Hong Kong and Singapore have long drawn comparisons.

Both places were former British colonies, both are bustling port cities, and both have been described as "Asian Tigers" vying for the spot of Asia's most wealthy place.

Given the similarities, at least on paper, the issues plaguing Hong Kong are likely to affect our small island-state as well, as former foreign minister George Yeo said in a speech at the 23rd Gordon Arthur Ransome Oration.

Titled, "Human Solidarity in a Fragmenting World", Yeo started his speech with a short prelude on the turmoil that Hong Kong is still currently experiencing.

As a legislator of many years, he admitted frankly that he did not find the proposed amendments to the Extradition Bill, which have thus far drawn much criticism and dissent from young Hong Kongers, unreasonable. He added that it did not seem right that one could commit rape or murder in China and find sanctuary in Hong Kong.

Describing the Bill as "only the spark that set off the forest fire", Yeo added how the identity crisis Hong Kongers were currently struggling with is fuelling the fire.

Raising the topic of Hong Kong though, was to highlight how the "larger, deeper forces at work" there affect other countries too, and "we have to be mindful of them because they affect us in Singapore too," Yeo said.

These underlying forces include the social media revolution, fragmentation and reconfiguration of human society, growing wealth and income inequality, and mass manipulation by new masters of the universe.

Social media revolution

On his first point, Yeo pointed out how the proliferation of social media disrupted traditional relationships and public image.

The advent of smartphones and CCTV cameras not only expose the "hypocrisy" and "deception" of public leaders, but help to humanise these people too.

"Everywhere, we see hierarchies breaking down. Old institutions, once preserved and sustained by ritual, secrecy, information asymmetry, hypocrisy, deception and force are being corroded. Traditional leaders are dragged down from their ivory towers and shown to be quite ordinary and fallible after all, their hypocrisy and corruption exposed by ubiquitous cameras and microphones"

Yeo said that a necessary qualification is for public leaders or prominent figures "to be publicly a sinner", considering "authenticity" and relatability were things people looked out for now.

Society will always fragment and reconfigure

Like social media, Yeo highlighted the development of technology as a major disruptor to the traditional social fabric.

Despite its significant benefits to fields like biomedicine and manufacturing, the "destructive phase" of technology is "fragmenting" society, a fragmentation that defines the current era, Yeo said.

Yeo once again mentioned Hong Kong, and how technology and social media aids the protests' organic, self sustaining and leaderless movement.

However, social media also "reinforces beliefs and biases", resulting in extreme and more polarised views, he said.

Regeneration, however, is a constant.

Yeo said that such fragmentation is "not the end state", and only those which are able to adapt to such changes will proliferate.

"Apple, Samsung and Huawei have very different organisational structures and systems. Which among them will still be successful 10 years from now no one can foretell, but for sure that there will be new winners and losers," he said.

Such changes can even be seen in political systems.

Citing the apparent "relative success" of China's Communist system, Yeo added how this could pave an alternative for developing countries, one separate from Western democratic systems "which no longer function well".

Increasing inequality

Growing income inequality was another force at play, particularly in Hong Kong where it was one of the causes of the country's current unrest, Yeo said.

Yeo believed that technology had widened the inequality gap, where labour can be easily outsourced or replaced by robots and algorithms.

And while some might be left behind in this fast-paced world, there are others that happen to be in prime positions to "seize new opportunities created by fragmentation".

One example of this is computer engineers, who now command one of the highest salaries among fresh graduates.

This growing inequality, Yeo continued, could further exacerbate existing class and ethnic divisions and threaten the social fabric.

Big data and the new masters of the universe

As cities, devices and electronics get "smarter", big data is one way the Internet-of-Things has grown.

Big data, used by ubiquitous companies like Google, Facebook and Alibaba, alongside social media, is the fourth force being used to manipulate the way we think, Yeo stated.

Big data and the internet is so pervasive and widespread, that it can even affect the social fabric and political stability.

China, for instance, has utilised big data to its advantage for national governance in its controversial social credit system.

This, Yeo said, has allowed China to detect and tackle on-the-ground issues earlier on, as opposed to when such issues blow up.

He used the analogy of treating cancer to better explain the differences between China's system and Western method curbing terrorism.

Yeo said:

"The difference is not unlike the methods used for treating cancer. The western method of tackling terrorism is akin to surgery and chemotherapy such as the use of Predator drones to kill terrorists. The Chinese method is to treat the body politic holistically, gradually boosting its immunity. Immunotherapy however requires patience and a deeper understanding of complex reality."

As opposed to China and its citizens, which seems to have embraced big data, big tech and safety and convenience at the cost of privacy, the United States appears more hesitant.

"Thus we see in the world today a range of responses to the challenge of big data, in particular, the loss of privacy and the mass manipulation of public opinion," Yeo said.

He added that Singapore's new Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) is a "brave attempt to stem the same incoming tide".

With these major, and potentially dangerous forces, like technology and social media, Yeo reminded in his speech for leaders to keep their hubris in check.

He ended off his speech by stressing the importance of solidarity in an era of fragmentation, that maintaining one's moral sense was crucial in maintaining civilised society.

He said:

"An indifferent, amoral approach in a period of rapid technological change is possibly the greatest danger to humankind today. We must not be beguiled by a so-called post-truth world.  The more complex the world becomes, the more must we affirm that which is at the core of our humanity."

Top photo from George Yeo / FB