Je suis Charlie, Ich bin Charlie, Soy Charlie, I am Charlie

Hello everyone. I am sure you have all read all about the horrific killings at the Paris office of Charlie Hebdo - I just want to add my voice to the many who have been standing up in solidarity with the French and offer my personal reaction to what has happened. I was actually still editing my Paris videos from my last trip to Paris for my vlog when the story broke and I have decided to delay the release of my Paris vlog for now - it seems a bit tasteless to release such a happy vlog piece about the delights of Paris at a time like this. It will be released at some stage, just not now.

I used to live in Paris when I was a student, in the period 1999 to 2000, it is a city I know extremely well. I feel very much at home in Paris and this terrorist incident took place in a neighbourhood of central Paris that I know extremely well.  I speak French fluently: it is my second language (my French is much better than my Chinese). I do have such an affinity for the French language, French culture and Paris that I feel I need to use my blog to try to explain one aspect of this case to my Singapore and Malaysian readers. Now I invite you to have a look at some of the Charlie Hebdo comics (just google them), before you pass judgement - just have a look, please. If you need anything translating from French, I am more than happy to help.

Many of you may think that some of these comics may be in bad taste or that they may offend some religious people (not just Muslims, but Jews and Christians were subjects of Charlie Hebdo's satire). Certainly, nothing like that will ever be published in a place like Singapore or Malaysia given how we have a culture of censorship. Anything deemed to be provocative or offensive will be immediately censored - but we are talking about a French magazine catering for a French readership. The French value freedom of speech in a way that most Singaporeans or Malaysians will never understand as it is totally absent in Singapore and Malaysia, but it is best summed up by the words of the French philosopher Voltaire: "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."

Voltaire has been quoted a lot in the last 24 hours.

This is where the British are very similar to the French: we value our freedom of speech and the right to voice an opinion about anything, even if it extends to making fun of religion. Admittedly, this was a bit of a culture shock for me when I first moved to Europe from Singapore, but then I soon got used to it. Charlie Hebdo exists and thrives with the consent of the French people - it is ultimately a commercial publication. Each copy costs 3 euros (S$4.75) They need to be funny, witty, enlightening and entertaining enough to sustain a robust circulation - they thrive on their merits as a publication, not just as a French ideal for free speech. So it is entirely acceptable to the French people for Charlie Hebdo to publish such provocative, controversial comics about Islam. Note that they may not personally like the comics or even read Charlie Hebdo, but they would still support the right of the journalists to produce the publication.

As a British person living in London today and working in media, I find a similar situation when it comes to comedy on TV. I love British television because of the lack of censorship - you see, you can swear on TV, you can explore whatever controversial themes you want, you can show male genitalia if you so wish. Oh yeah bring it on, full frontal nudity, nobody gives a fuck. The censors are the viewers. If your programme lacks any merit and fails to entertain, then your viewership will dwindle and the programme will be canned. So the audience ultimately decides what is acceptable and what is not - it is a very democratic process. Now contrast that to the decision in Singapore where the government censors anything they don't approve of and they decide what Singaporeans should be watching.

Thus in Singapore, the thought of anyone in the Singaporean media criticizing the PAP is unthinkable - it just wouldn't happen (that is what the internet is for). However, in the UK, there are plenty of prime time programmes like Mock The Week, Newswipe and Have I Got News For You which would make fun of anyone from politicians to royalty to religious figures. This is one aspect of our culture that many Singaporeans and Malaysians simply do not understand because it is so different from what you have in Singapore and Malaysia.

A while ago, my pal in Los Angeles Alvin Tan was stirring up more shit by provoking the authorities in Malaysia by posting images that lampooned political figures in Malaysia as well as the Malaysian royalty. This upset the Malaysian authorities so much that they took the unconventional step to contact Facebook directly to request that they remove Alvin Tan's Facebook page. Facebook of course, ignored the Malaysian authorities and I can assure you that Alvin Tan is still enjoying the joys of Facebook today. Here's the difference: under Malaysia's sedition act, what Alvin Tan did would be illegal and would get him arrested. In a country like the UK and France, if he wanted to make fun of our prime minister or say the Queen - he would be completely entitled to do so and no one would dream of arresting him for doing so. Different country, different values, different laws, different societies - such is the complex world we live in.

What opinions can you express in your country freely?

