By Liew Hanqing

QUEUE here, queue there, queue everywhere? What a "foolish" Singaporean trait.

That remark from Mr Hei Qing, a well-known satirical columnist on China-based Hinews.cn, has riled Singapore netizens.

His comments were offensive, some of them said.

Mr Hei has clarified, however, that the article was not meant to be taken seriously and he was actually implying that Chinese nationals should learn how to be more law-abiding.

He was in Singapore for the biennial Congress of the World Federation of Hainanese Associations, held last month at Singapore Expo.

In his column, which was posted on Hinews.cn on 2 Nov, he wrote in Chinese: "I was in Singapore for a few days recently for work, and from what I saw and heard, I feel Singaporeans are very foolish... really very foolish."

He cited the example of people queuing up for taxis.

He wrote: "Outside a large mall in Singapore, there was a long line of taxis, and a long line of people. The people were boarding taxis one at a time.

Photo: ST, Lau Fook Kong

"People in our country would just disperse and find a taxi without lining up. Those from Guangzhou and Shanghai would probably laugh themselves sick if they saw a scene like this." The columnist went on to describe the queue system as inefficient. "We Chinese have a clever pointer - just lower your head, and sneak to the front of the queue."

Turned native

He also lamented that a friend from China had "turned foolish" after living in Singapore for 10 years.

He wrote: "My friend took me to a seafood restaurant for dinner. Without thinking, he handed his keys to the valet to park it.

"I asked him: 'Aren't you afraid they may duplicate your car keys?'

"My friend simply laughed and said, 'It's okay here.' "

But local netizens aren't amused. Many have lashed out against him on a popular local forum.

One wrote: "Don't mind this guy - he is just sore that we are living the good life here."

Others criticised Chinese nationals for their lack of social etiquette.

There were some who got personal, calling Mr Hei a "frog in the well".

But in a later interview with Hinews.cn, he clarified that his column was intended to make his countrymen reflect on some of their social habits.

He said: "I thought I would use satire to expose some of the things we see in society today, to make people aware of these things and reflect on them."

Avid readers of his column in China have also jumped to his defence.

One wrote: "All Chinese should know that this article doesn't really have anything to do with Singaporeans at all...Why are Singaporeans so bothered by it?"

Another added: "Only smart people would know what the true purpose of this column is."

Yet another said: "Anybody with a decent command of Chinese would be able to tell this is a satirical column.

Writers can use other literary methods to convey a point. They don't always have to be direct."

Mr Foo Jong Peng, president of the Hainan Hwee Kuan, told The New Paper he was aware that Mr Hei was in Singapore last month, but he had not met the columnist personally.

After reading the column, he admitted he was "angry at first".

He said in Mandarin: "I felt he had gone overboard with his statements... There was no need for him to make those statements in such a harsh way."

He added that his friends had discussed the column. "Some friends thought he had written that way on purpose, to satirise the behaviour of Chinese people," he said.

"Others, including some community leaders from Hainan, felt the writer had gone overboard and that what he had written was 'too much'."

This article was first published in The New Paper.