The life of Comrade Yan Chiang Ding

The following is my translation of the life of communist operative Yan Chiang Ding who was arrested by the Lim Yew Hock government and during Operation Coldstore for his underground communist activities. The original article in Chinese can be accessed here. The website is a treasure trove for those interested in communist history of Singapore and Malaysia.

Briefly, Comrade Yan was involved in May 13 Student Movement, Hock Lee Bus Riots when he was a student at Chinese High. He was later arrested under Operation Coldstore in 1963. Yan was released after 11 years in detention and joined the armed communist insurrection in Malayan jungle shortly after. In 1979, at 38 years old, Yan was killed in a fire fight after being ambushed in the Selangor forested area.

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Comrade Yan Chiang Ding was born in Singapore in 1941 into a poor family. His parents were employed by foreigners.

At the age of 13, Yan took part in progressive student activities. In 1954, soon after he began his studies at the Chinese High School, he took part in the May 13 student movement, which opposed the National Service Ordinance passed by the British colonial government. 

When the Lim Yew Hock government attempted to change the Chinese school education system in 1955, Yan took part in student strikes and collective struggles in school to safeguard mother tongue education. On May 12 during the Hock Lee bus riots, he participated in activities to show support for the workers who went on strike. On 18 Sep 1956, the Lim Yew Hock government, under instruction from the colonial government, took action to suppress anti-colonial forces, arresting many anti-colonial patriots and shutting down numerous progressive unions and student groups such as the Singapore Factory and Shop Workers’ Union, Singapore Farmers’ Association and Singapore Chinese Middle School Students’ Union. People were discontented and this eventually resulted in large-scale strikes by students and workers in October that year. Yan played an active role in the student struggles and his performance was outstanding. In 1961, he was admitted to the Nanyang University (Nantah). During his varsity days, besides focusing on his course of study, he also participated actively in academic research and social surveys. For example, in 1962, he played an active role in the opinion poll of residents in Tanjong Pagar and Kreta Ayer which showed that the people were against the merger between Singapore and the Federation of Malaya that was proposed by the colonial government and reactionary forces. Yan took on the work of educating the masses in his free time. Besides giving lessons on culture and knowledge to village dwellers, he also hosted talks on current affairs and often worked until late at night. He was well-liked by classmates and village dwellers as he was diligent in his studies, responsible in work and brave in struggles.

In 1955 when Yan was 14, he was detained for one week by the Lim Yew Hock government for safeguarding mother tongue education. However, he did not flinch and took greater strides towards the road of revolution.

On 2 Feb 1963, the Internal Security Council which comprised reactionary forces from the colonial government, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore launched Operation Coldstore to shut down progressive unions that oppose the merger and arrest union leaders and patriotic people. Yan was again detained.

Early that morning, agents from the Special Branch and policemen charged into Nantah to arrest the students. Yan remained calm and cleverly hid documents that could implicate his comrades while a search was conducted. Although he was eventually arrested, his composure and quick-wittedness ensured the safety of comrades and students.

Yan and other comrades went on several hunger strikes when imprisoned, with the longest one lasting more than 140 days. One day, in a bid to extract a “confession” from Yan and another political detainee who was a paid union secretary, the reactionary authorities brought them from Changi Prison to the Central Police Station and put them in solitary confinement. During that time, Yan and the comrade were stripped of the freedom to move around and read books and publications. They were also interrogated and tortured round the clock by Special Branch agents. To protest against the unreasonable suppression by the reactionary authorities, they went on a hunger strike and were prepared to sacrifice their life to expose the ruthless means of the reactionary authorities. When the reactionary authorities saw that they were in critical condition, they became afraid that the hunger strike would arouse public opinion and cause condemnation which could adversely affect the reputation of the reactionary rulers. In the end, they acceded to Yan and the comrade’s request and sent them back to Changi Prison.

During the hunger strike, Yan became unconscious on several occasions and almost lost his life. The reactionary authorities used all means, including threats and inducements to make Yan say things that were unfavourable to the people and write a “confession” against his belief. When Yan refused to do as told, he was given all kinds of torture, but that did not weaken his fighting spirit a bit. He reproduced articles from the Voice of Malayan Revolution and PRC radio stations and secretly circulated them among comrades who were detained. He remained firm and refused to accept the conditions for release put forward by the reactionary authorities.