In any case, one young Malaysian on his Facebook page tried to reason with Alvin - she seemed rather young and naive. She argued that since Alvin was born in Malaysia, he is therefore obliged to show respect to the politicians who run the country and accept the rule and authority of the monarchies of Malaysia. At first I thought, what the hell? Does she really believe that? Well I may be British, but I certainly don't have to like the politicians who run this country and I sure as hell don't like the royal family. That's right, for the record, I don't like the British royal family and I think it should be abolished. And you know what? I am well within my right to express an opinion like that in the UK and that's perfectly acceptable. The royal family here are quite happy to live with the fact that there are people like me who would rather see the abolition of the monarchy and for the UK to be a republic instead.

So why can't a Malaysian do the same thing then - does every Malaysian have the right to voice his objection to the government or the monarchy? Clearly not. That's what Malaysia's sedition act is for. Heck, just across the border in Thailand, they jail people for insulting the king on Facebook. I think this Thai law - known as the lese majeste law, which punishes anyone who defames, insults or threatens the monarchy - is quite frankly, fucking ridiculous. Because I think the Thai monarchy should win the respect of the public through their behaviour, rather than threaten to jail anyone who dares to say a bad word about them. But then again, perhaps that's me passing judgement on Asian societies with my very European perspective, especially on a day when everyone is standing up for freedom of speech after the Charlie Hebdo massacre. I do stand by what I say though: what kind of world do you want to live in? Respect me, or I will throw you in jail or shoot you in the head. No, that is not how respect works in the civilized world.  Hence it is so important that we have to take a stance against people who do not understand the basic principles of respect.

Hence I say, different countries, different cultures, different values, different systems, different laws. Charlie Hebdo may seem like a totally offensive publication in a place like Singapore or Malaysia, but in a country like France, it is perfectly acceptable and has managed to thrive as a publication since 1970. That is an incredible feat given how the internet has wiped out many less popular publications that could not sustain a readership in the age of the internet. Why the massacre then if France is such a liberal place? Well, not all migrants in France feel that way and there is a small minority of the French Muslim community who have become radicalized and do not accept the way French society is. It is a complex situation - some of these Muslim migrants do not speak French, are poorly integrated and thus their children are brought up on the very margins of French society and never truly feel French despite being brought up in France. It has emerged that the key suspects - the Kouachi brothers -  in this massacre are indeed French citizens (of Algerian origin) who were born and brought up in Paris. Sadly, that doesn't surprise me at all.

This clash of culture has led to the tragedy that has unfolded at the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris. I make no bones about saying this: you wanna live in France, you simply MUST assimilate. The French will accept immigrants who will gladly assimilate and genuinely want to be French. If you do not wish to assimilate, then you're going to have a very hard time in France. When I worked in Paris last year, because I speak French fluently, people often asked me, "Vous êtes Français?" (You are French?) Now I am mixed Eurasian but mostly Chinese, I was born in Singapore and I hold a British passport. I am not French but I speak French fluently. Yet because my French is good enough, they would gladly contemplate the idea that I am French because for them, being French is a state of mind: it means speaking French, embracing a French identity, holding French values and assimilating into French society. I take it as a massive compliment each time someone asks me if I am French; but it also reminds me that France is probably the least racist country in the whole wide world because anyone can be French even if they are an immigrant. You can be white, black, Chinese or Arab - it is your state of mind and cultural identity that makes you French. Can you imagine the opposite? Say a French person spends 30 years living in Beijing, marries a local Chinese person, speaks Mandarin like a local and adopts a very Chinese cultural identity. Everyone will still take one look at the French person and say, "他是老外!" (He is a foreigner!) Thus this is why is pains me so much that the French are so misunderstood by the rest of the world, that is why I had to write this piece to explain France and the French to my dear readers.

So there you go, I do hope I have cast some light on the cultural context for this tragedy in Paris. I would like to end with a pronunciation guide. Charlie Hebdo is pronounced ShaR-li Eb-doh. The CH in French is pronounced like an SH in English, the R in Charlie is stressed. The H is silent and the do should sound like "dough". Please feel free to leave me a message. I am traveling to Spain early on Friday so please bear with me as I may not respond to your comments quickly whilst in Spain. Let me know what you think, please leave me a comment below. Thanks for reading, merci!