Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's founding father, passed away at the age of 91.
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015) was the first Prime Minister of Singapore, governing for three decades, and retired from advisory roles in government until 2011. He is recognized as the founding father of modern Singapore, and has been credited with leading the city-state’s transformation from a sleepy tropical port to a global financial and trade hub within a single generation.
Bilateral relations between China and Singapore were initiated by Lee in 1976. He visited China 33 times over the years and was one of the few leaders in the world who had contact with the 5 top officials of Mao’s generation. President Xi Jinping has described Lee as an old friend of China.
Mr. Lee Kuan Yew at Shanghai Ocean Aquarium (“SOA”)
On 5 December 1997, Mr. Lee, then the Senior Minister of Singapore, presided over the Ground Breaking Ceremony of SOA, along with local government officials.
Located next to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, SOA is one of the world’s largest indoor closed system aquariums. It is a US $55 million joint investment by Singapore-based Straco Corporation Limited and China's China Poly Group, and was one of the biggest foreign-invested tourism projects in Shanghai.
SOA also hosted the 2008 International Aquarium Congress (“IAC”) in Shanghai. Held every four years, the IAC is the most important event for the international public aquarium industry.
At 11 June 2004 Singapore’s former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew visited SOA for a second time and attended SOA's official opening ceremony.
SOA was accredited as a successful ASEAN enterprise at China in 2013.
Following his visits to SOA, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew remains in our memory as a foremost figure in cultivating China-Singapore relations, and one of the most important supporters of SOA’s establishment and development.