After 11 long years in prison, Yan was released in early 1974. After his release, he continued to secretly engage in revolutionary propaganda and helped to raise funds for the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM). He told comrades firmly that he was ready to go to jail again. He said that going to jail was just a temporary loss of freedom and that the walls of a prison would never be able to stop a real revolutionary. He also said that being tortured was nothing and only weaklings would succumb to it.

Under the arrangement of the underground party organisation, Yan joined the Malayan National Liberation Front a year later in 1975. He was responsible for organising and publishing work in the beginning and later went on to head the group in Selangor.

In 1978, Yan fulfilled his long-time aspiration of joining the CPM. From then on, he set high standards for himself and devoted himself completely to revolutionary work. At the same time, the reactionary forces also tried to hunt him down. Later, the party organisation decided to deploy him to the troops for fear of his safety.

In May 1979, Yan joined the 6th Assault Squad to fight for the independence and liberation of the motherland. On Aug 7 that year, when passing by a forested area in Selangor, he was ambushed and killed by the enemy. He was only 38.

Whether he was working in the underground or deployed with the troops, Yan led a simple life and was a responsible and friendly person. He loved his comrades, he was decisive, had great fighting spirit, served the people wholeheartedly. He was loyal to the revolution and had profound hatred for the enemy.

Comrade Yan has left us, but his gentle smile and good character will always remain in our heart. The comrades have vowed to avenge him and fight the revolutionary war to the end!

Brother of Lim Chin Siong publishes his memoir

Another book to add to the reading list...

Ex-detainee's book recounts turbulent days

Brother of late leftist leader Lim Chin Siong was a student activist in 1950s

BY LEONG WENG KAM SENIOR WRITER

RETIRED lawyer Lim Chin Joo, 77, is launching his memoirs today, 47 years after he was released from detention for alleged pro-communist activities as a student activist and trade unionist back in the 1950s.

The book in Chinese, titled My Youth In Black And White, tells the story from his birth in Pontian, Johor, to his days as a student activist in Singapore at the former Chinese High School - now part of Hwa Chong Institution - and briefly as a trade unionist before his arrest.

The younger brother of the more prominent, late leftist trade unionist and politician Lim Chin Siong, he was locked up for nine years between 1957 and 1966, and studied law while in prison.

After his release, he joined the civil service before starting his law practice in 1973. He retired in 2002.

Now vice-president of the Ee Hoe Hean Club, a gentlemen's club for Chinese businessmen, Mr Lim has previously kept silent about his past.

For years, he turned down media queries until he agreed to be interviewed for Hwa Chong's 90th anniversary commemorative magazine in 2009. In it, he described briefly his involvement in the Chinese students' movement, his detention and life as a lawyer.

Two years ago, he gave a talk on his "three years in The Chinese High" to mark the May 13, 1954 incident in which Chinese middle school students clashed with riot police for the first time over the issue of conscription.

His 442-page book will be launched at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Building's auditorium today at 6.30pm. About 400 guests have been invited to attend.

He and his brother remain well known especially among older, Chinese-educated Singaporeans.
Mr Lim told The Straits Times that he decided to write his story after the Oral History Department tried to interview him some years ago. He said: "I stopped after only one interview because I realised I needed more time to think and reflect before coming up with my answers." Then he decided to write his memoirs instead.

Although he was an active student leader and trade unionist for only about two years, he said the events he witnessed were significant and worth retelling from his perspective, especially his involvement with the Singapore Chinese Middle School Students' Union and Singapore General Employees' Union, and his days in prison.

He also paid tribute to several other leftist student and political leaders, including his brother Chin Siong, the late Lim Hock Siew and Soon Loh Boon.

A section of the book includes material written by his brother. It contains Lim Chin Siong's handwritten answers to questions he had been posed for a radio interview in 1992 but which did not take place in the end (See story below).

Mr Lim said he spent $100,000 to publish his memoirs. Proceeds from sale of the book, priced at $28, will go to his alma mater Pei Chun High School in Pontian, Johor.

wengkam@sph.com.sg

What was Singapore like in the 1960s?

