回首李光耀的家長作風

Singapore’s reputation as a “nanny state” — where the sale of chewing gum is banned and persistent litterbugs can be fined up to S$10,000 (US$7,000) — is one of the more notorious legacies of Lee Kuan Yew, who has died aged 91.

新加坡有着“保姆國家”的名聲，這是在91歲辭世的李光耀(Lee Kuan Yew)不甚光彩的遺產之一。新加坡禁止銷售口香糖，多次亂扔垃圾者將被罰款最高1萬新元（合7000美元）。

It struck at the heart of the founder of modern Singapore’s vision for a society where collective responsibility came above the instincts of the individual, for the greater good.

這個詞切中“現代新加坡之父”的理想社會的核心特徵：爲了更廣泛的社會福祉，集體責任高於個人天性。

Mr Lee justified his government’s intrusiveness on its citizen’s private lives by saying it was necessary for social cohesion. But this paternalistic approach to governing chafes with many in the population who have grown tired of being told how to live their lives.

關於政府介入公民個人生活領域，李光耀的理由是，這是形成社會凝聚力的必要之舉。但這種家長式的治理作風引起了許多新加坡人不滿，他們厭倦了被告訴該如何生活。

One of the earliest acts of the ruling Peoples’ Action party in the 1960s was to start a programme of clearing the streets of itinerant hawkers, and rehousing them in “hawker stalls”, organised under a single roof and regulated with strict hygiene standards.

執政的人民行動黨(People’s Action party)在上世紀60年代採取的最早舉措之一，是展開了一項整頓街頭小販的行動，引導這些流動小販進入集中的、有着嚴格衛生標準的“小販中心”。

With the massive public housing programmes of the same decade came the introduction of strict rules on cleanliness and order that survive to this day. Urinating in apartment block elevators is banned and urine smell detectors are installed to deter offenders.

60年代實施大規模公共住房項目的同時，新加坡也開始推行延續至今的、關於保持清潔與秩序的嚴厲法規。公寓樓電梯裏禁止小便，並且安裝有尿味探測器。

Failure to flush a public toilet is also a punishable offence.

在公廁不沖水也要受懲罰。

The authority that administers the country’s massive Housing Development Board housing schemes goes to the length of including on its website items that must not be hung from the bamboo laundry poles that jut from most HDB flats. The list includes cooking woks and even shopping trolleys.

大規模的公共住房計劃由新加坡建屋發展局(Housing Development Board)負責管理，該局網站上詳細列出了不得掛於此類住房中伸出的晾衣竹竿上的物品清單（大多數HDB公寓都有這種晾衣杆）。被禁物品包括炒鍋，甚至還有購物用的小推車。

Littering has become an increasing problem in Singapore, in spite of a system of “corrective work orders”, which force offenders to pick up litter in public.

儘管政府出臺了“垃圾蟲勞改法令”，強制犯規者打掃公共場所，但亂丟垃圾現象仍日益增多。

Fines have risen accordingly. Last year the maximum fine for littering was doubled to $2,000 for the first conviction, rising to five times that for repeat offenders.

於是對亂扔垃圾者的罰金也相應提高。去年，對初犯者的最高罰金提到了一倍，達2000美元，對屢教不改者的最高罰金則提高了4倍。

In January authorities meted out a fine of S$19,800 ($15,000) to a smoker for throwing cigarette butts out of his apartment window — the largest ever such punishment.

1月，當局以一名吸菸者將菸頭扔出自己家窗戶爲由，對其處以1.98萬新元（合1.5萬美元）的罰款，爲同類罰款中金額最高的一次。

Goh Chok Tong, Mr Lee’s successor in 1990, posted a comment on Facebook in January lamenting how Singapore’s reputation as one of the world’s cleanest cities “was going down the rubbish chute” after an outdoor music festival venue was left strewn with rubbish. But the move provoked a reaction from many people who felt he was needlessly patronising.

1990年接替李光耀擔任新加坡總理的吳作棟(Goh Chok Ton)今年1月在Facebook上發了一條評論。事情起因是一場戶外音樂節結束後，地上扔滿了垃圾，吳作棟爲此感嘆道，新加坡作爲全球最清潔城市之一的名聲也“沿着垃圾滑槽沉下去了”。但這番言論在社會上引起很大反響，許多人認爲，吳作棟不必自視清高。

It was Mr Goh who introduced the ban on chewing gum in 1992 — a move unlikely to have gone ahead without the support of Mr Lee, who still wielded enormous influence in the cabinet at the time.

1992年實行口香糖銷售禁令的正是吳作棟——此事若未得到李光耀的支持是推行不下去的，那時李光耀在內閣仍有很大的影響力。

The ban was relaxed in 2004 after lobbying by Wrigley, the US gum maker, to allow the limited sale of sugar-free gum for medicinal purposes.

在美國箭牌公司(Wrigley)的遊說之後，口香糖禁令在2004年有所放寬，允許用於醫療用途的無糖口香糖的有限銷售。

The government official who implemented the prohibition on gum, Daniel Wang, was reported this week to have died aged 71. “It’s actually good for gum health and that’s why it’s still used for medical reasons today,” he was reported as having said. “But I was under instructions.”

本週有報道稱，當初負責貫徹落實口香糖銷售禁令的政府官員Daniel Wang已經去世，終年71歲。據報道他曾說過這樣的話：“嚼口香糖確實有利於牙齦健康，所以今天口香糖仍可用在醫療用途上，但我是奉命行事的。”

There is no sign of the ban being fully lifted.

目前沒有跡象表明，口香糖銷售禁令將全面解禁。