By RACHEL AU-YONG
DESPITE rapid industrialisation,the Chinese city of Suzhou hasemerged with clear skies and an in-tegrated migrant population.
Its municipal government’s ef-forts have earned it the third Lee
Kuan Yew World City Prize,which is awarded by Singapore’sUrban Redevelopment Authorityand the Centre for Liveable Cities.
Vice-Mayor Xu Ming said an in-flux of migrant workers – the re-sult of Suzhou’s move from anagrarian society to a technological
and economic hub – has not put astrain on the city.
“The biggest problem in Su-zhou is not space but whether wecan assimilate non-native work-ers into modern life,” he told apress conference yesterday.
Such workers are given thesame benefits as locals – insur-ance and a minimum wage – re-sulting in better integration andgreater social stability.
And while some Chinese citiessuffocate in smog, Suzhou, locat-
ed in Jiangsu province, boastsclean air and plenty of greenery.
“My predecessors envisioned atrain system 20 years ago – wehave two lines now, another threeto come, reducing the need forcars,” Mr Xu said.
“We’ve also restored paddyfields and ponds at Stone Lake,creating a popular waterfrontthat’s free from factories. The airquality there is second to none.”
The Lee Kuan Yew World CityPrize honours outstanding contri-
butions to the creation of vibrant,liveable and sustainable urbancommunities. Awarded every twoyears, the 2012 prize went to NewYork City while the Spanish cityof Bilbao won in 2010.
Suzhou beat 35 other cities thisyear after two rounds of reviewsby 12 high-profile panel members.They included dean for Lee KuanYew School of Public PolicyKishore Mahbubani and Centrefor Liveable Cities chairman LiuThai Ker.
Suzhou’s citation noted the re-markable transformation it hasmade over the last two decades.
Though the 2,500-year-oldcity benefited initially from Singa-pore’s experience in the 1990s,when it set up the Suzhou Indus-trial Park, it has since put in placemany initiatives independently topropel the city forward.
Its achievements include itssuccessful transition to a ser-vice-oriented economy that has at-tracted many international busi-nesses. It has also preservedUnesco-designated regions, likethe Pingjiang Historic District,while continuing to let them serveas neighbourhoods.
The nominating committeechairman, Professor Mahbubani,described the city of 6.5 millionpeople as “an inspiration for themany rapidly urbanising cities inChina”.
Dr Liu added that Singaporecan learn from it.
“Suzhou has learnt to enhanceher natural assets,” he said. “Likeher, Singapore has managed topreserve buildings relatively well,but we may want to look closelyat how she manages her naturalenvironment.”
The prize – to be awarded inJune – includes $300,000 in cash,which is sponsored by Keppel Cor-poration. Yesterday, the marineand property company announcedit would extend its sponsorshipuntil 2028. It pledged another$1.75 million, bringing its total in-put to $3.5 million.
LEE KUAN YEW WORLD CITY PRIZE
By PRISCILLA GOY
MEDICAL experts from Singapore are visiting Sri Lan-ka this week in a scheme which has seen them help
neighbouring countries improve standards of pallia-tive care.
They will train doctors and nurses to improve thequality of life for patients facing life-threatening ill-nesses, and help their families by preventing or mini-mising their suffering.
About 50 participants will attend the first train-ing stint, which began yesterday and will run untilFriday. Five more stints will be held over the nexttwo to three years.
The Sri Lankan programme was launched yester-day by Singapore philanthropic group Lien Founda-tion and the Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Net-work (APHN), in partnership with the National Can-cer Institute of Maharagama and the National Can-cer Control Programme in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka has just 31 cancer specialists and 17 of
them will attend this week’s programme, along withnurses, a psychologist and a social worker.
They will be trained by a team, led by APHNchairman Cynthia Goh, which comprises six doctorsand nurses from Singapore and Australia.
Dr Iresh Jayaweera, secretary of the Cancer CareAssociation, said: “While Sri Lanka is a developingcountry with a free health system, the developmentof palliative care in Sri Lanka is very slow due tolack of funds and expertise.”
Two of the association’s founders are attendingthe training.
Sri Lanka is the third of four countries to be partof a $1.8 million initiative by the Lien Foundationand APHN to build expertise in palliative care inAsian countries. The four-year initiative started lastyear with Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Last month, nine public health-care scholarshipholders also took part in an overseas community in-volvement project. They went to Lamongan city inIndonesia to conduct public hygiene talks and tohelp improve access to clean water by building fourwater filters to benefit more than 2,000 children.
Undergraduate Tan Ying Xin, 22, who went onthe trip, said: “This project has further developedmy skills in taking initiatives and making prompt de-cisions in unprepared situations, and it reminded meof the value of teamwork.”
The overseas community involvement projectwas the first of its kind, as part of a collaboration be-tween Ministry of Health Holdings, which adminis-ters the scholarships, and the Singapore Internation-al Foundation.
Suzhou Vice-Mayor Xu Ming said the influx of migrant workers has not put a strain on the city in China as the problem isnot space but helping “assimilate non-native workers into modern life”. ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
City has capitalised on natural assets,preserved Unesco-designated regions
Suzhouwins withclear skies,integratedpopulation
Singapore medical experts visit Sri Lanka to teach palliative care skills
B2 HHOOMMEE T U E S D A Y , M A R C H 2 5 , 2 0 1 4
Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.
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