Singapore's "Chi Crab" applies for World Heritage: Cultural symbol dispute triggers game in Southeast Asia

Singapore's "Chi Crab" applies for World Heritage: Cultural symbol dispute triggers game in Southeast Asia

Recently, Singapore announced that it would apply for UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage (referred to as "World Heritage") for its iconic delicacy "Chi Crab", which quickly caused controversy in many Southeast Asian countries. Scholars and netizens in Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries questioned their cultural ownership and believed that chili crabs are "regional shared food" rather than exclusive to Singapore. This cultural game around food reflects the deep contradictions in Southeast Asian countries in the competition for cultural symbols.

1. Event background and controversy focus

The Singapore National Cultural Heritage Administration officially launched the application process for pepper crabs on January 15, 2024, and plans to submit an application in 2025. As one of Singapore's national dishes, chili crabs feature sweet and sour sauces and fresh crabs, attracting a large number of tourists to taste each year. However, the Malaysian cultural department immediately issued a statement saying that the similar chili crab has a history of 100 years in the Malay Peninsula. Indonesian netizens also posted photos of the local version of the "chili crab", emphasizing its cultural diversity.

2. Pivot: Current status of Southeast Asian food application

As of January 2024, Southeast Asia has successfully applied for seven dietary intangible cultural heritage, but regional competition is fierce. The following are the relevant data in the past decade:

*Note: The dispute index is calculated based on the number of discussions on cross-border social media. The higher the value, the greater the regional identity differences.

3. Expert analysis: Modern political science of cultural symbols

Chen Zhiming, a professor of cultural studies at the University of Southeast Asia, pointed out: "The essence of applying for food to Heritage is to compete for soft power. As a young country, Singapore urgently needs to strengthen national identity through cultural symbols." Data shows that the Singapore government's funding for food culture has increased by 240% in the past five years, while Malaysia has only increased by 17% during the same period.

On the other hand, social media has intensified the spread of controversy. The number of videos in Southeast Asia with the #Cipola Crab tag on TikTok has exceeded 120 million times, of which 32% of the content involves attribution debate. Netizens spontaneously launched the "Cipo Chili Crab Map" labeling activity, showing that there are similar dishes in at least 6 countries.

4. Future direction: possible regional cooperation in the game

Despite the controversy, some scholars suggest drawing on the "Mediterranean Diet" (multi-national joint application for World Heritage) model. The ASEAN Cultural Committee has proposed to establish a "Southeast Asian Food Joint Heritage Application List", but the response levels of each country vary. The upcoming Southeast Asian Cultural Ministers' Meeting, which will be held in February 2024, may become an important platform for coordinating this issue.

This chili crab battle is a debate on sauce recipes on the surface, but in fact it is a microcosm of the reconstruction of cultural identity of Southeast Asian countries in the post-colonial era. Amid the tension of globalization and localization, a plate of crabs has become a vivid footnote to cultural politics.