Singapore has a reputation for being a clean and green city, and we’re justifiably proud of that label.
But it seems that we still have much room for improvement in certain locations.
A Chinese student said Chinatown may be the dirtiest place in Singapore, as he shared a TikTok video of the litter he found in public areas.
Source: @zeinsg on TikTok
He then urged his own countrymen to mind their behaviour.
The TikTok video was posted on Saturday (16 Jul) by user @zeinsg, who professed to be a Chinese student named “Ah Ze” (阿泽) studying in Singapore.
So far, it has gained more than 111,200 views due to his eloquent dissection of Chinatown’s current state in Mandarin.
Leading off by declaring that this may be “Singapore’s dirtiest place”, he proceeds to show us why.
The video pans across empty plastic bottles and other trash strewn across the ground in the area outside People’s Park Complex and the hawker centre.
Source: @zeinsg on TikTok
He commented that he’s recently found Chinatown getting more crowded since the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.
Accordingly, hygiene standards have become “too horrible to look at” (惨不忍睹), he said, panning to many plastic cups half-full of unidentified liquids left next to a railing.
Repulsively, one of them even had a discarded mask in it.
Source: @zeinsg on TikTok
He couldn’t help but sigh, adding,
Is this still the global Garden City that many people recognise?
The next scene in the video showed various debris on the steps leading to Chinatown MRT station and the 7-Eleven outlet.
Source: @zeinsg on TikTok
The student acknowledged that even the most immaculate cities would have areas that are hard to clean.
However, the current situation in Chinatown isn’t just a mere lapse, he said, after panning to empty beer bottles and other rubbish on the floor of what appears to be an eatery.
Source: @zeinsg on TikTok
Rather, it seems that in Singapore, Chinatown has become synonymous with dirtiness (脏乱差).
The video then shows the filthy floor of what appears to be a hawker centre, with paper plates, spoons and chopsticks lying just next to diners’ feet.
Source: @zeinsg on TikTok
The OP said he’d lived in New York City for a while, and found that the Chinatowns in the boroughs of Manhattan and Queens were in a similar state of grubbiness.
After cutting to more garbage on the ground next to people eating, he added that Chinatown is a “window into understanding China” for the rest of the world.
Source: @zeinsg on TikTok
They’re also places for overseas Chinese to soothe their feelings of homesickness.
Hence, Chinatowns are of great importance in their hearts.
He added that he would also visit Chinatown to eat with friends and schoolmates as the food there is the most authentic outside of the mainland.
However, the student really doesn’t understand the current environment of Singapore’s Chinatown, he said.
Before ending the video, he only had one more thing to say.
Addressing his countrymen, he urged them to mind their own behaviour when they’re in other countries.
Source: @zeinsg on TikTok
Ah Ze’s views seemed to have struck a chord with netizens, judging from the over 500 comments on his video.
No matter who’s to blame, everyone should behave responsibly to keep public spaces clean.
That’s because only by collective effort can we ensure Chinatown goes from “dirtiest place” to somewhere we can all be proud of.
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Featured image adapted from @zeinsg on TikTok.
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