The answer they were given would have given them a lesson on the way in which the

PPP can gain benefit from its incumbent power by blurring the line separating state from party. It is utilized by the PAP to foster bonds with Singaporeans.

The confirmation that these are a part of the PAP might become an humiliation to his younger ministers as the message sinks in. It could also come as a shock to a few of the grassroots volunteers who thought they were non-partisans working for their community. ( Already the party recently revealed it had difficulty hiring enough volunteers, and grassroots bodies were some thirty five percent understrength. ). The critics don't faze the architect of the scheme. Lee once declared : "I make no apologies the PAP is the ( Singapore ) govt and the govt is the PAP.". The furore shows how much Singaporeans have changed over a generation. In the 60s, when Lee was using these tax-funded grassroots organisations to deal with pro-communists and racial extremists, it appeared natural and few folks whinged. But with plenty of today's better-educated teens, the idea of the PAP using tax money against the opposition in a democracy has become unsuitable. If the Chinese visitors had probed further, they might have discovered that control over grassroots is merely one of an armory of weapons the PAP has to hang on to power. "If they did, the Chinese could be stunned by the reach of some of the PAP's tentacles in the city,"a tiny businessperson declared.

The large number of folks working for them - or connected with them - is sufficiently big to make the party tough to defeat in an election. The town is too little to make allowance for such a huge replacing of experienced people. All of these don't make the PAP undefeatable and vital, but they render the task very tough. The significance of Singapore's political system to China still crops up sometimes. One Chinese blogger wrote : "With all due respect to Singapore, I just don't need to compare China and Singapore. You can compare Singapore ( population : 5,000,000 ) and Shanghai ( 16,000,000 ), or HK ( 7,000,000 ) .". "as an example, I don't need someone in Beijing to make calls for me about what my youngsters should believe. So, there's a great difference here between Singapore and China.". Singapore's top writer, Catherine Lim examines the equation from another angle. "Not if China comes to their rescue,"Lim announced. ( This was revealed in The Star on February twenty, 2010 ).