Changes In The Way The People's Action Party Of Singapore Governs

The ruling way of political party refers to the mechanisms,means,measures and methods of political party in charge of state power.The political party is closely related to the state power.The different ruling way reflects different political value orientation and influences on the success of political party.Since Singapore became an independent sovereign state from 1965,Singapore has been ranked among the world's class from a small,crisis-ridden country after more than 50 years of development.The "Singapore Miracle" is inseparable from the long-term charging People's Action Party's unique governance concept and practice.It can be said that without the People's Action Party,there would be no Singapore today.Under the leadership of the People's Action Party,Singapore has experienced three leaders' generation from Lee Kuan Yew,Goh Chok Tong to Lee Hsien Loong.The changing global environment challenges and people's various demands directly lead to the governance feature of the People's Action Party must be adjusted properly to adapt the changing.During the period of Lee Kuan Yew,he was in the stage of establishing and consolidating ruling position.Singapore,which had just become independent,was still awaiting prosperity.There were a series of problems such as stagnation in economic development,serious unemployment and prominent ethnic conflicts.These issues also determined that the People's Action Party's primary task during this period was survival and earning a living.The strong paternalistic centralized style was undoubtedly the most efficient choice,mainly reflected in the strict restrictions on the opposition parties' living space and one-way decision-making mechanism.Next,during the period of Goh Chok Tong,Singapore was facing new opportunities and challenges after nearly three decades of rapid development.At that time,the Cold War had just ended.Under the economic globalization background,the requirements for maintaining stable development and ensuring policy continuity made the governance feature much more balanced with less great change.The restrictions on the opposition parties have been relaxed compared with before.At the same time,ruling party paid more attention to the communication with civilians taking some democratic overtones.Finally,following to the period of Lee Hsien Loong,the development of global information technology is booming,and the role of new media is increasingly powerful.Under the New Normal,the nations have higher demands for political participation,which challenges the existing political order.The People'sAction Party has injected more democracy gradually in the governance activities in order to maintain its ruling position.Therefore,we can summarize the evolution of the governance features since the People's Action Party came into power as follows:from the tough paternalistic centralization in the period of Lee Kuan Yew to the consultative democracy in the period of Goh Chok Tong to the progressive democratic governance in the period of Lee Hsien Loong.The ability for political party to adjust its governing concept and practice mode in a timely manner along the continuous change of the environment is the key to improve the adaptability,and it is also the root of the long-term ruling of the People's Action Party of Singapore.