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The article considers former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore. He built Singapore into a prosperous nation state with policies that combined an emphasis on economic growth with civil order that drew heavily on Confucian values. Singapore under his rule was an alternative to Western liberal democracy and Chinese Communism. Among his admirers was former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.

The article focuses on the victory of students from Shanghai, China-based Fudan University in the debating competition sponsored by the Singapore Broadcasting Corp. The Fudan students won the first prize of $2,500 over students from Taipei-based National Taiwan University. The teams debated on the belief that Confucian philosophy can restrain evil winds from the West.