And when I shared the profile story of Zeng on LinkedIn, someone commented, “Another story of a talented Singaporean going abroad to find success?”
He followed up with, “Maybe it took another country for his talent to shine. Thinking of Joseph Schooling who trained in the US for university and then won the Olympic gold medal.”
I asked if we could just appreciate that everyone thrives in a different environment, just like how there are people who leave their home countries to thrive in Singapore.
The original commenter replied, “There is definitely a story to be written about the Singaporeans who leave the country for opportunities, social mobility and the space to be creative.”
Implying there’s nothing wrong with competing on a world stage, another commenter added, “Singaporeans going abroad to find success should be the norm.”
The reality, he argued, is that we need to “maximise our global experience” with “Singaporeans who can bring back culture, language, technology and best practices from any corner of the planet”.
It appeared Zeng’s individual achievements led to a discussion of a societal issue: Singaporeans are unlikely to receive equal recognition for their talent unless they leave the country.
This tangent made me recall the commentary around national swimmer Joseph Schooling after he clocked 53.12s and came in last in the 100m butterfly heats at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Singaporeans on social media were divided over the result. One camp criticised his performance, while the other hit back saying Schooling shouldn’t be subject to criticism, especially from people who haven’t participated in elite-level sports.
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