The Binding Tie: Chinese Intergenerational Relations in Modern Singapore

4. Binding Ties

4 Binding Ties The Master said, “The service which a filial son does to his parents is as follows: In his general conduct to them, he manifests the utmost reverence; in his nourishing of them, his endeavour is to give them the utmost pleasure; when they are ill, he feels the greatest anxiety; in mourning for them (dead), he exhibits every demonstration of grief; in sacrificing to them, he displays the utmost solemnity. When a son is complete in these five things (he may be pronounced) able to serve his parents.” (Hsiao King [Classic of Filial Piety], 1988, 480)1 In the previous chapter, I discussed how the massive transformation of Singapore has disrupted cultural continuity across generations. Rapid economic development and upward social mobility, as well as state policies and individual Singaporeans’ aspirations to be modern have caused a deep generational divide and an inversion of the relationship between elder and younger generations. But although the drive to adjust to a rapidly changing world puts many of the elderly at a disadvantage, we need to make a further distinction between social seniority and familial obligations .2 Especially striking in the case of Singapore is the discrepancy between real disintegration of cultural continuity across generations and notions of Asian family values. How are we to understand the seeming contradiction between these two? I have emphasized the importance of recognizing both fragmentation and consolidation: just as there are forces threatening continuity across generations, there are parallel forces binding the generations together. As we shall see, the disruption of cultural continuity has not led to the dissolution of intergenerational obligations. Despite the pressures of supporting an increasing number of elderly while devoting an increasing binding ties : 85 amount of resources to raising their own children, the sandwich generation continues to manage, and the family has remained the primary unit of support in Singapore. In the face of this compelling fact, let me now shift my focus from disintegration to the ways in which relations between elder and younger generations are maintained and reaffirmed. In the introduction, I introduced the concept of the intergenerational contract to explain those expectations and obligations that bind the generations together. The concept of a contract is relevant in several respects. My informants did not use the term “contract” with regard to intergenerational obligations, but the implicit understanding of those obligations does in effect resemble a contract that is governed by sentiments of indebtedness and repayment. At another level, the contract between parent and child is also actively reproduced by the modern Singaporean state. We shall see that the state, in fact, plays a significant role in maintaining and reinforcing the intergenerational contract by providing only limited public welfare and pursuing profamily politics. The most explicit attempt to cement children’s responsibilities to elderly parents is the Maintenance of Parents Act, which gives elderly parents the right to sue their children should they neglect to provide support. In this respect, the intergenerational contract is neither a remnant from the past nor is it entirely self-sustained; it is in fact a contract in the literal sense of the word, as opposed to a metaphor for implicit obligations and expectations. In this chapter we will consider how the intergenerational contract operates from above and from below, as a state strategy and as a cultural logic. the asian family, the state, and the global economy In his Chinese New Year’s message of 2004, former Prime Minister Goh Chock Tong expressed deep concern about the fragmentation of families in Singapore: “Strong and stable families make for a strong and cohesive society. Many of the ills in Western societies are linked to the weakening of family ties” (Straits Times 2004). According to Goh, globalization and the greater use of English among Singaporeans make traditional family values especially vulnerable to external influences. In the same speech, Goh stressed that fundamental Singaporean values such as “hard work, thrift, respect for elders, and placing the community before self ” must not be abandoned in the process of development (ibid.). 86 : chapter 4 Clearly, the familial domain cannot be understood in isolation from the societal domain, including the political economy and strategies of the state. This is particularly evident in Singapore, where the government’s social engineering schemes extend even to the last detail. Needless to say, the family has been a key feature of Asian culture in general and Chinese culture in particular...