後港：新加坡安全席次之濫觴

Hougang: The Origins of a “Safe” Alternative Constituency in Singapore

自1991年以來，新加坡工人黨一直在後港單議席選區穩若泰山。新加坡人民行動黨屢欲奪回議席，均無功而還。數十年來，人民行動黨一黨獨大，工人黨能穩守後港席次，實屬殊績。本文藉追溯後港歷史，探討此安全席次的成因。後港以往被視為潮州人聚居的鄉野之地，居民對執政黨施政多有不滿，加上天時地利人和，使劉程強於一九九一年得以勝選。此後工人黨屢屢獲勝，全憑其地方與國家兩全之策，取信於當地居民。劉程強等受中文教育的工人階級議員，皆手持「後港精神」的鐵盾，在民主路上邁進。

This article is a historical inquiry into the making of a safe seat in Singaporean politics. Since 1991, the Hougang Single Member Constituency (Hougang SMC) has been a Workers’ Party (WP) stranglehold. Despite the efforts of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) to win it back in subsequent elections, the WP has managed to retain a firm hold on the constituency—a remarkable feat, given the decades-long dominance of the PAP in Singapore. The article suggests that the history of Hougang as a rural, somewhat backward Teochew enclave, as well as a fortuitous mix of personalities, provincial issues, and policy reactions, ultimately resulted in Low Thia Khiang’s electoral victory in 1991. The WP has been able to maintain its grip on Hougang primarily because it has convinced its residents to conflate local and national concerns. It has fortified its Chinese-educated, working-class constituents with a “Hougang spirit” that has become a rallying cry for democratic progress.