Though he and other overseas Chinese fought valiantly against the Japanese, Lim saw a Kuomintang led by China as his motherland, says the writer.
A longer, deeper lens on Singapore's military history should go beyond the overused stories of World War II heroism
In much of post-war South-east Asia, the central role played by militaries in the struggle for independence such as in Indonesia earned the armed forces a place in the national narrative.
For centuries, Vietnamese nationalism drew strength from its past of armed resistance against imperial authority. In the absence of a war of armed resistance to colonial authority, it is perhaps understandable that Singapore's military history draws upon its involvement in British colonial rule as a convenient starting point. There are, however, limits to appropriating Singapore's colonial military history as Singaporean.
Ong Weichong For The Straits Times
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/was-lim-bo-seng-truly-a-singaporean-war-hero
A longer, deeper lens on Singapore's military history should go beyond the overused stories of World War II heroism
In much of post-war South-east Asia, the central role played by militaries in the struggle for independence such as in Indonesia earned the armed forces a place in the national narrative.
For centuries, Vietnamese nationalism drew strength from its past of armed resistance against imperial authority. In the absence of a war of armed resistance to colonial authority, it is perhaps understandable that Singapore's military history draws upon its involvement in British colonial rule as a convenient starting point. There are, however, limits to appropriating Singapore's colonial military history as Singaporean.
Ong Weichong For The Straits Times
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/was-lim-bo-seng-truly-a-singaporean-war-hero