Should Singapore ‘Import’ Athletes to Win Olympic Medals? · Global Voices
Kirsten Han

This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.
After 52 years of “suffering” (according to Straits Times reporter Terence Voon), Singapore has finally got another Olympic medal in an individual sport. Table tennis player Feng Tianwei won a bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympics last week, and finally the Singapore flag was raised over the podium and the national anthem blared throughout the stadium.
Yet back in Singapore, not everyone was celebrating. It was pointed out that Feng Tianwei is not a native Singaporean, but a Chinese-born athlete brought to Singapore under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme where talented athletes are identified and given citizenship so they can represent Singapore at international sporting events.
A Yahoo! SG online poll found that almost eight in ten of respondents did not feel proud of medals won by foreign talents. Many see the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme as an effort to “buy” medals, rather than earn them through Singapore's own efforts.
@rlychill: Ah feng tian wei……. What would we be without foreign import
@3mozslayer: The awkward moment when the national anthem of china plays and feng tian wei does not know whether to sing it.
Feng Tianwei won a bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympics. Photo from Wikimedia
Lucky Tan criticises the government's policy, saying it reflects a lack of faith in local talent:
When you import sporting talent just to win, you have given up on your own people and it represents the “cannot do” spirit …a confirmation that you  don't believe in your own people and their talents. No surprise to me that the sports association that is most active in importing sporting talent to win is led by a PAP [ruling party] MP….it reflects the faith and confidence they have in our own people.
Some also disapproved of Singapore's Multi-Million Dollar Awards Program, which means that Feng Tianwei will receive S$250,000 for winning the bronze medal.
@ButterJingers: Can you imagine? Feng Tian Wei is gna receive 250k from the nation as well as the medal.
LIFT thinks that people should not blame Feng Tianwei for coming to Singapore:
Now Feng is not a banker, she is a table-tennis player. There are not many people who can employ her – her potential employers are basically countries she can represent, compete for and win medals for. Whilst she is undoubtedly a highly skilled specialist in her field, her employment prospects are very limited compared to say a banker, an engineer or a teacher. By that token, Feng must've looked at the few options opened to her and she picked the best possible option: Singapore.
The Lycan Times says that although Feng Tianwei's achievement is impressive, it is difficult to feel pride because of an emotional disconnect:
Beyond the politics, it was a personal achievement – one that her own hard work has paid off. I wouldn’t deny I would have felt a lot more pride had a local-born Singaporean won. An old primary school classmate and I had a discussion separately on this matter, and one of things that came up during the discussion was that a lot of Singaporeans had no reason to feel pride in her win because they felt Feng does not represent us. He has a good point, and from a certain perspective I agree because I also felt Feng does not represent the Singapore that I grew up in – i.e. the Singapore where we have our emotional attachment as our place of birth. Above that, it is the Singapore that we grow up in it and one we felt grew up together with us. When we feel proud of the person we grow up into, we also feel proud of Singapore. Feng Tianwei, unfortunately, cannot and will never be able to represent that emotional Singapore – the one in our hearts is very different from the one we lived in. She represented a Singapore that we could no longer feel emotionally attached to.
Andrew Loh asks people to think about what makes a “true” Singaporean:
The criticisms flow fast and furious, and they are repeated ad nauseum each time someone who is seen as “not a true Singaporean” wins some accolades. While these sentiments are understandable because of our immigration policy, and others like the Foreign Talent Scheme (under which, incidentally, Feng was brought in), perhaps it would be best if we could move beyond launching diatribes against her and her colleagues, and ask ourselves a deeper, more meaningful question: what, really, makes a Singaporean?
This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.