It's always interesting to read how foreign diplomats described Singapore in 1960s. Today there was an interesting newspaper article describing the Singapore Chinese culture sphere in the 1960s. And this was what the Russian diplomat, who was in Singapore to learn Chinese dialects, said:


Most of the population lived in dilapidated slums and on dingy boats, without a sewer system, among rats, cockroaches, mosquitos, and flies. Ethnic tensions were also heating up. In 1969, Malaysia was shaken to the core by clashes between the Malays and Chinese. The echo of these events was heard in Singapore.

We interned at Nanyang University, where young people received a classical Chinese education that shaped their ethical norms and political outlook. Many of them looked towards China, the land of their ancestors, where the Cultural Revolution was raging. Nanyang students secretly admired Mao Zedong and criticised Singapore's Government for "subjugating the labourers and licking the boots of the West".

Leftist sensibilities of the downtrodden in Singapore showed themselves prominently during a festival of Soviet cinema in March 1970. A huge crowd of people without tickets burst into the screening of Lenin In October. They, and many other viewers, cheered Lenin's every appearance on screen, and sympathised with the depiction of workers clashing with the police.





Read the rest of the article here:

BY EVGENIY BAZHANOV


SINGAPORE'S first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew became honorary doctor of the Diplomatic Academy under the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.


At the ceremony to mark this occasion, it was emphasised that Mr Lee was one of the most outstanding figures of the modern world. I had the chance to witness first-hand how, in a phenomenally short time, he turned Singapore from a Third World country into one of the world's most developed and prosperous states.


In the autumn of 1968, I was sent to Singapore to study Chinese dialects as part of a group of Soviet interns. The island immediately amazed me with its exoticism. But it was also obvious that it was drowning in problems.


Just three years earlier, Singapore was expelled from the Malaysian federation. Malaysia and nearby Indonesia viewed Singapore as "the fifth column" of Maoist China. They were not the only ones holding that view, either. In 1970, the former Soviet Unionnewspaper Pravda characterised Singapore as "the centre of Beijing's subversive activity in South-east Asia".


The economic situation was getting more and more stormy as well. The island had long based its prosperity on trading in raw materials from neighbouring states but they decided to get rid of its services as an intermediary. Singapore's foreign economic activities were in decline and national income growth was slowing down.


Most of the population lived in dilapidated slums and on dingy boats, without a sewer system, among rats, cockroaches, mosquitos, and flies. Ethnic tensions were also heating up. In 1969, Malaysia was shaken to the core by clashes between the Malays and Chinese. The echo of these events was heard in Singapore.


We interned at Nanyang University, where young people received a classical Chinese education that shaped their ethical norms and political outlook. Many of them looked towards China, the land of their ancestors, where the Cultural Revolution was raging. Nanyang students secretly admired Mao Zedong and criticised Singapore's Government for "subjugating the labourers and licking the boots of the West".


Leftist sensibilities of the downtrodden in Singapore showed themselves prominently during a festival of Soviet cinema in March 1970. A huge crowd of people without tickets burst into the screening of Lenin In October. They, and many other viewers, cheered Lenin's every appearance on screen, and sympathised with the depiction of workers clashing with the police.


In the spring of 1970, having finished my studies, I left Singapore, and got a chance to see it again only 20 years later. It was an entirely differently, shockingly ultra-modern Singapore. The downtown area was filled with skyscrapers. High-rise apartment blocks were everywhere. The residents had swimming pools, tennis courts and children's playgrounds at their disposal.


Squalid eateries became cosy, sparkling-clean restaurants. Flies and mosquitoes were nowhere to be found. And it was not just Singapore that had changed; its inhabitants had changed as well. They became proud and confident, no longer admiring foreigners who "stooped" to speak local languages or eat at a street stall.


In the 21st century, Singapore has solidified its place among the most developed countries of the world and is one of the largest global centres for finance, aviation, sea freight, and communications. What is the reason for the success? Naturally, it is the effective strategy that Mr Lee's government had adopted in mid-1960s.


His government emphasised integrating Singapore's economy into the global market, thus stimulating exports. Nowadays, special attention is paid to developing high-tech industries. To develop them, the Government made an effort to attract foreign capital. The authorities created for investors a climate more attractive than in other countries.


The next set of problems that Singapore successfully solved was supplying the economy with inexpensive, qualified labour. In the 1960s, the authorities established a tight control over the wage growth rate. The Government brought labour unions under control and prohibited strikes.


