English Description
Chinese Description

Men in White is the inside story of one of the world’s most successful political parties. Narrated in three parts, it is oral history spun in a journalistic mode and spiced unapologetically with anecdotes, quotes and human interest to breathe life into past events. Three writers from The Straits Times backed by four researchers conducted some 300 interviews in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and China. The result is a dramatic account of the PAP – warts, blemishes and all – and of the pivotal moments in its history which changed the course of Singapore forever.

PART ONE tells how a Cambridge-educated lawyer and his anglicised associates collaborated with radical Chinese-speaking trade unionists to drive out the British colonialists and how they fought each other to the bitter end.

PART TWO captures the agonies of leadership renewal and charts the ascent of Goh Chok Tong who succeeded Lee as the second prime minister. It ends with Lee Hsien Loong taking over from Goh in 2004 and leading the party to victory in the 2006 polls.

PART THREE wraps up the PAP story by delving into the key principles that characterise Singapore governance and concludes with the intriguing poser: Will PAP outlive LKY?
《白衣人》写的是世界上最成功之一的政党鲜为人知的内幕故事。它分三个部分陈述，是以新闻体呈献的口述历史，并夹缀诸多轶事趣闻、直接引述和人情味描述，使得所叙述的往事变得历历在目。

为了重现这个云谲波诡又充满人性的政治剧，《海峡时报》的三名作者，在四名研究员的支援下，在新加坡、马来西亚、泰国、香港和中国，作了约300次的访谈。此外，他们也聆听了新加坡国家档案馆收藏的约200个访问录音。

结果是成就了一部对人民行动党有声有色的报道叙述——不保留，不掩饰——包括对党史中各个永久改变了新加坡道路的关键事件的生动描述。

第一部说的是一名剑桥大学毕业的律师和他的英国化的同伴们，怎样与激进的讲华语的工会领袖合作，赶走了英国殖民主义者，以及他们之间又如何进行殊死的斗争。这部分也记述了人民行动党与马来西亚执政党巫统的摩擦而最终导致分家的整个过程。

第二部捕捉的是领导层更新造成的阵痛，记下吴作栋接替李光耀成为第二任总理的路程。然后写到2004年李显龙从吴作栋手里接棒，并在2006年的大选中领导人民行动党取得胜利。它也揭示了他们之间怎样做好权力的安排。

第三部是对人民行动党故事的总结。它深入探讨新加坡的主要治国原则，然后提出一个耐人寻味的话题：行动党能在李光耀之后继续存活吗？

Authors

Men in White: The Untold Story of Singapore's Ruling Political Party