdom of Johor in Malaya. 18 19, an Englishman, Stanford Raffles, arrived in Singapore and signed a contract with Johor, Sudan, to set up a trading post. 1824 became a British colony, a British entrepot in the Far East and a major military base in Southeast Asia. 1942 was occupied by the Japanese army. 1945 After Japan surrendered, Britain resumed colonial rule and was designated as a direct colony the following year. 1946 Britain designated it as a British colony. 1June, 959, Singapore implemented internal autonomy and became an autonomous country. Britain retains the power of national defense, foreign affairs, amending the Constitution and issuing "emergency decrees". 1963 September 16 merged into Malaysia. 1On August 9th, 965, it broke away from Malaysia and established the Republic of Singapore. In September of the same year, it became a member of the United Nations and joined the Commonwealth in June+10, 5438.

Politics: The Constitution provides for a parliamentary system. The president is the head of state and is elected by the whole people for a term of six years. The president appointed the leader of the parliamentary majority as prime minister. The president has the right to veto government budgets and public sector appointments; It can examine the government's exercise of the powers conferred by the Internal Security Law and the Religious Harmony Law and investigate corruption cases. The Presidential Advisory Council is entrusted with providing advice and suggestions to the President. When the president exercises certain powers, such as appointing principal civil servants, he must first seek the opinions of the President's Advisory Council. The President and Parliament exercise legislative power. The parliament is called the National Assembly and has a unicameral system. Members are elected by referendum for a term of five years.

Economy: Singapore's traditional economy is dominated by commerce, including entrepot trade, processing and export, and shipping. After independence, the government adhered to a free economic policy, vigorously attracted foreign investment and developed a diversified economy. Since the early 1980s, we have accelerated the development of capital-intensive and high value-added emerging industries, invested heavily in infrastructure construction, and strived to attract foreign investment with the best business environment. Manufacturing and service industries have become the twin engines of economic growth, and the industrial structure has been continuously optimized. In the 1990s, the information industry was particularly valued, and the "Singapore Integrated Network" has been put into use all over the island. In order to further promote economic growth, we will vigorously promote the "regional economic development strategy", accelerate overseas investment and actively carry out foreign economic activities. The economy is dominated by five sectors: commerce, manufacturing, construction, finance, transportation and communication. Its industries are mainly oil refining, petrochemical and shipbuilding repair, and it is the third largest oil refining center in the world. Agriculture accounts for less than 1% of the national economy, mainly including poultry breeding and aquaculture. All the grain is imported, and only 5% of the vegetables are produced by ourselves. Most of them are imported from Malaysia, China, Indonesia and Australia. Tourism is one of the main sources of foreign exchange income. Currency name: Singapore dollar (SGD for short)

Press and publication: English newspapers include Straits Times, Business Times and New Newspaper; Chinese newspapers include Lianhe Zaobao, Lianhe Evening News and Xinmin Daily. Malay newspapers have daily news; In addition, there is a Tamil newspaper, Tamil Daily. The radio station started broadcasting on 1936, and 1959 to 1 started broadcasting in Malay, English, Chinese and Tamil. Radio Singapore owns and operates 12 domestic radio stations and 3 international radio stations. Singapore TV organizations own and operate two channels, one broadcasts Chinese programs 24 hours a day, and the other broadcasts English programs 24 hours a day. 12 TV private company operates two channels, one of which mainly serves Malays and Indians, and the other mainly broadcasts sports and cultural programs. The cable TV network was opened on 1995, and users can receive TV programs from more than 30 channels and 10 countries. 1995 launched satellite TV.

Diplomacy: based on ASEAN, maintaining ASEAN unity and cooperation and promoting ASEAN to play a greater role in regional affairs are placed in an important position in diplomatic work; Facing Asia, pay attention to developing cooperative relations with Asian countries, especially China, Japanese, Korean, Indian and other countries; Pursue the policy of "great power balance" and actively carry out economic diplomacy.

Relations with China: 1980 On June 4, 1980, the government of China and the government of Singapore signed an agreement on setting up business representative offices in Beijing, and the business representative offices of the two countries were officially opened in September of the following year. 1990101On October 3rd, China and New Zealand established diplomatic relations.