Southern China Commentary

In recent times, Gong Li, Jet Li and various other Chinese media and business people have successfully attained Singaporean Citizenship/Permanent Residence. They see the little island-state as a safe, stable, and well-developed surrounding for their new young families to nuture.

Gong Li became a Singaporean

Buckin the trend, Edward Lu is a 27 year old Singaporean living and working here in Guangzhou, China, who is also in the process of applying for a Chinese Permanent Residence. I have a chat with him to find out his motivations..

Interview with Edward Lu, Singaporean Entrepreneur in GZ

Junde(JD): Hoseh boh? 
Edward(ED): Sibei swee. Can start the interview or not?
 
JD: Ok. Can you tell us how you landed here in Guangzhou?
ED: I was born In Singapore, and graduated with a Diploma in Business from Ngee Ann Polytechnic specializing in Leisure Management. I performed National Service for 2.5 years and came to China directly after that in early 2004. After working for a year in a Singaporean-Taiwanese venture company in Guangzhou, I established own company providing international logistics and trading services from China. Our company has offices/warehouses in Guangzhou, Yiwu and Singapore.
 

JD: Why are you going against the wave, applying for a Chinese PR?
ED: I do it mainly for practical business reasons. Firstly as a Chinese PR you pay less tax. Next, to set up new businesses, you do not need to partner with a local to register the company. Finally, you no longer need any working or travel visa to enter/stay in the country.
 

JD: Very practical benefits. How does one qualify?
ED: Basically, you need to have stayed in China for a few years, with a substantial local investment and revenue record for at least 3 years. Alternatively, you can marry a local person, and you get PR after 5 years of happy marriage.
 
JD: Haha, second route sounds more interesting. Do you intend to marry a local girl? How do you compare local Chinese girls with Singaporean girls?
ED: Why not? If the right person comes along. My career here has taken off and I’m definitely looking forward to my next phase of life. From my limited personal experiences, I find that the local girls I have encounterd are more gentle, and less career-minded. This is not to say that the opposite of Singaporean girls is a negative thing. Singapore is a modern, well-developed and highly competitive country and it is only natural that people would be more materialistic. I am a materialistic person myself too, but I get them cheaper in China :p
 
JD: If you get married here, would you like to have your children educated here?
ED: I would prefer the education in Singapore. Some say that our education there is very influenced by government propaganda, but I think it depends on the individual. I like the way I turned out and with some luck I’ll like the way my kids grow up and turn out in Singapore too. Besides, education without subsidy here is expensive!
 
JD: How about doing business here? How is it different from Singapore?
ED: To a certain extent, the Singapore retail market is saturated. If you sell 100 plates of Chicken Rice today, next month, you might sell 80 plates or 120 plates. It’s +/- 10%. Here in China, if you start of by selling 10 plates in the first month, next month, you might be selling 1000 plates. The growth potential is immense as you are not just catering to the whole Chinese market, but also to all foreign businesses who have turned their attention to China in recent years.
 

Edward praying for stability

JD: What about your personal and social life? Do you like it here?
ED: Yes, definitely. I enjoy the freedom I have here. I don’t seek to participate in politics, all I seek is my personal freedom. As a laowai (technically) out of my hometown, I feel less inhibited, I make more friends and do more things. I also get to smoke in public places and restaurants. The cost of living in Guangzhou is also much cheaper than Singapore, so we get to enjoy a better lifestyle while we’re younger. In Singapore we would need to have worked for a few more years before enjoying the kind of life we lead here today.
 
JD: So you’ve told me about all the practical benefits, and about everything you appreciate about living here in Guangzhou. How much of it is motivation for your Chinese PR application? What does the Chinese PR mean to you?
ED: Frankly, it’s more for practical business benefits. I am not someone who would forget my Singaporean roots. Although I do not have Chinese nationalistic fervour in me, I also do contribute back to society here. For instance, I am sit in the executive committee of the Guangzhou Singapore Club who organises social and charity events for the community here in Guangzhou.
 
JD: Would you encourage more Singaporeans, or expats in general, to follow in your footsteps, to apply for a Chinese PR?
ED: It is up to individual. But most of the foreigners I’ve met here during the past years certainly do enjoy their life and work here, so why not?

 
JD: What is your favourite KTV song?
ED: BETTER MAN by Nicholas Tse

 
JD: Thanks Edward for your time. Interested readers can also read 9 reasons why Singaporeans should work in China..
ED: Fuwuyuan! Mai Dan!