As a result, labourers worked in clean, well-lit workshops and safety regulations were observed everywhere. Whether it was supplying workers with food and accommodation, or formulating a vacation and pension scheme - it was done according to the highest standards.


Another component of Singapore's success is in maintaining its political stability. For this goal, the authorities used all means available. Seemingly, all the attributes of a democracy are present in the country but every Singaporean knows very well the boundaries of what is allowed. To fight corruption, the country uses severe methods, which results in almost a zero level of corruption in Singapore.


There is an opinion that in the domestic policies of the Singapore Government, two ancient Chinese traditions persist. The first is Legalism: controlling the population while relying on strict laws. The second is Confucianism: governance based on morals and justice.


In ancient China, the emperor had to serve as an example of virtuous behaviour for the people. Otherwise, he would lose the "mandate of heaven" to rule.


The Government maintains its mandate by ruling Singapore using economic mechanisms and political firmness. It also considers the task of educating people to have high spiritual qualities as its responsibility.


The writer is rector of the Diplomatic Academy under Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This is translated from an article published in the June/July 2014 issue of the Russian language journal Echo Of The Planet.

Who orchestrated the Anti-National Service riot of May 1954

Last month, veteran historians CC Chin and Hong Lysa have published their reflections on the role of the Communist Party of Malaya in the events leading up to the National Service Riots of 1954. The battle between these two historians, who hold diametrically opposing views on the CPM’s role, is undoubtedly thought provoking.

According to Chin, the clandestine CPM student movement committee was responsible for leading the Singapore student protest on 13 May 1954 against conscription by the British colonial power. This protest was met with fierce opposition from the colonial government which eventually resulted in 10 students severely beaten up and 48 students arrested by the police. Chin proceeded to pinpoint one CPM cadre Chiam Chong Chian as the person-in-charge of organising the protest on 13 May 1954.

However, in her article on May 19, 2014, Hong rebutted and disagreed that the protest was masterminded and led by the CPM, questioning whether the CPM student movement committee was effective enough to lead the students. Hong argues that Chin’s assertions conveniently support the PAP’s exaggeration of the CPM’s strength which justifies the PAP’s subsequent arrests of suspected communists and sympathisers.

While Hong is entitled to her opinion on the facts of the 13 May protest, Hong’s suggestion that Chin had written his article to support a political position is quite harsh, even in academic circles. Speculation about an opponent’s political affiliations, unfortunately, does not lead to more historical inquiry.

Interestingly, Hong also concedes that historians need more research and recollections from the individuals involved to form a clearer picture of the event.

Recently in February 2014, one such volume of recollection essays by former CPM cadres has been published in Malaysia. The book “Chiam Chong Chian Memorial Collection” edited by Huo Shi and Ding Jing Lei aims to commemorate the life of Chiam, the CPM cadre in-charge of leading the 13 May protest.

Chiam was born in Kuantan, Pahang in 1931 and had come to Singapore to study at the Chinese High School in 1947, where he and many other classmates were recruited into the Anti-British League movement. On 31 May 1950, he evaded arrest by the police and went underground, eventually taking on official CPM work from 1952.

For more Chiam's background, read the earlier post here.

Chiam subsequently went on to incite and direct many of the mass protests in the 1950s, including the student protest on 13 May 1954.

CPM cadre Huo Shi recalled that Chiam had coordinated the 13 May protest by relaying the CPM leadership’s instructions through him to the various cadres organising the protest and other CPM front organisations.

Chiam also conveyed the leadership’s instructions to Huo Shi on the final conditions which would be used to negotiate with the colonial government for the resumption of classes. Huo Shi was operating partially in the open and was the point of contact for the Communist underground.

As a mark of his commitment to the Communist cause, Chiam even risked arrest by going down personally to observe the protest at Chung Cheng High School so as to formulate tactical strategies. Huo Shi wrote that Chiam was nearly arrested but he cleverly used his Malay language to avoid arrest.

Click on the picture to enlarge

Interestingly, Huo Shi related one incident which suggests that the CPM had come prepared to confront the colonial government and maximise political gain from any outbreak of violence.

Immediately after the 13 May 54 protest, Chiam had handed to Huo Shi 36 photographs of students being beaten by police at the scene of the protest to serve as proof of police brutality. These photos were subsequently reproduced by the Singapore Chinese Middle School Students Union and sold to students as keepsakes. The speed at which the photographs were developed and distributed in those days goes to show organised the Communist movement was.

