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CHANGSHA, China - Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stole the show on Thursday when he made an appearance on a variety programme on a Chinese TV station.
He may not be an entertainer but Mr Lee proved he could be a crowd pleaser.
He made an impromptu appearance in a popular variety show produced by Hunan TV station and got the audience roaring.
Mr Lee is on a working trip to several cities in central China to witness first hand the progress of the country's inland development.
Hunan TV is best known for its singing contest, Super Girls, and is one of the most popular channels in China. But like many of China's state-owned entities, it is grappling with how it should balance the role as a local company as it opens up to market forces.
Mr Lee also shared with the governor how Singapore's then-government-owned broadcaster developed, managing to balance privatisation with public responsibility.
Mr Lee said: "Some of us were worried because if it becomes purely commercial, then what's going to happen to our news broadcast and our national education, our documentary, the more serious and less commercially attractive programmes, which we want them to do.
"So we progress gradually. I think it has changed the mindset of the company. Now they are more conscious of the cost. I think they are operating more efficiently than before, and pushing and developing the market more aggressively than it would have done as a government department."
Also drawing from the Suzhou Industrial Park's experience, Prime Minister Lee said Chinese officials have grown in confidence over the years as they guided the project towards greater heights.
With the benefit of hindsight, gained from their successful coastal counterparts, Hunan and other parts of central China could make the transformation even faster.
While in Hunan's provincial capital Changsha, Mr Lee visited Sany Group, one of China's biggest construction machinery makers.
He also visited Yuelu Academy, one of the four most prestigious academies over the last 1,000 years in China. The academy is now part of Hunan University.
Another stop he made was at the Hunan Provincial Museum, which houses bronze wares dating back to the Shang and Zhou Dynasties and relics excavated from the Mawangdui Han Tomb.
- CNA/al
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