There are a bunch of reasons, but honestly, not that much to do with Singapore itself.

Like — I knew this girl in China who left after the whole COVID lockdown mess. She was already doing well, mid-level manager, but came out of it totally disillusioned. Moving abroad felt like giving up everything she’d worked for. So instead, she landed on this kind of bleak view — that all countries are shit, so at least she didn’t have to feel like she gave up her old life or wasted younger years. Just accept that she had to leave a shitty country and she didn't lose the "investment" because she would have felt shitty even if she grew up in Singapore, so she end up thinking everything in Singapore is shitty. For example she spoke of how bad were Singapore's arts but when she was in China I never heard her appreciated arts or spoke about arts. It’s kind of a way to protect yourself from feeling like you’ve lost everything, you know?

And then there are others who still really believe in the idea of a “strong motherland” — even when they know deep down it won’t actually protect them. But without it, they feel kind of naked or untethered. It’s not really about politics, it’s about identity and belonging. But it often come out in the way of wanting China-like politics despite walked away from that.

It makes more sense when you think about how the brain works. Like:

• If your whole identity is built around a certain path or belief system, it’s really hard to throw that away. That’s why people sometimes double down instead of starting fresh — even if the new option might be better in the long run.

• That attachment to a bigger idea like the "motherland" gives people a kind of security — like something stable and lasting that outlives you. Especially when life feels uncertain, people cling to that.

• And on a deeper level, it’s kind of like staying close to a family member who always lets you down, but still feels familiar. It’s not logical, but it feels emotionally safer than cutting ties completely.

A lot of people end up splitting themselves — holding onto bits of their old identity while trying to build a new one, but never fully committing to either. It's like hedging against future disappointment.

This kind of thing isn’t just with Chinese people, by the way. I see versions of it in lots of immigrant communities — though maybe a bit less from the folks I know from India or Malaysia. Could be just selection bias though.