Click on the picture to enlarge

Reading the accounts of these former CPM cadres, it is apparent that the CPM did have a tangible influence on the 13 May student protest. Why then do some individuals try to omit the CPM’s role in the protest?

It could be a result of the secrecy of the CPM’s underground operations, where the risk of arrest by the police forced CPM cadres to masquerade as student activists, thus giving others the impression that the 13 May protest was free from CPM influence.

Ultimately, perhaps one could better deal with this conundrum by remembering that all historical accounts are merely incomplete memories of the past. Some may recall the 13 May protest as a student-led phenomenon, with little knowledge of the political intrigue that went on behind the scenes. Others, like Chiam’s comrades, will remember the event as a time when the CPM struggled against the colonial government through the students, who responded resoundingly in their favour.

A portrait of the struggling life of Chiam Chong Chian

The following is a loose translation of the biography of Chiam Chong Chian, who was an underground CPM cadre leader in Malaya during the 1950s.

Born in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaya in 1931, Chiam Chong Chian was a Malayan son that died on PRC soil because of the tumultuous struggle for independence and the battle between nationalists and communism during the 1950s and 1960s.

Chiam was the third child in a Hainanese family of six children. His father came to Malaya at the end of the 19th century, first becoming a baker and later a plantation supervisor.

Chiam was only 11 or 12 when the Japanese invaded Malaya during WWII. During that time, Chiam followed his family to hide in jungle and began to lived off the land. He joined the adults in hunting, fishing and delivering supplies while entertainment was Chinese classic stories of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin.

In 1946, after the war had ended, Chiam returned to school in Kuantan and a year later enrolled in Chinese High Singapore. Not only were Chiam's results good, he was also charismatic and well-liked by fellow students. He was surrounded by a group of close friends who would later become his comrades. Many of these friends would later end up as liaison officials (with overseas Chinese) in China after the Chinese Communists took power.

1950 was a watershed year for Chiam who was senior high year 2. There was a surge in anti-colonial sentiments and seniors like him began to infect the younger ones in Chinese High with the need for Malaya's independence.

As the waves of anti-colonialism continued unabated, authorities began the clamp down of student activism with the closing of Chinese High, shutting down of student organizations, arresting progressive teachers and students and the expulsion of 50 senior high school student activists with Chiam being one of them.

On May 31, 1950, when military police surrounded the school to arrest them, Chiam was hidden in the school canteen by student sympathizers and managed to escape the school. As the surrounding area of Chinese High were houses of wealthy residents who typically employed Hainanese as housekeepers, Chiam was able to escape the dragnet by seeking help from his kinsmen.

From then on, Chiam bade farewell to his student life and joined the communist underground to battle against the British colonial power and achieve independence for Malaya.

In 1951, Chiam returned to Kuantan to teach in a primary school. He was humble, well-liked and earned the respect of the students. On the side, Chiam continued to work for the Communist Party of Malaya and received instructions to carry out reporting and research for the party.

In 1952, Chiam began to be tasked by the party to carry out organization work and operations. As he was passionate, responsible and honest, he was trusted by the party and began to take on more responsibilities. Under Chiam's leadership, the political environment began to open up and progress was made with mobilization of the masses.

In the early 1960s, Lee Kuan Yew began to work in cahoots with the British colonial power to exterminate the communists. Chiam was forced under these circumstances to escape to Indonesia.

When in Indonesia, he faced immense difficulties as he was unfamiliar with the country and did not speak the language. The 30 Sep 1965 purging of the Communists, where tens of thousands of Indonesian Communists were killed by the Indonesian military, made his situation increasingly unbearable.

To exacerbate matters, Cultural Revolution erupted in China and Chiam was criticized for his previous actions. He was criticized for his wrongdoings, forced to apologized and ostracized from the party. But he was said to be steadfast and hung on to his beliefs, never betrayed his comrades even though he was exiled from the party and lead a precarious life.

The only consolation Chiam had was in the mid-1990s when CPM leader Chin Peng met Chiam in a Guangzhou hotel. Chin reverted previous criticisms of Chiam and reaffirmed Chiam's lifetime commitment to the Communist cause.

Chiam passed away on Apr 26, 1998, due to multiple illnesses. He was 68 years old.